The Philemon Question?
The book of Philemon in the Bible is
a letter from Paul & Timothy sent to Philemon and others in his home and
church. Paul asks Philemon to show kindness to his escaped and apparently pretty
useless slave Onesimus. Whom Paul had led to faith and had become a much-loved
brother to Paul and a very useful help to Paul and Timothy. Paul and Timothy asked
Philemon to treat Onesimus as a valued brother and to allow Onesimus to return
to Paul and Timothy to continue helping them. In the context of the times this
was a big ask!
Roman society and economy were
heavily reliant on slavery. As the Roman Empire expanded by conquest the
defeated soldiers often become slaves, other people were sentenced to slavery
as a punishment and in hard times people would sell their children into
slavery. Escaped slaves would be
hunted down and returned (often for a reward). If caught, fugitives could be
punished by being whipped, burnt with iron, or killed. Those who lived were
branded on the forehead with the letters FUG, for fugitive.
While this seems shocking to us, the
society Philemon lived in fully expected him to either brutally execute or torture
and brand Onesimus head with FUG. Paul in contrast asked and fully expected
Philemon to show compassion and agree to his request to buck the overwhelming expectation
of the society he lived in.
