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Figure 1.–The Islamic Koran unlike the Christian Bible not only condones slavery, but speaks in great detail about it. This explains why there was nothing like the Christian abolitionist movement in the Islamic world. Here we have a depiction of a slave market in Cairo. Click here for a more detailed view of a transaction. We don’t think it was the major Cairo slave market, but do not have Ebers text describing it. The drawing came from a book published by Georg Ebers. He was a noted German academic and Egyptologist. He traveled to Egypt twice in the 1860s-70s before the British established a protectorate and moved to supress the slave trade.

While the European Atlantic slave trade was conducted over four centuries, the Arab African slave trade was conducted over 14 centuries, and has not finally ended even in the 21st century. Ending slavery in the Muslim world was primarily the work of the Christian abolition movement. It is no accidental that abolition movements never developed in the Islamic world. The simple truth is that slavery is clearly sanctioned in the Holy Koran. This is important. Slavery is mentioned as existing in the Bible, but not really sanctioned. In fact, the central story of the Old Testament is the Hebrew escape from Egyotian sklavery, seeking freedom and the Promised Land. The Koran is very different. Allah in the Koean clearly sanctions slavery. And many Arabs and othet Muslims believe that the Koran is the literal word of God which can not be questioned by our more enlightened modern humane attitudes on social values and human rights. There are many references to slavery in the Koran. Some authors desribe this as Mohammed’s attitude toward slavery, but this is not how many Muslims view it. Remember that Mohammed was a prophet–God’s messenger. More correctly, the Koranic verses to many Muslims provide a statement of God’s views on slavery. The clear conclusion from all these passages is that God saw slavery as a natural aspect of human relations. This explains why there was been no abolitionist movement within Islam and why it was the Brirish Royal Navy that ended the slave trade in the Indian Ocean. The many passages in the Koran mentioning slavery are rather ambigious, not unlike the Bible. Often the point of the passage is not clear. We can offer some suggestions as to the meaning. But we certainly do not pretend to be Islamic scholars. Reader comments are invited to help us better understand these various passages. One interesting aspect here is the number of references to which a Muslim might free a slave as the consequence for violating a Koranic injuction. This would make holding slaves a useful practice beyond the actual services they might render. It is notable the number of the 114 surah/sura (chapters) of the Koran that have refences to slavery.

Surah 2 (The Cow)

Verse 2.178

2.178: “O you who believe! retaliation is prescribed for you in the matter of the slain, the free for the free, and the slave for the slave, and the female for the female, but if any remission is made to any one by his (aggrieved) brother, then prosecution (for the bloodwit) should be made according to usage, and payment should be made to him in a good manner; this is an alleviation from your Lord and a mercy; so whoever exceeds the limit after this he shall have a painful chastisement.”

This is one of many passages in the Koran which reflect prevailing pre-Islamic Arabian social and legal precepts. Several interprtations can follow from this. One that the Koran is Mohammed’s work and not that of God. Or conversely that God chose to speak to man in terms appropriate the the people and times. This of course would suggest that the Koran over time should be open to reinterpretation. This passage is also an instance of different legal treatment of men and women. The legal precept is that there should be different legal consequences if a person kills a freeman, woman and slave and this will depend on the status and gender of the person responsible for the killing. The passage clearly indicates that slavery is an established and acceptable legal institution and there is no hint of criticism for slavery. Note that the appropriate legal consequences are not detailed. For example if a free man kills another person’s slave, he would not face the death penalty. Rather Islamic legal codes eventually evolved to require that a slave of the killer would be killed. This would be the same as if a man killed the cow of another person. It is the loss to the owner which has to be readdressed.

Surah 4 (The Women)

Verse 4.3

The Koran permits a master to marry a slave.

