I have already said this in the other forum -- use your CONSCIENCE -- its a god-given faculty to discern right from wrong.
If, in all honesty, your conscience does not permit you to follow any of the commandments in the bible, then by all means, don't follow them.
What exactly do you want me to say? I am in no position to judge the political necessities of the social millieu more than three thousand years ago against what I know to be moral imperatives.
Besides, what emerged as the 'jewish' people from the time of the patriarchs, were, in all likelyhood, not entirely the descendants of abraham. There certainly was assimilation of other peoples during that turbulent time. And if there was some sort of assimilation, then it couldn't have been all murder and mayhem as you would like to believe, now, could it?
There you go again. Why are you hell-bent on ascribing mosaic law to christians? Not all mosaic law is adhered to by christians. In fact, the only mosaic law pertinent as far as christians are concerned, is the decalogue.
There certainly isn't anything remotely supporting slavery in the ten commandments, now, is there?
I think it is enough that the gospels and the acts of the apostles superseded mosaic law. And if that is still not clear to you, then you should read augustine's civitas dei. Clearly, being a 'slave' is a socio-political and economic relation that has nothing to do with the divine order.
The difference between the city of man and the city of god was so well expounded, I would even venture to say that it was the prototypical separation of church and state -- that is, after jesus' 'give to ceaser...'.
