- You know, there are
some pretty tough things in the
00:00:01.46\00:00:03.57
Bible. And some of them are
really, really hard to explain
00:00:03.57\00:00:06.87
to a modern audience,
like the mention of slavery.
00:00:06.87\00:00:11.24
So what in the
world do we do about that?
00:00:11.24\00:00:13.98
That's our subject on
today's episode of "Authentic."
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[gentle wistful country music]
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Today, we're gonna tackle
one of the more unpleasant parts
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of the Bible, but I
think that if I'm gonna insist
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that everybody should
be reading this whole book,
00:00:42.97\00:00:45.54
well, then we can't just
ignore the inconvenient parts.
00:00:45.54\00:00:49.98
And so, this is
actually gonna be part five
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of a series that I've been doing
00:00:52.81\00:00:54.12
that addresses the questions
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an online skeptic
said she would ask
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if she had an audience with God.
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And one of the most inconvenient
parts of the Bible by far,
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is the fact that it talks about
the institution of slavery,
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and it doesn't
simply condemn it.
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What you and I
would expect to find
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is an outright
condemnation of slavery,
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but you don't.
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In fact, what we seem to
find is a set of guidelines
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on how to own and treat slaves,
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which was the point
this skeptic raised.
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And of course, given the
history of the United States,
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slavery is an
understandably touchy subject,
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because back in
the 19th century,
00:01:31.79\00:01:34.72
when there was a debate raging
over the morality of slavery,
00:01:34.72\00:01:38.73
there were notable
examples of supposed Christians
00:01:38.73\00:01:42.13
who actually used the Bible
to justify what they were doing.
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"Look at this," they would
say, "look, Paul writes a letter
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to a slave owner asking him
to treat his slave with decency
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and he never
condemns the institution."
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And what about
the Old Testament,
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which gives us
guidelines for owning slaves?
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How do you explain that
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if slavery is really
against the will of God?
00:02:01.98\00:02:04.89
So, of course
some people then assume
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that the Bible must be
some kind of oppressive,
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bronze-age document that
actually promotes inequality
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and bigotry.
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If slavery is
supported by the Bible,
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then obviously we should
get rid of the Bible, right?
00:02:18.37\00:02:21.64
It's an understandable opinion,
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but it's also a
little too hasty,
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because the practice of slavery
as you find it in the Bible,
00:02:25.44\00:02:28.98
was nothing like
the slavery practiced
00:02:28.98\00:02:31.88
by plantation
owners in the 19th century.
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An institution, by the way,
that was abolished by Christians
00:02:34.78\00:02:38.45
who knew it was
contrary to the scriptures.
00:02:38.45\00:02:42.32
In fact, there were Christians
00:02:42.32\00:02:43.83
right from the birth of this
nation who warned the founders
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that the continued
practice of slavery
00:02:47.56\00:02:49.70
was going to compromise what
they were trying to accomplish
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when they drafted
the Bill of Rights.
00:02:53.50\00:02:56.10
So, it wasn't the Bible that
led to the practice of slavery
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here in America, even
though the Bible was later used
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by some people to
try and justify it.
00:03:03.75\00:03:06.95
Even so, what should
we do with those passages
00:03:06.95\00:03:10.35
where the Bible
seems to confirm the idea
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that you can own
another human being?
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Well, you should study
it, is what you should do,
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because it isn't at all what
a lot of people think it is.
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One of the most difficult
tasks that you're going to face
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when reading the Bible,
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is to determine
which parts of the Bible
00:03:26.33\00:03:28.30
actually represents
God's ideal for humanity
00:03:28.30\00:03:31.91
and which parts are
simply God's way of dealing with
00:03:31.91\00:03:34.21
our present, broken reality.
00:03:34.21\00:03:36.85
You'll find a good example
of what I'm talking about
00:03:36.85\00:03:39.11
in Jesus' comments on
the institution of marriage,
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when the Pharisees asked him
00:03:42.35\00:03:43.75
to explain his
position on divorce.
00:03:43.75\00:03:46.89
What they were trying to do
00:03:46.89\00:03:48.12
is trap Jesus
into saying something
00:03:48.12\00:03:50.13
that would make
him contradict Moses,
00:03:50.13\00:03:51.96
because they thought that
would undermine his popularity.
00:03:51.96\00:03:56.26
"Is it ever permissible to
get a divorce," they asked.
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And Jesus answered by affirming
what the Bible teaches.
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Here's what it says: "He
answered, 'Have you not read
00:04:02.90\00:04:06.34
that he who created
them from the beginning
00:04:06.34\00:04:08.41
made them male
and female and said,
00:04:08.41\00:04:10.48
"Therefore, a man shall
leave his father and his mother
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and hold fast to his wife,
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and the two shall
become one flesh."
00:04:15.75\00:04:18.29
So they are no
longer two, but one flesh.
00:04:18.29\00:04:21.22
What therefore God
has joined together,
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Let not man separate."
00:04:23.46\00:04:26.39
So, what Jesus does
is to affirm God's ideal,
00:04:26.39\00:04:30.13
his original plan, and
that plan said that marriage
00:04:30.13\00:04:33.57
was supposed to last
the rest of your life.
00:04:33.57\00:04:36.60
In fact, Jesus said that
nobody has the right to separate
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what God has put together.
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And that's when the Pharisees
pounce, because Moses taught
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that divorce was
actually permissible
00:04:45.11\00:04:47.48
under certain
restrictive circumstances.
00:04:47.48\00:04:50.52
And that would seem to
contradict what Jesus said
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was the plain will of God.
