Colossians and Philemon. Michael F. Bird

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Colossians and Philemon - Michael F. Bird


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manumission at a future point, and the prospect of remaining under the master’s patronage and provision as a freedman or freedwoman. (4) In 1 Cor 7:21 (“Were you a slave when you were called? Don’t let it trouble you—although if you can gain your freedom, do so”) Paul seems to urge slaves not to accept the status quo, but seek to improve their condition and achieve their freedom where possible. Moreover, in the epistle to Philemon, Paul urges Philemon to accept Onesimus in a way that radically alters the slave-master relationship. It is their fictive kinship as brothers in Messiah and coworkers for the kingdom that transcends societal norms and also transforms their attitudes, actions, and responses towards each other with a decidedly Christian ethic. F. F. Bruce notes that the epistle to Philemon “brings us into an atmosphere in which the institution of slavery could only wilt and die.”99 Paul was no William Wilberforce, but without Paul we might never have had William Wilberforce.


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