Bible Question: When Paul talks about slaves being in subjection unto their masters, what type of slavery is Paul talking about? Was it the kind of slavery the Israelites suffered in Egypt or slavery in relations to "employees" having a Christ-like attitude towards their employers?' What type of slavery was Paul endorsing in the new testament? (Eph 6:5-6) |
Bible Answer: Hi, humility... Paul is rendering direction to Christian servants -- the word is doulos, which would apply to a whole range of people, not just those who are in some form of involuntary servitude. There is nothing in this admonition that has anything to do with an affirmation or repudiation of a cultural practice. Christians find themselves in many conditions. Paul is offering these (and other) imperative statements based on the doctrinal teachings of the first three chapters of the epistle. Reading something into the text beyond that would miss the point. For example, if I said "Divorced believers should seek to submit to the Lord in every aspect of their lives." I'd not have said anything at all about the practice of divorce. In Him, Doc |