On the one side, there were many
well-intentioned Christians who believed that slavery was a moral abomination
and serious sin, which could lead to God’s wrathful judgment and
damnation. These Christians drew heavily
from the Bible to support their opposition to slavery. For instance, they argued that Genesis 1:27
clearly establishes that all human persons possess the divine image because
each of us is “created in God’s image.”
Further, they noted that in his “Sermon on the Mount,” Jesus taught that
we should “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” (Matthew
5:44). Later, in 1 John 4:20b-21, we
read: “…those who do not love a brother
or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. The commandment we have from him is
this: those who love God must also love
their brothers and sisters.”
On the basis of these scriptures and
others, many Christians in the mid-nineteenth century concluded that if all
persons are created in God’s divine image and if we are to love all persons,
then slavery must be inherently evil from a Christian perspective. Today, this understanding appears obvious and beyond doubt. However, in the mid-1800s, it was
far from less obvious.
There was a second Christian perspective
which held that the institution of slavery was compatible with Christian
teachings and that faithful Christians could own slaves. Christians who held this perspective also
drew heavily from the Bible to support their acceptance of slavery. For instance, they cited Colossians 3:22,
which says, “Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything, not only while
being watched and in order to please them, but wholeheartedly, fearing the Lord.” This verse seems to justify and legitimate
slavery. Similarly, Paul’s Letter to Philemon,
a slave owner, seems to condone slavery as acceptable for faithful disciples of
Christ. In this letter, Paul never
condemns slavery as wrong. Instead, he
urges Philemon to welcome back Onesimus, a runaway slave, without harsh
punishment.
This Sunday, November 23rd, I will
be preaching on the Epistle to Philemon.
This message will be the first in an occasional series of sermons
entitled, “Struggling with Difficult Passages in the Bible.” The question that I am bringing to Philemon
is this, “Does the Apostle Paul Really Condone Slavery?”
In approaching this question, we
must begin by recognizing that slavery in the Roman Empire was very different
from the slavery that existed within our own country before the Civil War. Roman slavery was not based upon race or
nationality, as in the antebellum South.
In Rome, slaves were primarily prisoners taken during a war. So, slaves could be Celts, Germans, Greeks,
or any other nationality that lost a war with the Roman Empire. Some Roman slaves were highly educated,
performing important jobs, such as that of teacher, bookkeeper, or physician. Slaves could be set free by their owners, and
frequently this happened out of respect or friendship that developed between
owner and slave. At the same time,
slaves who ran away or rebelled could be severely punished by whippings or other
forms of physical torture. Re-captured
slaves might even be executed by means of crucifixion.
Paul writes his letter to Philemon
on behalf of a runaway slave named Onesimus.
In the beginning salutation of the letter, Paul identifies Philemon as a
devout Christian who hosts one of the early “house-churches” in his home. Paul informs Philemon that Onesimus has
converted to Christianity, since he ran away. Onesimus has really helped Paul during a time
when Paul had been arrested and thrown into jail. Despite his assistance, Paul is sending
Onesimus back to Philemon, who remains his legal owner.
At the same time, Paul pleads with
Philemon, asking him to accept the return of Onesimus kindly. Rather than beating or executing Onesimus—which
is his legal right—Paul asks Philemon to
forgive Onesimus and to treat him as a “beloved brother” in the faith. Paul also implies that Philemon may want to set
Onesimus free.
So, the question remains: “Does the Apostle Paul condone slavery?” It is true that in his letter to Philemon,
Paul never condemns slavery as an immoral institution. It is also true that he never says owning
slaves is incompatible with Christian discipleship. So, by implication, it would appear that Paul
condones the institution of slavery and faithful Christians owning slaves. Yet, this conclusion is actually very
superficial and we should dig deeper.
We tend to read our Bibles from
within our own historical, socio-economic context. As twenty-first century, American Christians
we live in a context where there is an accepted policy of religious
tolerance. But, further, we live in a
society where Christianity remains the largest, most influential, and most
dominant religion. In this country,
contemporary Christians’ legacy includes historical moments, such as
Prohibition and the Civil Rights movement, when Christians profoundly shaped public
policy, according to their faith. As result, we are perplexed and disturbed
because Paul does not just come out and condemn slavery in his letter to
Philemon.
It is easy to forget that Paul was
writing in a dramatically different historical, socio-economic context. In Paul’s context, Christians were a small,
marginalized sect without any political clout at all. Scholars date the writing of Philemon as
occurring between 55-61 CE, which was just 3-9 years prior the first great
persecution of Christians by the Roman Empire under Emperor Nero in 64 CE. Paul, Philemon, and Onesimus all lived under
threat of persecution for their faith, and Paul had been imprisoned for his
Christian faith at the time he wrote to Philemon. So, in a way, it was pointless for Paul to
condemn slavery, given his context.
Yet, that does not mean Paul
condones slavery, either. Rather, than
protesting the public policy of slavery, Paul does something else which was
very interesting and extraordinarily powerful.
Recognizing and acknowledging Philemon’s legal right to own and
discipline Onesimus the slave, Paul asks Philemon to acknowledge and embrace a
higher standard of behavior—the standard of Christ. Paul asks Philemon to recognize Onesimus, not
as his slave, but rather as his brother through their mutual faith in
Christ.
Rather than making an ethical
argument against the institution of slavery, Paul proposes a transformation in
relationships because of Philemon’s Christian faith. As the highly regarded Biblical scholar
Raymond Brown observes, Paul challenges Philemon, “a Christian slave owner to
defy conventions: To forgive and receive
back into the household a runaway slave … to go farther in generosity by
freeing the servant; and most important of all from a theological viewpoint to
recognize in Onesimus a beloved brother and thus acknowledge his Christian transformation.”[1]
Wow!
I think there are several lessons
for twenty-first century Christians, living in a post-modern world, to learn
from Paul’s Letter to Philemon:
(1) We cannot read
our Bibles, assuming the same historical, socio-politico-economic context. The Bible must speak to literally millions of
Christians who live across the centuries in very different time periods and vastly
different contexts. We must dig deeper
to understand the context that existed for the person writing and for the first
audience of the text.
(2) We contemporary, American Christians have an
obligation and a duty to be good stewards of our American citizenship and the
privileges which we have received. Our
society faces many critical public policy issues, including accessible
healthcare, environment, immigration, and poverty. God calls us to speak to these issues from
our hearts of Christian faith—even if we cannot speak with a unified Christian
voice. This is prophetic witness and we
must embrace it.
(3) In addition to prophetic witness, Christ
calls us—just as Christ called Philemon—to an even more radical transformation of
our personal relationships. To live out our relationships as though God's Reign has already been established throughout the world.
Come, join us this Sunday, November 23rd, as we struggle with this very
difficult passage. Our church is
located at the corner of Main and Dawson Streets in Meriden, Kansas. Our classic worship service starts at 10 am
on Sunday mornings.
Everyone is welcome and accepted because God loves us all.
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