00:04:53.22\00:04:55.29
So was Moses at odds with God?
00:04:55.29\00:04:57.76
Was Jesus actually calling
his own status into question?
00:04:57.76\00:05:01.63
"Why then," the Pharisees
asked, "did Moses command one
00:05:01.63\00:05:05.83
to give a certificate of
divorce and to send her away?"
00:05:05.83\00:05:09.54
And that's when
Jesus presented us
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with a very important concept,
00:05:12.04\00:05:14.34
the fact that God
has a perfect ideal,
00:05:14.34\00:05:17.28
but he also has a keen
awareness of the reality
00:05:17.28\00:05:20.05
of our broken existence.
00:05:20.05\00:05:21.45
And he allows
certain things to happen,
00:05:21.45\00:05:25.05
even though they would
never happen in a perfect world.
00:05:25.05\00:05:28.89
So here's how Jesus answers
the question in Matthew 19:8.
00:05:28.89\00:05:32.96
"He said to them, 'Because
of your hardness of heart,
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Moses allowed you
to divorce your wives,
00:05:36.10\00:05:38.77
but from the
beginning it was not so.
00:05:38.77\00:05:41.00
And I say to you,
whoever divorces his wife,
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except for sexual
immorality, and marries another,
00:05:43.57\00:05:47.38
commits adultery.'"
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In other words, what
God allows in this world
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is not
necessarily what he wants.
00:05:52.38\00:05:55.12
And what he
sometimes does is allow us
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to chart our own
course through life.
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But at the same time, he
sets up important guidelines
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in order to mitigate the
damage that we're causing.
00:06:03.32\00:06:07.00
So in the case of
marriage, God tells us,
00:06:07.00\00:06:08.83
"Look, I understand
who and what you are,
00:06:08.83\00:06:12.13
and that you fall a long
way short of my perfect ideal.
00:06:12.13\00:06:16.00
So I'm going to allow this,
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but only within
these specific guidelines."
00:06:18.17\00:06:21.31
The same thing happened
when the nation of Israel
00:06:22.68\00:06:24.31
demanded a king.
00:06:24.31\00:06:25.78
It was not what God had in
mind for his covenant nation,
00:06:25.78\00:06:29.02
but he allowed it,
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and only within
certain specific guidelines.
00:06:30.75\00:06:34.56
So, when it comes to the
issue of slavery in the Bible,
00:06:34.56\00:06:38.33
you've got to ask yourself,
is servitude God's ideal
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for the human race?
00:06:41.90\00:06:43.30
Or was it a response
to the harsh realities
00:06:43.30\00:06:46.10
of living in a broken world?
00:06:46.10\00:06:48.30
Does God value
every individual equally?
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Or does he actually
think that some of us
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are less suited to a
dignified life than others?
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What I wanna propose
is that the first option
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is the right one.
00:06:59.41\00:07:01.18
God was addressing
our broken reality.
00:07:01.18\00:07:04.49
I find it
particularly interesting
00:07:04.49\00:07:06.59
that he laid out his
rules for slave ownership
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pretty much right
after he gave his people
00:07:09.02\00:07:11.26
the 10 Commandments
from the top of Sinai.
00:07:11.26\00:07:14.36
This was a group of people
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who had just
escaped Egyptian slavery,
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and now God
appears to be outlining
00:07:19.87\00:07:22.04
how they should
treat their slaves.
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And in a few minutes, we're
going to explore that story
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in a little more detail.
00:07:28.71\00:07:30.45
But before we do
that, I think it's important
00:07:30.45\00:07:32.55
that we take off our
modern 21st century glasses
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and make an effort to read this
00:07:35.92\00:07:38.35
from an original perspective.
00:07:38.35\00:07:40.72
Unfortunately, our perception
of slavery has been shaped
00:07:40.72\00:07:43.63
by the atrocities
committed here in the new world
00:07:43.63\00:07:46.43
up to the latter
part of the 19th century.
00:07:46.43\00:07:49.00
And so it's easy to think
that this is the same thing,
00:07:49.00\00:07:53.54
and it isn't.
00:07:53.54\00:07:55.04
The Bible's not discussing
an international slave trade,
00:07:55.04\00:07:58.31
where people were
treated worse than animals
00:07:58.31\00:08:00.41
and herded into ships,
where a lot of people died
00:08:00.41\00:08:03.78
before they ever actually
made it to the slave market.
00:08:03.78\00:08:06.98
We're not talking about
stripping away basic human
00:08:06.98\00:08:10.42
dignity, chopping off their
feet if they try to run away
00:08:10.42\00:08:12.62
or separating families
for the sake of a quick buck.
00:08:12.62\00:08:16.69
If we're going to understand
what the Bible is getting at,
00:08:16.69\00:08:19.53
we're gonna have to suspend
our current understanding
00:08:19.53\00:08:22.30
of slavery, and step
back thousands of years
00:08:22.30\00:08:25.37
into a different time and place.
00:08:25.37\00:08:27.87
And what we're gonna find is
that even in a bad situation,
00:08:27.87\00:08:31.84
God actually
preserves human dignity
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and always seems to be
working towards salvation
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and redemption,
usually in spite of us.
00:08:37.95\00:08:41.98
Now, personally, I
find it very telling
00:08:43.08\00:08:45.65
that American slave
owners didn't want their slaves
00:08:45.65\00:08:48.06
to actually read the Bible,
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because it might give
them ideas about dignity,
00:08:49.59\00:08:53.06
freedom, and worth.