Verse 4.92

4.92: “And it does not behoove a believer to kill a believer except by mistake, and whoever kills a believer by mistake, he should free a believing slave, and blood-money should be paid to his people unless they remit it as alms; but if he be from a tribe hostile to you and he is a believer, the freeing of a believing slave (suffices), and if he is from a tribe between whom and you there is a covenant, the blood-money should be paid to his people along with the freeing of a believing slave; but he who cannot find (a slave) should fast for two months successively:”

Some modern Islamic scholars claim that this passage promoted the freeing of slaves. This seemes a kind of strained interpretation. If freeing slaves was a goal, why would it be linked with manslaughter. A more coherent interpretation would seem that forceing a man who has inadvertedly killed another man to free a slave is a penalty or fine imposed upon him. Again an important additional point is that slavery is not only widespread, but completely acceptable by Islam. The option of an additional two months fast for non-slave owners provides an insight on the value of a slave.

Surah 5 (The Dinner Table)

Verse 5.89

5.89: “Allah does not call you to account for what is vain in your oaths, but He calls you to account for the making of deliberate oaths; so its expiation is the feeding of ten poor men out of the middling (food) you feed your families with, or their clothing, or the freeing of a neck; but whosoever cannot find (means) then fasting for three days; this is the expiation of your oaths when you swear; and guard your oaths. Thus does Allah make clear to you His communications, that you may be Fateful.”

This is another passage used by modern Islamic scholars to show that the Koran urges slave-owners to free their slaves. Again this is a strained interpretation. If God meant to tell man to free slaves, why did he not come out and say so. Islamic scholars who argue otherwise are in effect saying that God was not capable of clearly expressing his ideas. It is not really clear that this is a reference to slavery. The term slave or slavery does not appear in the passage. The reference to “freeing if a neck” could refer to freeing a slave. It could also refer to freeing a condemned man. And again if the reference does refer to a slave, than it is yet another Koranic verse regognizing slavery as a legal and acceptable institutions.

Surah 12 (Yusuf)

Verses 12.29-30

12.29: “O Yusuf! turn aside from this; and (O my wife)! ask forgiveness for your fault, surely you are one of the wrong-doers.”
12.30: “And women in the city said: The chief’s wife seeks her slave to yield himself (to her), surely he has affected her deeply with (his) love; most surely we see her in manifest error.”

These verses are part of the account of the slave Yusuf (Joseph) who was bought by an Egyptian. Once encounced in the household, the Egyptian’s wife tried to have sexual relations with him. Joseph was tempted, but in the end resisted. The Egyptian minself concluded that the slave had asked the wife to apologize. This fascinating episode reflects not only Islamic attitudes toward slavery, but sharply different moral codes for men and women. Muslim men had the right to demand sexual relations with their female slaves. The women had no right to refuse. This was different for male slaves owned by women.

Surah 16 (The Bee)

Verse 16.71

16.71: “And Allah has made some of you excel others in the means of subsistence, so those who are made to excel do not give away their sustenance to those whom their right hands possess so that they should be equal therein; is it then the favor of Allah which they deny?”

Here the Koran requires that Muslims who are affluent to share their “subsistence” with their slaves. This is one of several Koranic passages that require a Muslim to treat his slaves humanely, but it isalso one of many passages which recognizes slavery as a acceptable practice and part of the normal structure of society. There is no hint of duisapproval for slave holding.

Verse 16.75

16.75: “Allah sets forth a parable: (consider) a slave, the property of another, (who) has no power over anything, and one whom We have granted from Ourselves a goodly sustenance so he spends from it secretly and openly; are the two alike? (All) praise is due to Allah!”

This is a particularly important passage because it addresses slavery in more than a passing manner. Many other Koranic references are indirect or deal with the humane treatment of slaves. This passage strikes at the essential inequality of man and essentially justifies both inequaliy and savery as aform of inequality. Here slavery is presented as a divine dispensation–essentially God in the Koran tells Muslims that slavery is not only acceptable but that he endorsed it. This is one of many parables in ghe Koran. It compares two individuals: 1) a slave who is owned and thus completely powerless and 2) a freeman who God has granted “a goodly sustenance” which he is free to spend. Since the vision of God expressed in the Koran is the granter or denier of all benefits. The freeman’s fortune and the slave’s misfortune are both the work of God. Then the Koran poses a rhetorical question “Are the two alike?” Muhammad in the Koran is clearly justifying inequality. It is seen as the natural order of society. Thus a Muslim need have no concerns about in employing and exploiting his slaves, subject only to the Koranic provisions concerning the treatment of slaves.

