I forget the exact wording from Twain's AUTOBIOGRAPHY, but at one point he recalls that no one in his youth told him that slavery was wrong. The evil was not preached in church and those who needed assurance were shown Bible verses. Can anyone note other historical or literary references pointing to the church's use of the Bible to justify slavery? Is there any other material in the Twain canon elaborating on this point other than what is in Howard Baetzhold and Joe McCullough's outstanding anthology of Twain's Biblical writings? Here's what I have on Biblical references: "Priests (the Levites) were allowed to ownslaves, and allowed to buy them from neighboring countries as inheirantences for their children. Outside of occasional references to the seven-year "Jubilee," not until the time of the Babylonian captivity is there a Biblical call to free slaves, and only then Hebrew servants are mentioned (Jeremiah 34). Even then, God instructs new enslavement of those who opposed the Israelites, commanding that their children be sold to the House of Judah (Joel 2). After the Israelites become dominant in Canaan, the victors put conquered cities to "forced labor." One pointed example occurs when the non-threatening city of Jericho is ravished, a relatively small city estimated to have covered only seven acres. When three tribal leaders hear of the massacre, by trickery they obtain a vow for their people to not be slaughtered. Joshua is surprised they would stoop to such deceit to save themselves, and instead enslaves them as "hewers of wood and drawers of water." Even Christ says nothing about the freeing of slaves but rather that they should attempt to be like their masters. Paul later echoes this call, saying slaves must be obedient, respectful, and pleasing "with all your heart" (Ephesians 6: 5-8; repeated in Colossians 3 and 4)."