Links to Bart Ehrman’s four posts about Philemon in his “In a Nutshell Series”.
- Philemon in a Nutshell
- Bart’s 50-word summary: Paul’s letter to his former convert Philemon concerns Philemon’s slave Onesimus, who has fled from his master, possibly with stolen goods, found Paul in prison, converted, and begged him to intervene on his behalf– which Paul does by urging Philemon to receive his slave as a fellow believer, without punishment.
- Philemon and the Morality of Slavery
- A more important point to be gleaned from this letter relates specifically to its subject matter. It may come as a shock to modern readers that Paul did not use this occasion to lambaste the evils of the institution of slavery. Not only does Paul fail to condemn slavery in general, but he does not denounce its practice among Christians in particular. He never commands his convert Philemon to manumit his brother in Christ, Onesimus, let alone set free all of his other slaves. Was Paul not concerned for the plight of the oppressed?
- Bart has many insightful comments and observations about slavery during that time.
- Philemon: For Further Reading
