Thank you for the debate question, “Do you have any right to refute and contradict the explicit content of the Bible? Is it just your wishful thinking that the Bible is incorrect? (2 Thessalonians 2:11-12)”
If a person is an agnostic, atheists, or theists of another religion, that person has the right to reject the Bible. It is irrelevant to that person. If a person who calls him or herself a Christian, that person may question the authority of the Bible or seek to understand the reasons for the questionable belief or practices.]
As I read of past and present respondents, they would question the practice of slavery. Slavery throughout the ages has been a common practice when one people group defeated another people group. The captives were made slaves. There were also individuals who became indentured servants to pay off a debt.
Slavery in Israel was different from slavery of other countries. A slave can be set free by earning his freedom or by family members. A slave has rights for injury. All slaves have the Sabbath Day as the day of rest. It’s unlike the American slavery as depicted with the movie, Roots. See Exodus 21 and Leviticus 25.
Jewish or Christian slave owners had the right to free their slaves or to treat their slaves more humanly. One must also remember that the Gentiles already had slaves before they became Christians. The Roman government permitted slavery. Slaves were purchased slaves for household chores or workers in the fields. The Apostle Paul reminds slave owners that they too have a master over them. The way the slave owner treated their slaves would infer that is how God will treat them in return.
If a person who says that she or he is a Christian, then that person may question the beliefs and practices. In my opinion, if that person so strongly disagrees with the Scriptures, it is better for that person to not call oneself a Christian. Christians are to live under the Lordship of Jesus
Please remember that the Law was given to the Jewish people to be a holy people before God. For Christians, they are called to witnesses in this world and live a blameless life.
Summary: If a person who isn’t a Christian, the beliefs and practices don’t apply to him or her. A Christian can question the beliefs and practices of the Bible, but she or he can’t establish oneself as the final authority over the Bible. Christians live under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
-Kingston