Influential Pastor Says Slavery "Not Inherently Evil"

There are hot takes, then there are hot takes.

Pastor and Christian nationalist podcaster Joshua Haymes recently posted a video encouraging Christians to defend the institution of slavery, alleging that “it is not inherently evil to own another human being.”

Haymes says his assertion is biblically based, calling it a “plain reading” of scripture that any Christian could reach if they simply opened their Bibles.

But critics say it’s just the latest and perhaps most shocking example yet of increasingly extreme rhetoric from Christian nationalist leaders who continue to gain influence in the top levels of government (Haymes has close associations with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth). 

So what is the argument being laid out? 

Does God Say Slavery is OK?

“The institution of slavery is not inherently evil. It is not inherently evil to own another human being,” Haymes said on a recent episode of his podcast, Reformation Red Pill.

“It is very important that every Christian affirm what I just said. Not only should they affirm it, every Christian in today’s society should be able to defend what I just said. Every Christian should be able to defend it. Christians in America have been led astray on this topic. They’ve been led to believe things that the Bible doesn’t teach, and when we go beyond the Bible, there are dire consequences.”

“We cannot condemn the entire institution of slavery outright,” Haymes continued. “We just cannot do that because the Bible does not do that.” 

A Controversial Hegseth Ally

For years, Haymes served as a pastor at Pilgrim Hill Reformed Fellowship in Nashville, a member of a network of churches headed by controversial anti-women’s suffrage pastor Doug Wilson, and a favored church of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Hegseth himself has appeared on Haymes’ Reformation Red Pill podcast several times, and was on the show as recently as late last year. When Hegseth was announced as a candidate for secretary of defense, Haymes heartily endorsed him.

Haymes is also no stranger to controversy. Just this year, he’s made headlines for his attacks on the LGBTQ+ community (a group he called “uniquely evil”), assertions that the Bible is “pro-ICE raids”, lamentations over the decline of the Confederacy, and a full-throated defense of public executions.

Haymes has been accused of endorsing executing adulterers, doctors who provide gender-affirming care to transgender patients, and members of the LGBTQ+ community – though he has also said he does not “advocate for violence of any kind.” 

Clearly this pastor has his share of... questionable beliefs. But what about this latest controversy? Do the claims have any merit? 

What Does the Bible Say About Slavery?

In the ancient world, slavery was a near-universal institution, and many theologians today say that the Bible’s treatment of it reflects that historical context more than moral endorsement.

The Old Testament set regulations meant to humanize the practice, such as freeing Hebrew slaves after six years (Exodus 21:2) and forbidding ruthless treatment (Leviticus 25:43), while the New Testament urged fairness and mutual respect between masters and slaves (Ephesians 6:5, Colossians 4:1).

These passages are often understood as reflecting the social order of their time – an attempt to inject compassion into a system that society then took for granted – not as divine approval of slavery itself.

An Uncomfortable Conversation

However, it's also possible to interpret this scripture less charitably. In fact, some detractors argue that the Bible does explicitly allow slavery – for certain types of people. Enslaving Israelites is frowned upon in the Old Testament, but they assert the text condones chattel slavery of foreigners, pointing to passages like Leviticus 25:45-47:

"Your male and female slaves are to come from the nations around you; from them you may buy slaves. You may also buy some of the temporary residents living among you and members of their clans born in your country, and they will become your property. You can will them to your children as inherited property and can make them slaves for life".

Now, much of Old Testament law is considered antiquated (mixing two fabrics, for example). Doesn't this fall into the same bucket? Perhaps.

Yet skeptics point out that the message was never rectified later on. The New Testament fails to contradict such teachings, nor does it firmly establish that slavery is considered immoral. For example, while the Apostle Paul goes as far as to condemn slave traders in 1 Timothy 1:10, he never explicitly condemns owning people as property. The New Testament adds guardrails, but not much else. 

This leads certain detractors to ask: if God really opposed slavery, why didn’t He just condemn the practice outright? Why isn't "Thou Shalt Not Own People" carved into stone?

Twisted Theology?

Meanwhile, critics of Christian teachings argue that this gray area proved quite convenient for slave owners throughout history. Christianity didn’t just tolerate slavery, they say, it provided moral cover for it. Slave owners pointed straight to the Bible in justification of human bondage in the Antebellum South, for example. 

That brings us back to Haymes’ assertion that slavery isn’t “inherently evil” because the Bible doesn’t explicitly condemn it. While he’s technically right that scripture never issues a direct ban on slavery, modern theologians would argue that his reading is dangerously shallow.

The broader moral arc of the Bible – emphasizing love, mercy, and equality before God – stands in clear opposition to the ownership and dehumanization of others. 

Most theologians agree that the heart of the Christian message (love your neighbor, do unto others, and free the oppressed) leaves no room for defending slavery, no matter how many verses are cherry-picked. 

What are your thoughts?