Surah 23 (The Believers)

Verses 23.1-6

23.1-6: “Successful indeed are the believers, Who are humble in their prayers, And who keep aloof from what is vain, And who are givers of poor-rate, And who guard their private parts, Except before their mates (spouses) or those whom their right hands possess, for they surely are not blameable.”

This is the Koranic verse that gives the slave owner the right of sexual favors over his female slaves. The term “guarding the private parts” is a polite way of expressing sexual intercourse. , and it is said that this is not blameable if indulges with wives and slaves. The passage seems to be gender neutral. (Perhaps gender is more apparent in the Arabic original.) Een so it has been interpreted by Koranic scholars as meaning males slave owners have a right for sexual favors from their female slaves, but nor from male slaves which is prohibited by the Koran nor do femle slave owneers have the right of sexual favors from male slaves. It is also a Koranic verse that clearly descriminates against women. The verse also affects how the humane treatment od slaves is defined in Islam. I do not believe that the Bible allows slave owners sexual privliges. Of course slave owners in America and Latin America commonly took advantage of their slaves. It was, however, something seen as distateful and not openly admitted. The Koran does not address the question of the status are responsibility of the children fathered by slave owners.

Surah 24 (The Light)

Verse 24:31

24.31: “And say to the believing women that they cast down their looks and guard their private parts and do not display their ornaments except what appears thereof, and let them wear their head-coverings over their bosoms, and not display their ornaments except to their husbands or their fathers, or the fathers of their husbands, or their sons, or the sons of their husbands, or their brothers, or their brothers’ sons, or their sisters’ sons, or their women, or those whom their right hands possess, or the male servants not having need (of women), or the children who have not attained knowledge of what is hidden of women; and let them not strike their feet so that what they hide of their ornaments may be known; and turn to Allah all of you, O believers! so that you may be successful.”

This is a very important Koranic verse. It is the verse used to justify modest dress for women. The verse is a little vague and does not provide precise detail as to just how women should be covered. Muslim fundamentalists insist that the veil and even the burqa are required and that women who fail to comply should be arrested or beaten. More moderate Muslims maintains that it only requires modest dress and head scarves. As regards slavery there is an interesting passage. Included in the list of indiciduals before which women need nor be covered are the family slaves and here the reference in context is to male skaves. The Koran uses the phrase those that “the right hand possess”–a commonly used term in the Koran meaning slaves. I am not entirely sure why the Koran refers to slaves “not having need” (of women). This may be a reference to eunchs, but more likely it is just the assumtion that male slaves had no right to sexual relations outside of those sanctioned by his owner. It is not entirely clear why Mohammed included slaves on this list. Perhaps it was that slaves were so common in Arabia and important to the running of the household thst it was not practical. Or perhaps slaves were just taken dor granted. It woukd be interested to know just how Koranic scholars explain thrir inclusion on the list.

Verse 24:32

24.32: “And marry those among you who are single and those who are fit among your male slaves and your female slaves; if they are needy, Allah will make them free from want out of His grace; and Allah is Ample-giving, Knowing.”

Koranic scholars use this passage to justify the marriages of slaves with other slaves and slaves with free individuals, including their owners. Muslim slave masters did not normally marry their slaves. There were of course instances when this did occur resulting from particularly strong bonds of affection developing between an owner and a particular slave. It was, however, not the normal practice. It could cause problens with a man’s other wives. And as Islam gives a male (but not a female) skave owner to demand sexual favors from female slaves, men for the most part at no real incentive to marry a slave. Koranic scholars have also used this verse to give a slave owber the right to order a slave to marry and to decide who they should marry. He could also decide to prohibit a slave from marraying. There was, however, a financial incentive in permitting slave marriages. Under Islam, children born to slave couple are legally slaves. This verse essentially provides religious sanction for breeding slaves.

Verse 24.33

24.33: “And let those who do not find the means to marry keep chaste until Allah makes them free from want out of His grace. And (as for) those who ask for a writing from among those [slaves] whom your right hands possess, give them the writing if you know any good in them, and give them of the wealth of Allah which He has given you; and do not compel your slave girls to prostitution, when they desire to keep chaste, in order to seek the frail good of this world’s life; and whoever compels them, then surely after their compulsion Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.”

