During the Middle Ages slavery was not based on race. You enslaved your enemies, and in most cases, slaves had rights. Sometimes slavery was the result of a criminal act or unpaid debt. The modern enslavement of the African was different. It was based on racism, slaves had no rights, and the cruelty index was much greater. Slaves in the Middle Ages usually could gain freedom and children born to slaves were not usually slaves at birth. Slavery in the Middle Ages was not based on racial inferiority. Modern slavery was dehumanizing. Earlier slavery was not. Also, as time goes on aren’t we right to expect progress in how we relate to each other? Christianity teaches that we should love our neighbor. We distorted our own faith to rationalize the horrible treatment of other human beings. We knew better and practiced it anyway to selfishly and cruelly make a great profit.