Slavery

A Critique of Thomas R. Schreiner’s “Philip Payne on Familiar Ground: A Review of Philip B. Payne, Man and Woman, One in Christ: An Exegetical and Theological Study of Paul’s Letters.” JBMW (Spring 2010) 33–46 (more…)

I found the following reviews of Man and Woman, One in Christ in respected blogs. Scot McKnight, Jesus Creed, writes, “Simply put, this is the most technically proficient study ever published on women in the Pauline texts.” (more…)

The first two are crucial studies for understanding Paul’s teaching regarding slavery.

The first gives twelve reasons to understand 1 Corinthians 7:21-23 as an encouragement for slaves to gain freedom if they can. These factors are crucial because some people have interpreted Paul as discouraging slaves from gaining their freedom and has been used to support slavery.

The second shows how Paul applies maximum social pressure on Philemon to free his slave Onesimus.

These two articles support the understanding of Galatians 3:28 argued in my book that in Christ there is no special privilege given to slave over free or to male over female. These studies show that Paul in practice undermines the slave/free dichotomy.

The third is a critique of Preston T. Massey’s article in New Testament Studies 53 (2007): 502-523. Massey states five conclusions regarding the meaning of “covered” in 1 Corinthians 2:11-16. His article cites passages that contradict each of his five conclusions. He is unwarranted in concluding that “covering” implies a garment.

To see or download these studies, in the red box at the top of this page click on Publications, then click on Supplemental Studies.