Philemon

In an earlier book, we saw a quote from Paul that seemed in passing to say that he objected to the slave trade of his day. Now, here is a letter to Philemon, a slave owner. The interesting thing here is that the letter was to be carried by a slave who had left Philemon, and Paul apparently insisted on sending this escaped slave back to his "rightful owner"!

Phil 1:10-16 - I am appealing to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I have become during my imprisonment. Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful both to you and to me. I am sending him, that is, my own heart, back to you. I wanted to keep him with me, so that he might be of service to me in your place during my imprisonment for the gospel; but I preferred to do nothing without your consent, in order that your good deed might be voluntary and not something forced. Perhaps this is the reason he was separated from you for a while, so that you might have him back forever, no longer as a slave but more than a slave, a beloved brother-especially to me but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.
Paul, ever the guardian of the status quo, is sending this slave back to his "rightful owner." Not only that, but the slave is now a good Christian, and no doubt has been instructed that God wants him to stay as a slave "forever." Paul thought he was doing something noble - however, I beg to disagree. If Paul thought any person was worthy of any sort of respect, I think he should have considered slavery as something wrong.

Phil 1:18-20 - If he has wronged you in any way, or owes you anything, charge that to my account. I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand: I will repay it. I say nothing about your owing me even your own self. Yes, brother, let me have this benefit from you in the Lord! Refresh my heart in Christ.
What a GUY! Paul offers to repay Philemon for any damages caused by the escaped slave. He could have offered to buy this human's freedom, but that wouldn't have been proper, would it? I think it's amusing that Paul contradicts himself in one sentence, saying that he wouldn't mention Philemon's "debt" to Paul! I think it would be interesting to see how this rather repulsive story turned out. Paul, apparently, had his doubts!