the Beginning of the End To Slavery

Reference: pHILEMON 1:16 He is no longer like a slave to you. He is more than a slave, for he is a beloved brother, especially to me. Now he will mean much more to you, both as a man and as a brother in the Lord.

Observation: Just a quick thought. Many say that a major fault of the New Testament is that it does not condemn slavery. Here you see Paul asking his friend to give up his slave. He was suggesting the very thing that eventually undermined slavery and brought about its end. He was reflecting on the essential humanity of the slave and suggesting that Paul friend and his slave, especially as fellow Christians, had much more in common than they did separating them. It is this revelation that eventually stirred the hearts of many in the Western World and caused us to give up the practice and to see it’s basic evil.