When I was a Christian, there was one Bible verse I kept in my back pocket at all times. Whenever confronted with the darker, more archaic parts of the Bible, or whenever someone suggested the Christian God was exclusionary, I would immediately pull out Galatians 3:28:
“There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

For a long time, I genuinely believed this verse was the ultimate proof that Christianity preached true equality. I saw it as a progressive, beautiful declaration that the New Testament God was one of love, an abolisher of discrimination who leveled the playing field for all of humanity. It felt good to believe that.

But as my faith began to fracture, so did my selective reading of the text. When I finally took off my apologetics glasses and read the verse in its actual context, I realized I had been holding onto a mirage.

The Fine Print of “Equality”
Modern Christianity often cites Galatians 3:28 as a banner for social equality, but reading the verses immediately surrounding it paints a very different picture. The context of this chapter isn’t about earthly social reform; it is strictly about “salvation”.

The message isn’t that social hierarchies should be dismantled. The message is simply that anyone regardless of their status on earth can be “saved.” Whether you are a master or a slave, a man or a woman, you have equal access to the spiritual promise of the afterlife.

But what about the here and now? That’s where the illusion falls apart. The text makes it abundantly clear that while everyone might be equal when standing before the pearly gates, they are explicitly *not* equal while walking this earth.

The Reality of Master and Slave
If the New Testament truly preached equality, the immediate step would be the condemnation of human ownership. But it doesn’t.

Instead of calling the practice of slavery outright wrong, the Apostle Paul merely regulates it. He tells slaves to obey their earthly masters with respect and fear, and tells masters to treat their slaves well. The underlying theology is unsettling: being a slave doesn’t mean you can’t be saved, but being saved doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be a slave.

The New Testament accepts the master/slave dynamic as a societal norm. It offers spiritual freedom while leaving physical chains entirely intact.

The Gender Divide
The limits of this “equality” become even more glaring when looking at how the New Testament handles women. If there truly is “neither male nor female,” why does the text consistently place men above women in the earthly hierarchy?

Paul’s letters do not shy away from establishing a strict gender order. He explicitly states that women should remain silent in the churches and that it is improper for them to speak. He writes that women should not assume authority over men, explicitly grounding this inequality in the creation myth, arguing that because Adam was formed first and Eve was deceived, men hold the structural authority.
You cannot have true equality when one half of the population is systematically silenced and barred from leadership simply because of their gender.

Leaving the Apologetics Behind
Realizing what Galatians 3:28 actually meant was a pivotal moment for me. It was the moment I had to admit that the Bible does, in fact, emphasize inequality.

The text treats the subordination of women and the ownership of human beings not as tragic sins to be overthrown by the love of Christ, but as normal, regulated aspects of life. The “equality” it offers is entirely spiritual, a promise for the next life that demands the marginalized accept their lower status in this one.

I used to think my faith taught that we were all equal. But when I finally read the fine print, I realized it only taught that we are all equally capable of bowing down. Letting go of that faith meant I could finally advocate for a world where people are treated as equals here and now, rather than waiting for a spiritual loophole after they die.

#Deconstruction #Exvangelical #LeavingFaithBehind #Galatians328 #BibleStudy #FaithJourney #ReligiousTrauma #Equality