Slave of Christ

Studies over my first year of graduate school forced me to begin wrestling with the issue of slavery in the Bible, as readers of this blog may have picked up from the paper on Philemon.  The Bible’s treatment of slaves is one of the issues most offensive to modern Christians today, because for us the issue of slavery is tied so closely to the issue of racism, a blight far to close to us to be comfortable.  To be fair I must say that my examination of the issue is at the current time is woefully incomplete, and due to the arrival of a new semester in a couple months will most likely remain in that condition for the forseeable future.  However, a more relaxed schedule over the Summer afforded me the opportunity to peruse an excellent book related to the issue of slavery in the New Testament, that is the image of being a slave of Christ.  Murray J. Harris has written an excellent book on this subject that many of you may find helpful, Slave of Christ: A New Testament Metaphor for Total Devotion to Christ. Harris explores the word doulos (slave) in both the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the NT (hereafter the LXX), and the New Testament.  But the book is more than a simple word study.  Harris does admirable work exploring the New Testament cultural background of slavery in the Greco-Roman world.  Along the way, students who are doing advanced New Testament studies will be introduced via footnotes and bibliography to some of the best resources on slavery in ancient times available.  Careful attention to the authors quoted by Harris will certainly suffice to acquaint one with the major figures in this field.  Harris also does a beautiful job of examining the teachings of the New Testament, looking both in the gospels at the parables of Jesus, and to the language of the apostle Paul, who uses the image of slave several times in his letters.  The book is a bit heady, but for those willing to wade through the thickness of cultural background studies, word studies and exegesis the reward will be a better understanding of the biblical text, the God who stands behind that text and our responsibilities as worshipers of that God who are in truth slaves of Christ.