Within the American Bible, the 57th book is entitled “Philemon,” being the eighteenth book of the New Testament canon1. Paul, the writer of the letter, wrote this scripture as a letter format to his Christian brother, Philemon. Paul was in Rome, Italy, at the time where he was a prisoner of Jesus Christ. By Paul being a prisoner, he assumedly had infinite time to write and deeply contemplate what to include within the letter he created.
“Philemon” was written in 60 A.D. The after-death initiation likely caused for Paul to especially note God’s sacrifices to save the people as Paul orchestrated the letter. Paul had been charged with a house arrest in Rome. Due to the leeway of his consequences, he had little restrictions and was actually able to have house guests come, as well. Having such leniency in the means of punishment, I feel it was possible that Paul acquired a feeling of guilt during his long quiet hours alone. However a fellow prisoner of his, Onesimus, was likely to give Paul an idea the moment they met for Paul to think of himself as useful. Knowing Paul was a prisoner at the time he wrote the letter, it is possible that Paul was using Onesimus. In actualization, Onesimus’ name translates to “useful” [or profitable] in the Greek language1.
Philemon was a Christian in Colossae, to whom Paul, Philemon’s Christian Brother, wrote this letter to2. Paul writes his letter as a prisoner (while he was under a house arrest in Rome). Onesimus had originally been a slave of Philemon’s. He had run away, and robbed Philemon in the process. It is believed that Paul came in contact with Onesimus while in Rome as they were both prisoners.
When they met each other, Onesimus became a believer of the Christian religion under Paul’s leading...
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...o be entitled as “useful” or does he actually want the entitlement for himself, for his apologies and pleads to God that he can be a good/useful person, and not just a prisoner. Did Paul want Onesimus to convert to Christianity so Paul could be heroic and try to establish a stronger brotherhood of Christians and the Roman people or just to make his apology to God possible by making he look like he is being helpful?
To answer my own questions: I think that this Book on the New Testament (or letter) is in the Bible for a reason. Although there are many questionable errors by the way Paul explains being “useful,” it overall does not surpass Paul’s morals throughout the letter. Looking closely, it may come about that Paul could be acting selfish to pronounce himself to God; however without such over-analyzation the letter should be just as honorable as Paul is, himself.
Paul the Apostle is the central figure in many New Testament writings. Many historians have attributed fourteen New Testament letters to Paul’s writing; seven of these letters are uncontested meaning historians are sure that Paul wrote them, the remaining seven are contested. Paul was not always a Christian; in fact, he persecuted Christians before Christ came and temporarily blinded him. Upon seeing Christ, Paul devoted his life to Christianity and set out to spread the teachings of Christ. Scholars often credit Paul’s leadership to the ability of the Church to become Hellenistic in one generation. Paul also answered specific worries and questions that his converters may have had in many of his writings; one of these writings is 1 Corinthians. In 1 Corinthians, Paul set out to deal with the many believers in Corinth who are divided into the followings of Paul or Apollos rather than Christianity as a whole. The converts of Paul in 1 Corinthians 12-14 were divided during times of worship because of jealousy invoked by the spiritual gifts received from the “Spirit”; the worships and the church became a place to boast who is closest to God, instead of a place of worship, interpretation, and love. In 1 Corinthians 14:26-33, Paul set guidelines in times of worship to heal the divide among his converts present in 1 Corinthians 12-14.
Scholars of the Pauline writings have divided them into the following categories: (1) those unquestionably by Paul: Romans, I and II Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, I Thessalonians, and Philemon; (2) a letter that was probably written by Paul, but has had serious questions raised about its' authorship: II Thessalonians; (3) letters that were not actually written by Paul but were developed from his thought: Colossians and Ephesians; (4) letters that bear Paul's name but clearly come from another time and different set of circumstances in the church: I and II Timothy and Titus (the so-called Pastoral Letters); (5) a letter not bearing Paul's name and which evidences a wholly different thought and religious vocabulary from that of Paul: the Letter to the Hebrews (Kee, 5th Ed. 224).
Throughout many of Paul’s letters there are many debates pertaining to the authorship, destination, date, and the purpose. In the book of Ephesians many scholars debate on the authorship and if Paul actually wrote the letter, or if it was a scribe. Although there are some debates on whether Paul actually wrote it or not, he does refer to himself twice in the letter. In 1:1 and in 3:1 Paul states himself, 1:3 states, “For this reason, I Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles” (NIV) In verse 1:3 Paul states that he is a prisoner, therefore it is debated that he did not specifically write this because he was imprisoned in Rome at this time. According to Wallace “This, of course, is not to say that the letter must be by Paul, but it is to argue that without such internal testimony, no such claim could be made” (Wallace). Many scholars also debate on the vocabulary usage and the structure of the letter. Some believe that the structure is similar, but the vocabulary seems to be different than his New Testament epistles. Hoehner claims that,” Though the book has a close affinity with Colossians, critics claim that Ephesians is uncharacteristic of Paul” (Hoehner 613). The destination of Ephesians is somewhat debated, but many do believe that the letter was sent to the church of Ephesus. “Some to claim that Ephesus is a better starting point, others suggest Caesarea.” (Wallace) Although this is an argument that has many valid points, it is obvious that Paul was imprisoned in Rome while he wrote Ephesians. It is said by Hoehner that “Ephesians was probably delivered by Tychicus (Eph. 6:21-22), who also took Paul’s letter to Colossians (Col. 4:7-9)” (Hoehner 613). As for the date goes m...
In the book of Philemon Paul addresses the issue of the slave and owner relationship and expresses the change in a person when believing in Jesus Christ. It would seem that Paul wished for Philemon to release Onesimus as he asked Philemon to receive Onesimus as a “beloved brother” but He did not
One of the major thinkers from late antiquity is Saint Paul, a convert and leader of the early Christian Church. He was once known as Saul of Tarsus before his religious conversion, but afterwards Paul used his background as a Jew and Roman citizen to evangelize all Roman citizens. He ministered to church communities he formed in Europe and what was then Asia Minor by writing letters to these communities he formed, one of which is called Corinth. Corinth is a Southwestern Greek city located against a gulf, which infers its participation in trade and its immersion in many cultures. Corinth was rebuilt as a Roman colony after the Greeks rebelled years before Saint Paul formed a church there, and its citizens popularly worshiped the goddess of love, Aphrodite, which explains why Saint Paul addresses the topics of love and sexuality in his first letter. Corinth was also a disobedient city in the eyes of Saint Paul, as it had many communal problems that were so culturally engrained. The first letter to the church of Corinth, was written by
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...away. I have come to the conclusion through reading the ISBE article and Philemon, that Onesimus was seeking some sort of guidance from Paul about Christianity, instead of looking for a way to escape his owner. Paul doesn’t scold Onesimus for coming to him, but he sends him back with a letter to Philemon telling him that Onesimus has been with himself, and that Philemon should accept him back as a fellow Christian. Paul also tells Philemon that he would keep Onesimus with him, but he didn’t want to do anything without Philemon’s word. This clearly displays that this is a non-hostile letter, regarding the faith of Onesimus, and not just instructions about what to do with him.
Philemon is a personal letter from the Apostle Paul written approximately AD 61 while Paul was under house arrest in Rome. It was here in prison where he met Onesimus, a runaway slave from Colossae. Apparently, he had stolen money from his master, Philemon, and fled to R...
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