00:08:53.06\00:08:54.63
In fact, they produced this,
00:08:54.63\00:08:57.23
something we now
call the Slave Bible.
00:08:57.23\00:09:00.40
It's a pared-back
version of the scriptures
00:09:00.40\00:09:02.64
that deliberately
left out all the parts
00:09:02.64\00:09:05.64
that might give people the idea
00:09:05.64\00:09:07.61
that they were
being treated in a way
00:09:07.61\00:09:09.11
that God didn't approve of.
00:09:09.11\00:09:11.15
In fact, more than
50% of the New Testament
00:09:11.15\00:09:14.28
is missing in
here, and 90% of the Old.
00:09:14.28\00:09:17.62
I'll be right back after this.
00:09:17.62\00:09:19.85
[gentle music]
00:09:19.85\00:09:23.12
- [Narrator] Here at
The Voice of Prophecy,
00:09:23.12\00:09:24.59
we're committed to
creating top-quality programming
00:09:24.59\00:09:27.10
for the whole family,
00:09:27.10\00:09:28.50
like our audio adventure
series, "Discovery Mountain."
00:09:28.50\00:09:31.60
"Discovery Mountain"
is a Bible-based program
00:09:31.60\00:09:34.17
for kids of all
ages and backgrounds.
00:09:34.17\00:09:36.50
Your family will enjoy
the faith-building stories
00:09:36.50\00:09:39.27
from this small
mountain summer camp and town.
00:09:39.27\00:09:42.14
With 24 seasonal
episodes every year,
00:09:42.14\00:09:44.61
and fresh content every week,
00:09:44.61\00:09:46.78
there's always a new
adventure just on the horizon.
00:09:46.78\00:09:50.05
- If slavery is a
practice ordained by God,
00:09:53.09\00:09:55.42
as some people say, if the
scriptures really promote it,
00:09:55.42\00:09:58.96
then you have to wonder
why American slave owners
00:09:58.96\00:10:01.30
went to so much
trouble to keep their slaves
00:10:01.30\00:10:03.37
from actually reading the Bible.
00:10:03.37\00:10:06.07
In some cases, it was just
a matter of basic literacy.
00:10:06.07\00:10:09.40
If you can't read,
00:10:09.40\00:10:10.67
you'll never
discover what the Bible says.
00:10:10.67\00:10:13.07
And in other cases, they
actually pared back the Bible,
00:10:13.07\00:10:16.51
cutting it down to the
bits that wouldn't give readers
00:10:16.51\00:10:19.25
the notion that their rightful
God-given state of existence
00:10:19.25\00:10:23.49
is liberty.
00:10:23.49\00:10:25.02
But of course,
skeptics can still easily point
00:10:25.02\00:10:28.06
to parts of the
Bible that seem to suggest
00:10:28.06\00:10:30.36
that God was in favor
of what we were doing.
00:10:30.36\00:10:33.23
And that's where the
confusing practice of slavery
00:10:33.23\00:10:35.73
in America, with the
way the Israelites did it,
00:10:35.73\00:10:38.53
becomes a serious problem.
00:10:38.53\00:10:40.67
What the Bible
describes is nothing at all
00:10:40.67\00:10:44.14
like what we were doing.
00:10:44.14\00:10:45.51
Let me show you what I mean.
00:10:46.41\00:10:49.11
And I think maybe
the best place to start
00:10:49.11\00:10:51.21
is with the Bible's
instructions for slavery
00:10:51.21\00:10:53.42
found in Exodus 21.
00:10:53.42\00:10:56.52
Now remember, this was
given to a group of people
00:10:56.52\00:10:59.25
who had just escaped a
life of slavery in Egypt.
00:10:59.25\00:11:02.72
And so what you'd expect to
find is outright condemnation
00:11:02.72\00:11:06.09
of the practice, but you don't.
00:11:06.09\00:11:08.86
And that's because God was
proposing something different
00:11:08.86\00:11:11.47
than the idea we have.
00:11:11.47\00:11:13.74
So here we go, in Exodus
21, starting right at the top
00:11:13.74\00:11:16.64
of the chapter where it
says, "Now these are the rules
00:11:16.64\00:11:20.01
that you shall set before them.
00:11:20.01\00:11:21.81
When you buy a Hebrew
slave, he shall serve six years,
00:11:21.81\00:11:25.35
and in the seventh he
shall go out free, for nothing."
00:11:25.35\00:11:29.68
One of the first
things we should notice
00:11:29.68\00:11:31.49
is the fact that there was
an all-important cap on slavery.
00:11:31.49\00:11:34.92
It couldn't last
more than six years.
00:11:34.92\00:11:36.76
And in the seventh year,
you had to liberate your slave.
00:11:36.76\00:11:40.76
And that's because
among God's people,
00:11:40.76\00:11:42.63
servitude was a way of
handling economic inequality.
00:11:42.63\00:11:47.07
This is a clear case where
God is permitting his people
00:11:47.07\00:11:50.07
to do something, even though
it's obviously not his ideal.
00:11:50.07\00:11:54.38
One of the things that
human beings have struggled with
00:11:55.84\00:11:57.51
since time immemorial
is the unequal distribution
00:11:57.51\00:12:00.38
of resources.
00:12:00.38\00:12:01.75
No matter what we try,
we always seem to end up
00:12:01.75\00:12:04.19
in a situation where
some people become really,
00:12:04.19\00:12:06.52
really rich and other
people end up living a life
00:12:06.52\00:12:09.46
of brutal subsistence.
