|
If the language of slavery is offensive, the offense would have
been considerably greater for those who lived in societies where
slavery was intrinsic than for us for whom slavery is simply an
unpleasant and embarrassing memory. [45]
What makes the New Testament distinctive in its first-century
setting is its directives to Christian masters
and slaves, where the
emphasis rests on obligations to be fulfilled rather than rights
to be asserted. [54]
If Christianity is viewed as basically a movement of social
reform, then this silence regarding slavery is indeed
surprising, if not culpable. But Christianity in its essence is
concerned with the transformation of character and conduct
rather than with the reformation of societal structures. Its
primary focus is on individual ethics within the Christian
community rather than on corporate ethics within society at
large, on interpersonal relationships rather than on social
reformation through institutional change. The principal change
sought is in the individual, and the secondary in society,
through transformed individuals. [67]
What is stunning about Paul’s depiction of the human situation
here (Romans 6) is that there are only two masters, not three or
more, and that allegiance to either is portrayed as slavery. A
person is either a slave of sin or a slave of righteousness;
neutrality, or an alternative servitude, is impossible. For Paul
the natural state of all human beings is one of slavery to sin.
[82]
The nature of any slavery is determined by the nature of the
master. Who and what the master is, determines the status of the
slave, the attitude of the slave, and the significance of the
slave’s work. [135]
TOP
|