This is a rather difficult passage to understand. It seems to say that a slave should be permitted to earn their living if they chose to do so and they could not be compeled to earn money for their master, except when an agreement was reached between the slave and the owner. And such work can not include prostitution. (Prostitution here does not include the owner demanding sexual favors which is authorized by the Koran.) In such cases part of the money earned should be use for eventual emancipation–mukatabah. Islamic tradition promotes, but does not require mukatabah. Mukatabah was normally not a simple matter, but often required a formal written agreement. The “writing” or agreement details the conditions required fir freedom. This usually included the payment of a stated sum of money. The question arises as to just where the slaves acquires the needed funds. Perhaps a relative would pay for his freedom. Or a slave promoses to repay his owner out of future earnings. He thus becomes an indentured servant as if he fails to pay the persc=scribed sum, he reverts to slavery.

Surah 33 (The Clans)

Verse 33.50

33.50: “O Prophet! surely We have made lawful to you your wives whom you have given their dowries, and those [slaves] whom your right hand possesses out of those whom Allah has given to you as prisoners of war, and the daughters of your paternal uncles and the daughters of your paternal aunts, and the daughters of your maternal uncles and the daughters of your maternal aunts who fled with you; and a believing woman if she gave herself to the Prophet, if the Prophet desired to marry her — specially for you, not for the (rest of) believers; We know what We have ordained for them concerning their wives and those whom their right hands possess in order that no blame may attach to you; and Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.”

Interpretation

The Koran is writen to a large extent as poetry. The meaning of many verses seem very clear. Others verses are much more difficult to understand. Thus after the various verses here, we have attempted to assess just what point Mohammed or if you are a Muslim God was attempting to make. What the Koran says is of course fixed, although translarions from the original Arabic vary. Interpretations can, however, be highly variable. We have attempted to the bst of our ability assess the meaning of these veses. We incourage readrs to agree or disagree with out assessment or to provide insights of their own so we can beter understand just swhat the Korn says about slavery.

Importance

The subject of slavery and Islamic law is much more extensive than just the Koran. There are the Hadiths, a vast body of law and scholarly writing. What the Koran say about slavery, howver,is of centeal importance. To most Muslims, the Koran is the actual world of God and its teachings can not be questioned. Varying interpretations are possible, although in many Mulims countries, interpretations varying from the majority view can be dangerous. Given the centrality of the Koran to Muslims, Koranic verses overide all other scholarly sources such as the Hadiths. Thus any assessment of slavery in the Muslim wrld has to begin with an understanding of what the Koran says about the institution.

Assessment

slavery is clearly scationed in the Koran and many Arabs and othet Muslims believe that the Koran is the literal word of God which can not be questioned by our more enlightened modern attitudes on social values and human rights. There are many references to slavery in the Koran. Some authors desribe this as Mohammed’s attitude toward slavery, but this is not how many Muslims view it. Remember that Mohammed was a prophet, God’s messenger. More correctly, the Koranic verses to many Muslims provide a statement of God’s views on slavery. The clear conclusion from all these passages is that God saw slavery as a natural aspect of human relations. This explains why there was been no abolitionist movement within Islam and why it was primarily the British Royal Navy that ended the Arab slave trade in the Indian Ocean. The many passages in the Koran mentioning slavery are rather ambigious, not unlike the Bible. Often the point of the passage is not clear. We can offer some suggestions as to the meaning. But we certainly do not pretend to be Islamic scholars. Reader comments are invited to help us better understand these various passages. One interesting aspect here is the number of references to which a Muslim might free a slave as the consequence for violating a Koranic injuction. This would make holding slaves a useful practice beyond the actual services they might render. It is notable the number of the 114 surah/sura (chapters) of the Koran that have refences to slavery. Sharia (Islamic) law based on the Koranic verses here regulateed all aspects of the slave’s status. Sharia detailed the obligations of masters and slaves and created a legal foundation for the the relations between them. Shaira encourages manumission, but does not require it. It is important to note that there is no Koranic distinction between types of slaves such as race, work assignments, or origins of the slaves. There is one exception here. There are detinctions associated with gender related to sexual relations. Despite the lack of Koranic justification, however, social strarification in the Muslim world based on race did emerge. White slaves were considered the most valuable and raked higest in social status. Among the black Africans, Ethiopian slaves were ranked highest. [Toledano, pp. 3-5.]

