In Mesopotamia and Egypt, people treated slaves like property. They had no rights or protection. Among the Israelites, people could purchase non-Israelites as slaves. Yet God commanded that they be treated well and not abused. Sometimes a slave was even adopted into a childless family (Genesis 15:2–4).
Slavery continued in New Testament times. However, the Old Testament taught that all people share a common beginning because God created humankind. This belief laid the foundation for the later rejection of slavery.
Slavery began after the first humans sinned. This was the start of power-based relationships replacing those of friendship and communication (see Genesis 3:16).
In the New Testament, Christians promote fellowship and communication by calling themselves “a servant of Christ Jesus"(Romans 1:1; Colossians 4:12; 2 Peter 1:1). In Paul's teachings on "the body of Christ" (1 Corinthians 12:27; Ephesians 4:12), all Christians share a common identity (Galatians 3:28; Colossians 3:11; Philemon 1:16).