so it is ok for me to beat my slave as long as they are not killed
Well, according to the bible yes. It's part of the pile of info that caused me to doubt it in the first place.
According to Moses (Or whoever was the real author of this particular scripture) God told him that you can beat your male of female slave with a rod. If the slave dies, you will be punished, but if the slave recovers it is fine because the slave is your property. Now some will embarrass themselves tripping over trying to explain how a god could allow such a law and view but it really comes down to this;
Either a God, who created humans and considers them his Children, made a rule that allows for another human to beat a slave within an inch of their lives or
Slave owning men authored that portion of the bible to fit their belief.
For me it is a no brainer.