Sources

Toledano, Ehud R. The Ottoman Slave Trade and its Suppression, 1840-1890 (Princeton University Press, 1982), 307p..

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It’s this last phrase (“only begotten” used in the KJV, NASB and the NKJV) that causes problems. False teachers have latched onto this phrase to try to prove their false teaching that Jesus Christ isn’t God; i.e., that Jesus isn’t equal in essence to God as the Second Person of the Trinity. They see the word “begotten” and say that Jesus is a created being because only someone who had a beginning in time can be “begotten.” What this fails to note is that “begotten” is an English translation of a Greek word. As such, we have to look at the original meaning of the Greek word, not transfer English meanings into the text.

So what does monogenes mean? According to the Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (BAGD, 3rd Edition), monogenes has two primary definitions. The first definition is “pertaining to being the only one of its kind within a specific relationship.” This is the meaning attached to its use in Hebrews 11:17when the writer refers to Isaac as Abraham’s “only begotten son.” Abraham had more than one son, but Isaac was the only son he had by Sarah and the only son of the covenant.

The second definition is “pertaining to being the only one of its kind or class, unique in kind.” This is the meaning that is implied in John 3:16. In fact, John is the only New Testament writer who uses this word in reference to Jesus (see John 1:14, 18; 3:16, 18; 1 John 4:9). John was primarily concerned with demonstrating that Jesus was the Son of God (John 20:31), and he uses this word to highlight Jesus as uniquely God’s Son—sharing the same divine nature as God—as opposed to believers who are God’s sons and daughters through faith.

The bottom line is that terms such as “Father” and “Son,” that are descriptive of God and Jesus, are human terms used to help us understand the relationship between the different Persons of the Trinity. If you can understand the relationship between a human father and a human son, then you can understand, in part, the relationship between the First and Second Persons of the Trinity. The analogy breaks down if you try to take it too far and teach, as some Christian cults (such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses), that Jesus was literally “begotten” as in “produced” or “created” by God the Father.

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Muslims often claim that Islam is better religion for black people because Islam is against slavery. Unfortunately, this is a lie and brasen hypocrisy. Muhammad kept slaves and even had female sex slaves. Also, the Islamic god allah promises Muslims that they will have slaves for eternity, by the thousands, in the Jenna:

FROM QUR’AN:

Qur’an (33:50) – “O Prophet! We have made lawful to thee thy wives to whom thou hast paid their dowers; and those (slaves) whom thy right hand possesses out of the prisoners of war whom Allah has assigned to thee…”

Qur’an (23:5-6) “..who abstain from sex, except with those joined to them in the marriage bond, or (the captives) whom their right hands possess…”

Qur’an (4:24) – “And all married women (are forbidden unto you) save those (captives) whom your right hands possess…”

Qur’an (8:69) – “But (now) enjoy what ye took in war, lawful and good…”

Qur’an (24:32) – “And marry those among you who are single and those who are fit among your male slaves and your female slaves…”

Qur’an (2:178) – “O ye who believe! Retaliation is prescribed for you in the matter of the murdered; the freeman for the freeman, and the slave for the slave, and the female for the female.”

Qur’an (16:75) – “Allah sets forth the Parable (of two men: one) a slave under the dominion of another; He has no power of any sort; and (the other) a man on whom We have bestowed goodly favours from Ourselves, and he spends thereof (freely), privately and publicly: are the two equal? (By no means;) praise be to Allah.”

FROM HADITH:

Bukhari (80:753) – “The Prophet said, ‘The freed slave belongs to the people who have freed him.’”

Bukhari (52:255) – The slave who accepts Islam and continues serving his Muslim master will receive a double reward in heaven.

Bukhari (41.598) – Slaves are property. They cannot be freed if an owner has outstanding debt, but can be used to pay off the debt.

Bukhari (62:137) – An account of women taken as slaves in battle by Muhammad’s men after their husbands and fathers were killed. The woman were raped with Muhammad’s approval.

