Loving Resistance and Resistance through Love

Book excerpt: The Letter to Philemon is one of the most beautiful rhetorical letters written by Paul--and yet, at the same time, perhaps the most underread letter in the New Testament. Paul wrote this letter out of love, hoping to persuade the slave master Philemon to choose compassion rather than follow the typical Roman attitudes towards slaves; to treat Onesimus as a brother in Christ rather than as an inferior, subhuman chattel. This letter is not only theologically important but also important in a practical sense because it is more than mere words--it is a testimony. In order for readers to better appreciate the true depth of the meanings in the letter, this book is written in a rather creative way. Each chapter begins with a selected scene from the movie Les Miserables, to introduce the key theme of the chapter. Then the author will interpret the details of the text of the letter and the other relevant texts in the Pauline corpus. The final section of each chapter is a creative story, based on the text and historical context. The purpose of inventing these creative stories is to help readers better grasp the historical context and, most importantly, the rhetoric in the letter.