00:12:09.46\00:12:11.53
It happens in
free market economies,
00:12:11.53\00:12:13.56
and it also happens
in Marxist economies,
00:12:13.56\00:12:16.30
which seem to
produce even more poverty.
00:12:16.30\00:12:19.37
And on this side
of the kingdom of God,
00:12:19.37\00:12:21.20
there is no solution in sight.
00:12:21.20\00:12:22.94
Even Jesus said, you
always have the poor with you.
00:12:22.94\00:12:26.51
This is one of
the hard realities
00:12:27.58\00:12:29.11
of living in a world populated
by sinful and selfish people.
00:12:29.11\00:12:32.38
They will always, always,
always put their own desires
00:12:32.38\00:12:36.28
ahead of somebody else's needs.
00:12:36.28\00:12:38.25
And it seems that no
matter what measures we take
00:12:38.25\00:12:41.02
to mitigate the
problem, we always come back
00:12:41.02\00:12:43.49
to the same situation.
00:12:43.49\00:12:45.46
On the one hand, we
have those who tell us
00:12:45.46\00:12:47.30
that free markets are
the ultimate solution.
00:12:47.30\00:12:49.66
A rising tide lifts all boats.
00:12:49.66\00:12:51.90
And to a large
extent that's been true.
00:12:51.90\00:12:54.30
It is a system that
historically speaking
00:12:54.30\00:12:56.54
lifted more people
out of abject poverty
00:12:56.54\00:12:59.31
and granted more people personal
liberty than anything else.
00:12:59.31\00:13:03.18
It's a system built
on rugged individualism,
00:13:03.18\00:13:05.65
which is simultaneously both
its strength and its weakness,
00:13:05.65\00:13:10.72
because while it certainly
promotes self-sufficiency,
00:13:12.12\00:13:13.79
it can also demolish
any sense of responsibility
00:13:13.79\00:13:16.73
for our fellow human
beings, to the point where,
00:13:16.73\00:13:20.26
in Matthew 25, Jesus
openly condemns those
00:13:20.26\00:13:23.67
who ignore suffering.
00:13:23.67\00:13:25.60
But then on the other hand,
we have those who feel like
00:13:27.00\00:13:28.57
more government is the answer.
00:13:28.57\00:13:30.07
So they build a system
they say will produce equality.
00:13:30.07\00:13:33.94
But the price for
that is to strip people
00:13:33.94\00:13:35.91
of their individual worth,
00:13:35.91\00:13:37.31
treating them
like wards of the state
00:13:37.31\00:13:39.21
instead of real flesh
and blood human beings.
00:13:39.21\00:13:42.82
As Stalin, or in some versions,
Lenin, was rumored to say,
00:13:42.82\00:13:46.92
"If you wanna make an omelet,
00:13:46.92\00:13:48.26
you're gonna have
to break a few eggs."
00:13:48.26\00:13:50.29
And those eggs,
sadly, were people.
00:13:50.29\00:13:53.03
Now, the quote is a
bit of an urban legend
00:13:53.03\00:13:55.83
because it actually came
from Robert Louis Stevenson,
00:13:55.83\00:13:58.50
but the attitude was there
in the former Soviet Union.
00:13:58.50\00:14:01.77
So far, our human attempts
to provide permanent solutions
00:14:03.14\00:14:06.47
to poverty have
pretty much failed.
00:14:06.47\00:14:09.08
And while some of
our so-called solutions
00:14:09.08\00:14:11.15
are clearly better than others,
on this side of paradise,
00:14:11.15\00:14:14.65
I think we're gonna
continue to meet with failure.
00:14:14.65\00:14:17.35
Of course, that
doesn't mean we shouldn't try,
00:14:17.35\00:14:19.52
because Jesus clearly
expects us to do something
00:14:19.52\00:14:22.86
about pain and suffering.
00:14:22.86\00:14:24.56
That much is
clear in Matthew 25.
00:14:24.56\00:14:27.66
But in this side
of the second coming,
00:14:27.66\00:14:29.73
we're not gonna find
a permanent solution.
00:14:29.73\00:14:32.53
What we have in Exodus
21 is an honest recognition
00:14:33.90\00:14:37.24
of our brutal situation.
00:14:37.24\00:14:39.27
Some people in this broken world
00:14:39.27\00:14:40.71
are going to meet
with incredible hardship.
00:14:40.71\00:14:43.11
And what you could
do about your situation
00:14:43.11\00:14:45.31
back in those days
was sell your labor.
00:14:45.31\00:14:49.12
You could actually sell
yourself into servanthood,
00:14:49.12\00:14:51.39
becoming a full-time
employee for somebody wealthy,
00:14:51.39\00:14:54.72
and that would provide
sustenance for your family,
00:14:54.72\00:14:57.89
or even settle your debts.
00:14:57.89\00:15:00.86
This wasn't a case
of people rounding up
00:15:00.86\00:15:02.63
unsuspecting victims
and selling them as slaves.
00:15:02.63\00:15:05.63
This was a case of individuals
00:15:05.63\00:15:07.10
who needed to get
their debt under control.
00:15:07.10\00:15:09.87
And that happened
in one of two ways.
00:15:09.87\00:15:12.61
Either you were a
criminal, a thief,
00:15:13.74\00:15:15.51
and you were
required to make things right,
00:15:15.51\00:15:18.25
or you were a person who
ran into financial trouble
00:15:18.25\00:15:20.75
and you needed some
kind of escape valve.