Bukhari (34:432) – Another account of females taken captive and raped with Muhammad’s approval. In this case it is evident that the Muslims intend on selling the women after raping them because they are concerned about devaluing their price by impregnating them. Muhammad is asked about coitus interruptus.

Bukhari (47.765) – A woman is rebuked by Muhammad for freeing a slave girl. The prophet tells her that she would have gotten a greater heavenly reward by giving her to a relative (as a slave).

Bukhari (34:351) – Muhammad sells a slave for money. He was thus a slave trader.

Bukhari (72:734) – Some contemporary Muslims in the West, where slavery is believed to be a horrible crime, are reluctant to believe that Muhammad owned slaves. This is just one of many places in the Hadith where a reference is made to a human being owned by Muhammad. In this case, the slave is of African descent.

Muslim 3901 – Muhammad trades away two black slaves for one Muslim slave.

Muslim 4112 – A man freed six slaves on the event of his death, but Muhammad reversed the emancipation and kept four in slavery to himself. He cast lots to determine which two to free.

Bukhari (47:743) – Muhammad’s own pulpit – from which he preached Islam – was built with slave labor on his command.

Bukhari (59:637) – “The Prophet sent Ali to Khalid to bring the Khumus (of the booty) and I hated Ali, and Ali had taken a bath (after a sexual act with a slave-girl from the Khumus). I said to Khalid, ‘Don’t you see this (i.e. Ali)?’ When we reached the Prophet I mentioned that to him. He said, ‘O Buraida! Do you hate Ali?’ I said, ‘Yes.’ He said, ‘Do you hate him, for he deserves more than that from the Khumlus.’”

Abu Dawud (2150) – “The Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) sent a military expedition to Awtas on the occasion of the battle of Hunain. They met their enemy and fought with them. They defeated them and took them captives. Some of the Companions of the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) were reluctant to have intercourse with the female captives in the presence of their husbands who were unbelievers. So Allah, the Exalted, sent down the Qur’anic verse: (Qur’an 4:24) ‘And all married women (are forbidden) unto you save those (captives) whom your right hands possess.’” This is the background for verse 4:24 of the Qur’an. Not only does Allah grant permission for women to be captured and raped, but allows it to even be done in front of their husbands. (See also Muslim 3432)

Abu Dawud 1814 – “…[Abu Bakr] He then began to beat [his slave] him while the Apostle of Allah (pbuh) was smiling and saying: Look at this man who is in the sacred state (putting on ihram), what is he doing?” The future first caliph of Islam is beating his slave for losing a camel while Muhammad looks on in apparent amusement.

Ibn Ishaq (734) – A slave girl is given a “violent beating” by Ali in the presence of Muhammad, who does nothing about it.

Ibn Ishaq (693) – “Then the apostle sent Sa-d b. Zayd al-Ansari, brother of Abdu’l-Ashal with some of the captive women of Banu Qurayza to Najd and he sold them for horses and weapons.” Muhammad trades away women captured from the Banu Qurayza tribe to non-Muslim slave traders for property. (Their men had been executed after surrendering peacefully without a fight).

Umdat al-Salik (Reliance of the Traveller) (o9.13) – According to Sharia, when a child or woman is taken captive by Muslims, they become slaves by the mere fact of their capture. A captured woman’s previous marriage is immediately annulled.

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(Numbers 31:17-18) – “Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known man intimately. 18″But all the girls who have not known man intimately, spare for yourselves.”

The Midianites were descended from Abraham and Keturah (Gen. 25:1). They inhabited the land of Moab and were apparently involved in seducing Israel into going after false gods. Because the Israelites fell into idolatry this way, God told Moses to order the deaths of all who had bowed to the false gods in that land.

“While Israel remained at Shittim, the people began to play the harlot with the daughters of Moab. 2For they invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. 3So Israel joined themselves to Baal of Peor, and the Lord was angry against Israel. 4And the Lord said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of the people and execute them in broad daylight before the Lord, so that the fierce anger of the Lord may turn away from Israel.” 5So Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Each of you slay his men who have joined themselves to Baal of Peor,” (Num. 25:1-5).

