Philemon is a letter in genre, specifically an ancient letter. It is written to Philemon in Colossae, but also Apphia, Archippus and the house church of which Philemon was leader. As the host of a church and a slaveowner, it is safe to assume Philemon was comfortable economically and socially. Philemon is referred to as a beloved fellow worker who owes Paul his “own self,” which may imply that Paul converted Philemon. Paul writes to Philemon while a prisoner, though it is unknown where. If he was imprisoned at either Ephesus or Caesarea when Philemon was written, then it would be dated around 54-58 CE. If Paul is imprisoned at, which is unlikely given the great distance between Rome and Colossea, then the letter should be date to around …show more content…
However, in the world in which Paul writes, slaves did a variety of roles. Many were even respected and placed in managerial positions. Thus to conclude that Onesimus is merely a thief that stole from his master and then ran away is to read our own experiences of American slavery into the text. This is something we must be aware of in order to clearly see both the ambiguity of the text and other explanations. Whatever the situation, Onesimus needs Paul’s intercession. The relationship is clearly tense, and Onesimus may face severe discipline if he returns. Paul, however, beseeches Philemon to receive Onesimus the same as Paul would be received. In this way, Paul is calling upon the good relationship he has with Philemon. Paul clearly assumes Christian authority over Philemon, and expects Philemon to obey; nevertheless Paul chooses to use love and friendly beseeching to persuade Philemon rather than to order him. He implores Philemon to receive Onesimus as “no longer as a slave but more than a slave, a beloved brother.” Building on this, Paul wants Philemon to do even more. Thus it is likely that Paul means precisely what he said; he wants Philemon to free Onesimus. Interestingly, Paul uses words such as brother, beloved, and child, words which are relational in nature. Thus for Philemon to keep Onesimus enslaved is to keep his brother, and Paul’s dear spiritual offspring, enslaved. Paul is building the case that it would be improper, and
It is from this statement that one lesson can be drawn which is that Christianity somehow had a devastating influence on slavery.
The Bible’s verses concerning slavery contradict other verses in several places when discussing slavery and the treatment of slaves. Ephesians 6:5-9 instructs masters to “give unto your servants that which is just and equal; knowing that ye also have a Master in heaven.” Galatians 3:28 states that “[T]here is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” Again, the Bible illustrates that slaves were equal to all others, stating “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, … whether we be bond of free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.” Abolitionists undoubtedly used these quotes in order to put an end to slavery.
8 Paul begins his main message here. He makes it known that he has authority in Jesus to give a commanding order to tell Philemon to do what is right without question. The authority comes out from the fact that Jesus had expressed the need for forgiveness of debts, especially through his Parable of the Unmerciful Servant. Given that Paul was elected by Jesus out from his stand with the Pharisees, and as a Christian he had a right to make rebukes, he had firmly rooted authority to tell Philemon what to do.
feel that they were human beings. This was blasphemous doctrine for a slave to teach;
When you look at the word slavery most have this fixed characterization of the word and refer back to when Europeans enslaved Africans. If we look in ancient Greece times we see slavery was around for years. Not only do we see that slavery has been around for year we also see that there were many different uses of slavery and the meaning of slavery. For instances, the Greeks used slavery as reasoning for their actions. Also, people such as the Athenians used slavery as a word to describe people as someone who needed to be ruled. Greeks looked down upon other Greeks being used as slaves, when they were not enslaving them. During these ancient times, many tyrants had many slaves but these tyrants were very relatable to their subjects.
when the speaker writes, "brought me from my Pagan land." So, the speaker is a slave
Secondly, slaves in Ancient Greece faced many struggles. As Aristotle said, the daily routine of slaves could be summed up in three words, "work, discipline, and feeding." Xenophon's advice is to treat slaves as domestic animals. That is to say punish disobedience and reward good behaviour. If they refused to work, their owner would hit them. Not only did slaves struggle with physical, mental, and emotional abuse, they suffered strict limitations in what they could and could not do. Slaves were not allowed to go out after dusk or before dawn without their owner. Some slaves could not even attend
I think Paul has mixed feelings in his feelings towards slavery, however, I think overall he is anti-slavery. In 1 Corinthians 7:22-23, Paul says that if a person was a slave before he found Christ, then he will be free; but, if a person was free and then was baptized, then they would be a slave of Christ. In that passage, Paul states that the condition a person is in will be the opposite if they choose to follow Christ; however, the opposite is true in Galatians and Philemon. In Galatians 3:28, Paul says that through Christ there is no longer a person that is free or a slave. In Philemon 1:16, Paul asks Philemon to take Onesimus back not as a slave but as a beloved brother. I think Paul is against slavery, but I think that when it comes to Christ, that is when he might have mixed feelings because we do not know if a person is free when they follow Christ or if they are a slave.
My primary sources will be the direct translations of the letters used in antiquity. Using context and evidence I will explain about the lives of slaves, how they were treated, how specific slave revolts occurred, different perspectives on manumissions during the time and its importance, and their effect on politics and society. An interesting primary source of morality addressed to Lucilius speaks about how slaves rights should be equal with free men. The letter speaks about how slave masters in antiquity should value slaves, they should individually value each slaves use and reward them for their character. It gives slaves more of an incentive to work and through this the letter contrasts the foul treatment that causes the slave revolts.
Slavery, a word described as the state of one bound in servitude as the property of a household. This description, along with sadness and disbelief gets brought into peoples’ minds as the chilling sensation of the explanations begins to be sought out. The New Testament brings us many different views on how we percept our personal beliefs upon Slavery, and different problems arising as aspects on this topic are perceived by Paul the Apostle in Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon.
This persuasive manner is just reinforcing the reasons why he feels Onesimus would be more useful as a servant of God and not a slave. In the end, as he is closing the letter he writes he is confident in Philemon’s obedience and to prepare a guest room for him (v. 21-22). He is still using God and his brotherhood to move him into seeing Paul as a friend who is requesting a
Adding onto the point where slaves were put on the market like things, slaves were also discriminated due to their previous nationality. Both of these actions illustrate inhuman behaviour by the Ancient Romans. In addition to buying and selling slaves, there is one more option which tops off these poor choices. In Ancient Rome, one was also able to rent a slave. This is renting a human being. Renting tools or horses was ordinary but renting another person just exemplifies how Romans treated slaves as things, rather than people.
The book of Philemon is a prison epistle that means it written while in prison. Paul wrote this in 61 A.D. It was written to Philemon as a plea to request forgiveness for his runaway servant Onesimus, who was a new believer in Jesus Christ. The book of Philemon consists of only one chapter.
Paul continues to describe slaves to the law. He then gives us an example of how God sent his son whom was also born under the law. He continues to tell us that when God sent his son he sent him not only to ransom the law, but to claim that everyone is God’s child, and while you are God’s child you are not a slave but have value to their name. God’s children are precious to him and will always be welcomed as children and not labeled as slaves.
Lastly, they asked this question in quote “if once these slaves (which they say are wicked and stubborn men) should join themselves fight for their freedom, and handle their masters and mistresses as they did handle them before; would the owners retaliate or would they allow themselves to remain and be treated as slaves. (Pastorius et al)