00:15:20.75\00:15:23.72
Either way, selling
yourself into servitude
00:15:23.72\00:15:26.62
became an emergency
measure for somebody
00:15:26.62\00:15:28.86
who found themselves in some
kind of financial free fall.
00:15:28.86\00:15:32.63
And from this point
forward in the text,
00:15:32.63\00:15:35.06
you'll find a
series of rules designed
00:15:35.06\00:15:36.90
to keep things neat and tidy.
00:15:36.90\00:15:39.13
If you sold
yourself into slavery
00:15:39.13\00:15:41.07
and you were single,
you would leave your master
00:15:41.07\00:15:43.97
still a single man.
00:15:43.97\00:15:45.67
In other words, there was a
plan to keep the ledger balanced
00:15:45.67\00:15:48.28
so that nobody could complain
that the period of servitude
00:15:48.28\00:15:51.28
was somehow
unfair, or that somebody,
00:15:51.28\00:15:53.85
whether the
purchaser or the servant,
00:15:53.85\00:15:56.15
had been taken advantage of.
00:15:56.15\00:15:58.29
There was even a provision
that if the slave felt like
00:15:58.29\00:16:00.69
he'd like to stay, he could
actually sign on permanently.
00:16:00.69\00:16:05.16
Here's what it says.
00:16:05.16\00:16:06.80
"But if the slave plainly says,
'I love my master, my wife,
00:16:06.80\00:16:09.83
and my children; I
will not go out free,'
00:16:09.83\00:16:12.80
then his master
shall bring him to God
00:16:12.80\00:16:14.54
and he shall bring him
to the door or the doorpost.
00:16:14.54\00:16:17.11
And his master shall bore
his ear through with an awl,
00:16:17.11\00:16:19.81
and he shall be
his slave forever."
00:16:19.81\00:16:23.21
So, what are we
supposed to make of that?
00:16:23.21\00:16:25.81
Well, if he
chooses to get married
00:16:25.81\00:16:27.58
during his time of
indentured servitude,
00:16:27.58\00:16:29.62
he's supposed to leave
his wife and kids behind,
00:16:29.62\00:16:32.32
because he agreed to
labor for a set amount.
00:16:32.32\00:16:35.12
And by acquiring a family,
00:16:35.12\00:16:36.66
he's earning
more than was agreed.
00:16:36.66\00:16:38.93
Again, it's a matter
of keeping the ledger
00:16:38.93\00:16:41.00
balanced and clear.
00:16:41.00\00:16:42.70
So if he wants to stay, he can,
00:16:42.70\00:16:44.53
and that was a
matter of personal choice.
00:16:44.53\00:16:47.94
And this is obviously
one of the key differences
00:16:47.94\00:16:50.61
between this
account in the Bible
00:16:50.61\00:16:52.07
and the atrocities we
committed here in America.
00:16:52.07\00:16:55.38
There were clear
rules designed to preserve
00:16:55.38\00:16:57.58
everybody's dignity.
00:16:57.58\00:16:59.28
And unless you were a criminal
who couldn't pay your debt,
00:16:59.28\00:17:02.75
this was a matter of free will.
00:17:02.75\00:17:05.19
And above it all,
you have God saying,
00:17:05.19\00:17:06.72
"I understand why you
think you need to do this,
00:17:06.72\00:17:09.62
but listen, this
doesn't last forever,
00:17:09.62\00:17:11.99
and I'm drawing
a line in the sand,
00:17:11.99\00:17:13.86
this does not go
past the seventh year."
00:17:13.86\00:17:17.50
So, maybe think about it
in terms of a labor contract.
00:17:17.50\00:17:20.64
I will perform six years
of labor in exchange for X,
00:17:20.64\00:17:25.27
which is what Jacob did
when he wanted to marry Rachel.
00:17:25.27\00:17:27.74
Long before these
rules were drafted,
00:17:27.74\00:17:29.84
he gave seven years
of servitude to Laban
00:17:29.84\00:17:32.78
in exchange for his daughter.
00:17:32.78\00:17:34.88
Of course, we might not like it,
00:17:34.88\00:17:37.42
and we might have a lot of
trouble not thinking about this
00:17:37.42\00:17:40.52
from our 21st
century perspective,
00:17:40.52\00:17:43.06
but put back in
its historical context,
00:17:43.06\00:17:45.53
and suddenly it seems
a little more reasonable
00:17:45.53\00:17:48.50
than the brutal treatment
of slaves in more recent times.
00:17:48.50\00:17:51.83
And again, this
is not God's ideal,
00:17:51.83\00:17:54.30
this is not how he
intended us to live,
00:17:54.30\00:17:57.17
but given the
time and circumstances,
00:17:57.17\00:17:59.91
it starts to look more
like a reasonable compromise
00:17:59.91\00:18:03.28
with a broken way of life.
00:18:03.28\00:18:04.91
Now, of course, I'm
oversimplifying this
00:18:06.05\00:18:07.98
because some of you will already
know that I haven't gotten
00:18:07.98\00:18:10.99
to the part where a man can
sell his daughter into slavery,
00:18:10.99\00:18:14.76
which really complicates
things by mixing slavery
00:18:14.76\00:18:17.56
with what appears to be the
clear mistreatment of women.
00:18:17.56\00:18:21.83
Chapter 21:7 says,
"When a man sells his daughter
00:18:21.83\00:18:25.73
as a slave, she shall not
go out as the male slaves do."
00:18:25.73\00:18:29.80
That would appear to
be a huge ethical problem,
00:18:29.80\00:18:33.21
which I'll deal with
as soon as we come back
00:18:33.21\00:18:35.98
from this break.