God later instructs the Israelites to deal harshly with the Midianites: “Be hostile to the Midianites and strike them; 18for they have been hostile to you with their tricks, with which they have deceived you in the affair of Peor, and in the affair of Cozbi, the daughter of the leader of Midian, their sister who was slain on the day of the plague because of Peor,” (Num. 25:17-18). Later, when Moses meets the returning Israeli army he was angry because he saw the Medianite survivors. “The Midianite women, he said, should have died because they were directly culpable in Israel’s sin at Baal of Peor. All the women except the virgins were then sentenced to death along with all the boys. This insured the extermination of the Midianites and thus prevented them from ever again seducing Israel to sin….The virgins were spared because they obviously had had no role in the Baal of Peor incident nor could they by themselves perpetuate the Midianite peoples.”

We must understand that God dealt very harshly because it was through the people of Israel that the Messiah would later come. Satan, in his perpetual effort to oppose God, sought to have the people of God fall into false worship and through intermarriage with other people, to destroy the messianic line and make not only the promises of God null and void, but destroy means by which the Messiah could be born. If this could be accomplished, then none would have any hope of deliverance from sin. Therefore, we see in the Old Testament God being very harsh and strict according to the Law.

The Bible condemns even the slightest abuse to a child. I don’t know which verse reads the best Luke or Mark so I’ll type both of them for you.

• Mark 9:42 KJV Jesus said
  “And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in Me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea.”

  Luke 17:2 KJV Jesus said
  “It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.”

  God clearly condemns even the tiniest abuse of a child so how much worse the condemnation or the great offense of sexual assault that hurts not only the body but warps the mind of the child.

  May the Lord rebuke these people who harm little children and God clearly states that He will.

  

To err is human, to apologize for erring is not as noble as to apologize when no apology is needed. – Apostle Paul the 2nd

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ABBOTT and COSTELLO explain unemployment numbers (or, who’s unemployed?)

COSTELLO: I want to talk about the unemployment rate in America.
ABBOTT: Good Subject. Terrible Times. It’s 9%.
COSTELLO: That many people are out of work?
ABBOTT: No, that’s 16%.
COSTELLO: You just said 9%.
ABBOTT: 9% Unemployed.
COSTELLO: Right 9% out of work.
ABBOTT: No, that’s 16%.
COSTELLO: Okay, so it’s 16% unemployed.
ABBOTT: No, that’s 9%…
COSTELLO: WAIT A MINUTE. Is it 9% or 16%?
ABBOTT: 9% are unemployed. 16% are out of work.
COSTELLO: IF you are out of work you are unemployed.
ABBOTT: No, you can’t count the “Out of Work” as the unemployed. You have to look for work to be unemployed.
COSTELLO: BUT THEY ARE OUT OF WORK!!!
ABBOTT: No, you miss my point.
COSTELLO: What point?
ABBOTT: Someone who doesn’t look for work, can’t be counted with those who look for work. It wouldn’t be fair.
COSTELLO: To who?
ABBOTT: The unemployed.
COSTELLO: But they are ALL out of work.
ABBOTT: No, the unemployed are actively looking for work. Those who are out of work stopped looking. They gave up. And, if you give up, you are no longer in the ranks of the unemployed.
COSTELLO: So if you’re off the unemployment roles, that would count as less unemployment?
ABBOTT: Unemployment would go down. Absolutely!
COSTELLO: The unemployment just goes down because you don’t look for work?
ABBOTT: Absolutely it goes down. That’s how you get to 9%. Otherwise it would be 16%. You don’t want to read about 16% unemployment, do ya?
COSTELLO: That would be frightening.
ABBOTT: Absolutely.
COSTELLO: Wait, I got a question for you. That means there are two ways to bring down the unemployment number?
ABBOTT: Two ways is correct.
COSTELLO: Unemployment can go down if someone gets a job?
ABBOTT: Correct.
COSTELLO: And unemployment can also go down if you stop looking for a job?
ABBOTT: Bingo!
COSTELLO: So there are two ways to bring unemployment down, and the easier of the two is to just stop looking for work.
ABBOTT: Now you’re thinking like an economist.
COSTELLO: I don’t even know what the hell I just said! And now you know why Obama’s unemployment figures are improving!”