Quote:
Carsten Möllering wrote:
Again:
Manifold in the letters of Paul.
Roman understanding of slavery.
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Please show me where Paul's understanding of slavery was Roman.
Take the letter to Philemon regarding his bondservant Onesimus:
"I am sending him back to you, sending my very heart...For this perhaps is why he was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back forever,
no longer as a bondservant but more than a bondservant, as a beloved brother—especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord." Philemon 1:12-15&16
Or again in Galatians 3:28
"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is
neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are
all one in Christ Jesus."
Paul did not discriminate against race or class. His teachings did not condone the mistreatment or abuse of "slaves". Paul did not teach inequality. To say Paul's understanding of slavery was Roman is misleading. The New Testament is not a political manifesto. Paul was not trying to overthrow the existing Roman authorities. But that does not mean he condoned Roman slavery or modern slavery.