00:18:35.98\00:18:37.71
[gentle music]
00:18:37.71\00:18:40.82
- [Narrator] Dragons,
beasts, cryptic statues.
00:18:40.82\00:18:45.09
Bible prophecy can be
incredibly vivid and confusing.
00:18:45.09\00:18:49.69
If you've ever read
Daniel or Revelation
00:18:49.69\00:18:51.83
and come away scratching
your head, you're not alone.
00:18:51.83\00:18:54.86
Our free "Focus on
Prophecy" guides are designed
00:18:54.86\00:18:57.80
to help you unlock
the mysteries of the Bible
00:18:57.80\00:19:00.10
and deepen your understanding
of God's plan for you
00:19:00.10\00:19:03.04
and our world.
00:19:03.04\00:19:04.21
Study online or
request them by mail,
00:19:04.21\00:19:06.57
and start bringing
prophecy into focus today.
00:19:06.57\00:19:09.54
- You know, it's one thing
to sell yourself into slavery,
00:19:10.91\00:19:12.85
but what do we do with the
guy who sells his daughter?
00:19:12.85\00:19:15.62
To the 21st-century mind,
00:19:16.45\00:19:18.39
it seems morally
repugnant on a number of levels.
00:19:18.39\00:19:21.89
Not only are we
dealing with selling people
00:19:21.89\00:19:24.06
against their will,
00:19:24.06\00:19:25.29
but we're treating
women differently from men,
00:19:25.29\00:19:27.83
and it seems to be God's idea.
00:19:27.83\00:19:30.23
And for those
who already believe
00:19:30.23\00:19:32.23
that the Bible is some
kind of misogynistic document,
00:19:32.23\00:19:35.64
this can become
fodder for criticism.
00:19:35.64\00:19:38.64
But again, what
we're dealing with
00:19:38.64\00:19:40.88
is God accommodating
himself to our reality,
00:19:40.88\00:19:43.95
the harsh
reality that we created
00:19:43.95\00:19:46.25
quite apart from God's will.
00:19:46.25\00:19:48.45
And we're also reading
this with Western eyes,
00:19:48.45\00:19:50.95
which creates all kinds
of unnecessary friction.
00:19:50.95\00:19:54.39
When you go back and
read it in the context
00:19:54.39\00:19:56.46
in which it was written,
00:19:56.46\00:19:57.73
it actually begins
to make some sense.
00:19:57.73\00:20:00.50
Back in those days,
when the world was mostly
00:20:00.50\00:20:02.63
an agrarian society, your
fortunes were tied to the land.
00:20:02.63\00:20:06.10
And land was passed on to
those most physically capable
00:20:06.10\00:20:09.67
of working it,
which was the men.
00:20:09.67\00:20:12.54
Now I understand,
00:20:12.54\00:20:13.71
you and I would
probably do it differently,
00:20:13.71\00:20:15.24
but again, we're talking
about the world the way it was,
00:20:15.24\00:20:19.08
not the way we wish it was.
00:20:19.08\00:20:21.18
And honestly, you'll find
God taking all kinds of measures
00:20:21.18\00:20:23.99
throughout the
Bible to move the needle
00:20:23.99\00:20:25.95
in the right
direction toward a better world,
00:20:25.95\00:20:29.22
all the way down to the moment
00:20:29.22\00:20:30.73
when he finally took
on humanity for himself,
00:20:30.73\00:20:33.40
and lived here among us.
00:20:33.40\00:20:34.96
But as you and I wait for
the restoration of all things,
00:20:36.40\00:20:39.00
the Bible reveals that God
is patient and long-suffering.
00:20:39.00\00:20:42.64
And back when this was written,
00:20:42.64\00:20:44.27
he was dealing
with a current reality.
00:20:44.27\00:20:47.64
Let's imagine a
father is incredibly poor.
00:20:47.64\00:20:50.11
He's got nothing
to offer his daughter
00:20:50.11\00:20:51.98
except a long life of
hardship, or even a short life,
00:20:51.98\00:20:55.52
depending on how bad it is.
00:20:55.52\00:20:57.82
On the other side of
town is a wealthy man
00:20:57.82\00:20:59.89
who could easily
provide for your daughter,
00:20:59.89\00:21:02.16
and you hope against all odds
00:21:02.16\00:21:03.89
that he might show interest
in your daughter and marry her,
00:21:03.89\00:21:07.23
an arrangement that would
probably be a permanent solution
00:21:07.23\00:21:10.53
to her poverty.
00:21:10.53\00:21:12.03
It appears to be win-win.
00:21:12.83\00:21:14.94
There's a
settlement for the family,
00:21:14.94\00:21:16.44
which helps curve their poverty,
00:21:16.44\00:21:18.21
and the daughter's
placed with a rich family
00:21:18.21\00:21:20.34
where her lot is certainly
better than it was at home.
00:21:20.34\00:21:23.51
And I know, the word we have
in the English Bible is slave,
00:21:23.51\00:21:27.08
which implies harsh
and regular mistreatment,
00:21:27.08\00:21:30.22
but that's a
misunderstanding that you and I
00:21:30.22\00:21:31.92
are reading into the text.
00:21:31.92\00:21:33.76
You could think of this
more like household chores.
00:21:33.76\00:21:37.46
If you read the
passage carefully,
00:21:37.46\00:21:39.03
you'll discover that the
intention with this arrangement
00:21:39.03\00:21:41.86
was actually marriage.
