Category Archives: Slavery

Speaking out against injustice

2 Replies

In preparation for a discussion on immigration, I’m trying to get a feel for how the church has done when it comes to speaking with a prophetic voice on social issues. That is, how well we’ve done at speaking to issues from a Christian standpoint.

I’m thinking of a number of things that over time society has come to recognize as wrong. I’m wondering how well the church has done in speaking out on these issues before the general society did so. A good example today is abortion. The church, to a large degree, has identified this moral outrage as something that needs to be corrected. What about other issues?

Here are some issues that come to mind. Beyond the actions of specific individuals, do you think the church in this country was ahead of society or behind society in speaking out?

  • The genocide of the native population
  • The breaking of treaties with the native population
  • Slavery
  • Imperialistic wars/The taking of foreign lands by force (I’m thinking Mexican-American and Spanish-American Wars specifically; you might know of other such conflicts)
  • Child labor
  • The internment of Asian families during WWII
  • Jim Crow laws/racism

Christians often speak of following the laws of the land unless they conflict with God’s laws. Yet few of us can point to an example of anyone who has actually fallen into “civil disobedience” because of religious convictions. Some of the above might have called for such reactions, so I’d love to hear of examples.

Can you think of examples of how the church took a stand against the above injustices?

Paul and the runaway slave

11 Replies

It was about the year 60 A.D. The apostle Paul was imprisoned in Rome, his first imprisonment there, living under house arrest. A slave named Onesimus came to Paul. Onesimus belonged to a Christian named Philemon who lived in Colossae. The slave had run away from his master, apparently stealing some things in the process. (money? his master’s signet ring to facilitate travel? food and clothing?)

Paul meets with Onesimus, converts him to the Christian faith, then sends him back to Colossae (along with Tychicus) bearing at least two letters: Colossians and Philemon. The letter of Philemon requests (orders) Philemon to pardon Onesimus and to send him back to Rome to help Paul. (Note Paul’s mention of “obedience” in Philemon 21, which lets us know this was more than just a suggestion)

A few points and a hypothetical or two:

  • Under Roman law, harboring a runaway slave was illegal. If someone found a runaway slave, they had an obligation to return them to their master.
  • Paul didn’t turn Onesimus over to the authorities. Being under house arrest, he had easy access to Roman law enforcement officials. Paul did not have Onesimus arrested.
  • Paul’s priority was on teaching Onesimus the gospel. Paul didn’t say, “Return to your master, make amends for what you stole, then we can talk about Jesus.” It’s also reasonable to think that Paul waited until he had finished the Colossian letter before sending Onesimus back to his master.
  • Would Paul have sent Onesimus back to a non-Christian master? We don’t know the answer to that one, but it’s interesting to think about. Runaway slaves could be punished rather severely under Roman law, especially those that had stolen something.
  • What would Paul have done had Onesimus chosen not to return? Again, we don’t know. Had Onesimus rejected the gospel, it’s possible that he wouldn’t have agreed to return. Even as a Christian, he might have said, “I don’t think it fair for me to have to return to my master, so I’m not going to.”
  • Onesimus may not have been a runaway. Frank Bellizi makes this interesting point on his blog. It’s possible that Onesimus was exercising a right to appeal to a third party (Paul) and had always intended to return to his master. I’m not convinced, but I thought I’d include that for those who’d like to study the possibility.

Lots of things to think about with Paul and the slave. What are your thoughts? Since we’ve been talking immigration, does any of this shed any light on how we should respond to that issue?

Image from http://clipart.ochristian.com/