Significance Of Paul's Letter To Philemon

While an examination of Paul’s Letter to Philemon suggests that the Bible calls for leniency in the treatment of fugitive slaves, especially when master and slave both share the status of being Christian, contrasting Paul’s treatment of Onesimus to the treatment fugitive slaves typically received at the hands of the Roman system of slavery that Paul was familiar with makes this fact virtually undeniable. Furthermore, it strongly suggests that the Bible breaks from systems of slavery that encourage the abuse and chastisement of fugitive slaves, especially when master and slave share the status of being Christian. The Roman attitude towards fugitive slaves is exemplified well in the digest of Roman law compiled by the order of Justinian the first
The significance rests in the fact that the southern system of slavery, much like the Roman system, also enabled the abuse, punishment, and killing of fugitive slaves, thereby suggesting that the Bible, through Paul’s treatment of Onesimus in Philemon, breaks from the southern system of slavery as well. Like the Roman system of slavery, the southern system of slavery enabled fugitive slaves to be arrested and placed in custody for their flight. In the text of the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850, it states the following: “And be it further enacted, That the marshals, their deputies, and the clerks of the said District and Territorial Courts, shall be paid, for their services, the like fees as may be allowed for similar services in other cases; and where such services are rendered exclusively in the arrest, custody, and delivery of the fugitive to the claimant.” Thus, in the South fugitive slaves were customarily arrested and held in custody. Furthermore, often in the effort to re-capture fugitive slaves, violence would erupt causing injury to the slave. For example, it is recorded that in Bedford, Pennsylvania, “Ten fugitives, from Virginia, were attacked in Pennsylvania–one mortally wounded, another dangerously. Next morning, both were captured.” Already, then, an examination of the text of the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 and its effects on the treatment of fugitive slaves suggests that the southern system of slavery contrasted sharply with Paul’s treatment of Onesimus in Philemon. Nowhere in Philemon does Paul call for Onesimus to be arrested or placed in custody and he certainly does not call for any violent treatment to be administered towards