00:21:41.86\00:21:43.40
It says, "She shall not go
out as the male slaves do,"
00:21:43.40\00:21:46.53
which at first
glance makes it look like
00:21:46.53\00:21:48.30
she doesn't have the
same privileges and rights
00:21:48.30\00:21:50.81
as a male slave, but she does.
00:21:50.81\00:21:54.24
The Bible makes it clear
that she also gets to leave
00:21:54.24\00:21:56.51
in the seventh year.
00:21:56.51\00:21:58.05
There is no difference in
the way that she's treated,
00:21:58.05\00:22:00.18
except with regard to one thing.
00:22:00.18\00:22:02.68
She has the ability to escape
servitude through marriage.
00:22:02.68\00:22:06.99
If the master likes
her or the son likes her
00:22:06.99\00:22:09.56
and they marry her, she's free.
00:22:09.56\00:22:11.93
And she's to be
treated, it says,
00:22:11.93\00:22:13.29
with the full
honor of a real wife.
00:22:13.29\00:22:15.73
And even if the
master or the son
00:22:15.73\00:22:17.57
goes on to marry other women,
00:22:17.57\00:22:19.50
she must never be
treated as a lesser wife
00:22:19.50\00:22:22.20
because she
used to be a servant.
00:22:22.20\00:22:24.57
It says, "If he takes
another wife to himself,
00:22:24.57\00:22:26.91
he shall not diminish
her food, her clothing,
00:22:26.91\00:22:29.48
or her marital rights."
00:22:29.48\00:22:32.08
And if he
doesn't wanna marry her,
00:22:32.08\00:22:34.12
she goes back to her family.
00:22:34.12\00:22:36.32
Now again, you and
I might not like this,
00:22:36.32\00:22:38.39
and you might still think
the Bible is some outdated,
00:22:38.39\00:22:40.96
bronze-age document
that promotes misogyny.
00:22:40.96\00:22:44.96
But then we're asking
the world of 3,500 years ago
00:22:44.96\00:22:49.06
to be exactly like the
world we live in right now,
00:22:49.06\00:22:51.93
and that's just not the case.
00:22:51.93\00:22:54.67
And if time should
last, you could be sure
00:22:54.67\00:22:56.57
that the people
living centuries from now
00:22:56.57\00:22:58.47
will look back at us and
think we were barbarians,
00:22:58.47\00:23:01.98
no matter how
enlightened we think we are.
00:23:01.98\00:23:04.31
And we're also
assuming that all of this
00:23:04.31\00:23:06.41
was God's idea in the
first place, and it wasn't.
00:23:06.41\00:23:09.95
I mean, just remember
the words that God spoke
00:23:11.05\00:23:12.92
to Adam and Eve during
the exit interview from Eden.
00:23:12.92\00:23:16.19
"Look," God said, "you had
a perfect, painless existence,
00:23:16.19\00:23:19.59
but now that you've
decided to go your own way,
00:23:19.59\00:23:21.73
I'm gonna let you.
00:23:21.73\00:23:23.30
But it does mean that
life is going to be hard
00:23:23.30\00:23:25.93
and you're
going to have to exist
00:23:25.93\00:23:27.34
by the sweat of your brow."
00:23:27.34\00:23:29.20
And from that point forward,
God moves heaven and Earth
00:23:29.20\00:23:31.94
to accommodate our new reality,
00:23:31.94\00:23:34.34
to put clear limits around our
ability to destroy ourselves.
00:23:34.34\00:23:39.05
He knew that we were
going to be incredibly selfish
00:23:39.05\00:23:41.62
and make a huge
mess, but he made sure
00:23:41.62\00:23:44.29
that there was a way to keep us
00:23:44.29\00:23:45.65
from just eradicating ourselves.
00:23:45.65\00:23:48.69
At the end of the day, poverty
and suffering are our fault,
00:23:48.69\00:23:52.83
not God's.
00:23:52.83\00:23:54.23
And what you find in
the pages of the Bible
00:23:54.23\00:23:56.23
is an unparalleled ethical code
00:23:56.23\00:23:59.33
that attempts to mitigate
the damage that we cause.
00:23:59.33\00:24:02.94
The idea behind placing your
daughter in a rich man's house
00:24:04.31\00:24:07.01
was to provide a
way out of poverty,
00:24:07.01\00:24:09.51
which is hard for us to fathom
00:24:09.51\00:24:11.01
here in the
modern, wealthy West,
00:24:11.01\00:24:12.71
where even the poorest among us
00:24:12.71\00:24:14.95
live better than most
of our distant ancestors.
00:24:14.95\00:24:18.29
But I've got to tell you,
00:24:18.29\00:24:20.02
I continue to
witness that kind of poverty
00:24:20.02\00:24:21.89
in other places on this planet.
00:24:21.89\00:24:23.76
Where a family with too
many children is starving,
00:24:23.76\00:24:26.73
so they trust the person
who comes along and says,
00:24:26.73\00:24:28.80
"Look, I have a work
arrangement for your daughter
00:24:28.80\00:24:31.70
where she doesn't
have to live like this."
00:24:31.70\00:24:34.64
Most of us here don't live
with that kind of desperation,
00:24:34.64\00:24:38.01
so we don't understand.
00:24:38.01\00:24:40.18
But it is still
happening, and I mean today.
00:24:40.18\00:24:43.78
There was no safety
net 3,500 years ago,
00:24:43.78\00:24:46.28
except for the
ones that God created.
