Evaluating the Rhetoric of Paul’s Letter to Philemon: Implications for Master-Slave Relationship in Christian Households

Maxwell Kojo Tsibu

doi:10.38159/erats.2021731

Abstract

Many kinds of studies have been conducted on Greco-Roman slavery practices and the Christian response to religious and domestic conflicts. However, very little research has been carried out in biblical studies to appraise the rhetoric of Paul’s letter to Philemon and its persuasive implications for handling tensions and dilemmas that emerge from master-servant relationships in the Christian domestic contexts. This paper contributes to the scholarship on Philemon by critically interpreting the persuasiveness of the letter. It exposes Paul’s intentional use of highly emotive argumentations, familial concepts and visual symbols to influence the beliefs, state of mind, values and contemplated actions of his primary audience regarding a particular distressing exigency. It reveals the strong subversive and transformative tone of the letter. The paper contends that the message of Philemon has effective rhetorical power for managing the challenges faced by Christian parents, maids and fictive children in the Christian household. Keywords: Rhetoric, 1st Century Greco-Roman context, master-slave relationship, Christianity, appropriation

Highlights

Christianity emerged and developed in a cultural context where slaveholders and slaves were part of the everyday landscape
Despite numerous fruitful insights earlier studies have produced to expose the message of Philem, there is more to contend with, especially regarding the rhetorical effectiveness of letter in its literary and immediate historical contexts and the reflections that may be deduced for Christian parents, fictive children, maids and servants who find themselves in similar dilemmas in their households
Rhetorical criticism has given deeper insights into how Paul adapted Greco-Roman conventions of oratory to fashion his appeal for Onesimus

Summary

Introduction

Christianity emerged and developed in a cultural context where slaveholders and slaves were part of the everyday landscape. From the outset of Christian literature, Christian authors, despite their socially marginal position, contended with the social reality of slavery in the ecclesia In his epistle to Philemon (hereafter, Philem), Paul wrestles with a perplexing domestic issue between a Christian master and (a Christian) slave in the ecclesia. This eponymous letter continues to attract regular attention from scholars regarding how the earliest Christians handled slavery in their fellowships.[2] Despite numerous fruitful insights earlier studies have produced to expose the message of Philem, there is more to contend with, especially regarding the rhetorical effectiveness of letter in its literary and immediate historical contexts and the reflections that may be deduced for Christian parents, fictive children, maids and servants who find themselves in similar dilemmas in their households.

Methods

Conclusion