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I am still up in the air when it comes to the apostle Paul and his views on the enslavement of human beings in his letters. It’s more ambiguous than what either side is telling us, that’s where I stand right now. In the history of Christianity, just as ambiguous as Paul’s position, “THE CHURCH” has both defended slavery and revolted against it.
Slavery was a fact of life back then, no doubt, so to say something in protest of it would probably draw the ire of social elites as well as your everyday country bumpkin. Recently, Father Ernesto posted on how he learned about the early Eastern Orthodox father’s stance on human bondage with Gregory of Nazianzus, Eustathios of Sebasteia, and later thinkers like Theodore the Studite .
I would highly recommend that Father Ernesto also read Race: A Theology Account by J. Kameron Carter. Carter takes themes in Eastern Orthodox theology and turns them into a cases against racism, while exploring the history of racism in theological studies.
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