00:24:46.28\00:24:48.88
We find him telling farmers
to leave something behind
00:24:48.88\00:24:51.39
for the poor when
they harvest the crops.
00:24:51.39\00:24:53.76
We find rules for
getting out of crippling debt.
00:24:53.76\00:24:56.83
There was a
prohibition on usury,
00:24:56.83\00:24:59.29
a practice that made
poverty even tougher to escape.
00:24:59.29\00:25:02.40
And we had a win-win arrangement
00:25:02.40\00:25:04.50
where poor children had
a shot at the good life.
00:25:04.50\00:25:07.74
And again, it might be
hard for us to understand now,
00:25:07.74\00:25:11.97
but it wasn't back then.
00:25:11.97\00:25:13.74
I'll be right back after this.
00:25:13.74\00:25:16.14
[gentle music]
00:25:16.14\00:25:19.48
- [Narrator] Life
can throw a lot at us.
00:25:19.48\00:25:21.88
Sometimes we don't
have all the answers.
00:25:21.88\00:25:25.29
But that's where
the Bible comes in.
00:25:25.29\00:25:27.72
It's our guide to a
more fulfilling life.
00:25:27.72\00:25:30.03
Here at the Voice of Prophecy,
00:25:30.83\00:25:32.33
we've created the
Discover Bible guides
00:25:32.33\00:25:34.46
to be your guide to the Bible.
00:25:34.46\00:25:36.10
They're designed to
be simple, easy to use,
00:25:36.10\00:25:38.60
and provide answers to many
of life's toughest questions.
00:25:38.60\00:25:41.60
And, they're absolutely free.
00:25:41.60\00:25:43.64
So jump online
now or give us a call,
00:25:43.64\00:25:45.94
and start your
journey of discovery.
00:25:45.94\00:25:49.01
- We could
probably spend another hour
00:25:49.01\00:25:50.71
dissecting the provisions
God made for escaping poverty,
00:25:50.71\00:25:54.02
but I think we've covered enough
00:25:54.02\00:25:55.18
to make a
really important point.
00:25:55.18\00:25:58.02
This was a matter of God
mitigating the damage we caused,
00:25:58.02\00:26:01.46
and not a matter of
God instituting slavery
00:26:01.46\00:26:04.03
because he's
cruel or vindictive.
00:26:04.03\00:26:07.00
I guess what I want you
to do is just read the Bible,
00:26:07.00\00:26:09.76
read it broadly,
read it honestly.
00:26:09.76\00:26:12.50
I think what
you're gonna find is a God
00:26:12.50\00:26:14.20
who consistently moves
the needle in his direction,
00:26:14.20\00:26:16.91
always pushing us toward a
better, more authentic life,
00:26:16.91\00:26:20.88
without taking away
our freedom to choose.
00:26:20.88\00:26:23.85
He always finds the middle
ground between personal liberty
00:26:23.85\00:26:26.68
and social conscience, and
he always preserves our dignity,
00:26:26.68\00:26:30.89
regardless of what we've done.
00:26:30.89\00:26:33.39
And while we're on the topic,
00:26:33.39\00:26:34.66
let me just spend
half a second talking about
00:26:34.66\00:26:36.83
some of today's
brutal realities,
00:26:36.83\00:26:38.66
and I wanna ask you to help.
00:26:38.66\00:26:40.53
The Voice of Prophecy
sponsors a home for girls
00:26:40.53\00:26:42.93
rescued from human trafficking.
00:26:42.93\00:26:45.10
These are girls
from very poor families,
00:26:45.10\00:26:47.90
and when someone promises
work for their children,
00:26:47.90\00:26:50.47
these desperate
families jump at the chance,
00:26:50.47\00:26:53.04
and then they never
see their kids again.
00:26:53.04\00:26:55.58
These reprehensible
people are putting these girls
00:26:55.58\00:26:57.95
in the sex trade.
00:26:57.95\00:26:59.48
So a few years ago, my
wife Jean met a remarkable woman
00:27:00.95\00:27:03.02
who breaks into these brothels
and rescues these girls,
00:27:03.02\00:27:06.15
and they need a place to go.
00:27:06.15\00:27:08.12
So here's what you could do.
00:27:08.12\00:27:09.66
We've got a home where these
girls get a brand new life.
00:27:09.66\00:27:12.56
They learn important skills,
and I could use your help.
00:27:12.56\00:27:16.26
You could turn
someone's life around
00:27:16.26\00:27:17.77
for as little as
say, a hundred bucks.
00:27:17.77\00:27:20.40
So please, head
on over to vop.com,
00:27:20.40\00:27:23.54
click on the big
orange "donate" button,
00:27:23.54\00:27:25.94
and then when you're
asked what you're giving for,
00:27:25.94\00:27:28.28
click on the "Rescue
Project" in the dropdown menu.
00:27:28.28\00:27:32.05
Here's what I know
about the Bible, folks.
00:27:32.05\00:27:34.25
All of it, even the
seemingly hard stuff,
00:27:34.25\00:27:37.19
even the stuff that we
struggle to understand now
00:27:37.19\00:27:39.45
in the 21st century, it's
all designed to redeem us,
00:27:39.45\00:27:43.06
to restore us to an
authentic human existence.
00:27:43.06\00:27:47.30
Thanks for
joining me again today.
00:27:47.30\00:27:48.83
I'm Shawn Boonstra,
00:27:48.83\00:27:50.33
and this has been
another episode of "Authentic."
00:27:50.33\00:27:53.27
[gentle country music]
00:27:54.74\00:27:58.14