Onesimus Our Brother: Reading Religion, Race, and Slavery in Philemon (Paul in Critical Contexts)

Noel and Johnson make the point that Philemon is as important a letter from an African-American perspective as Romans or Galatians have proven to be in Eurocentric interpretation. Here they gather critical essays by a constellation of African-American scholars, highlighting the latest in interpretive methods and troubling scholarly waters, interacting with the legacies of Hegel, Freud, Habermas, Ricoeur, and James C. Scott as well as the historical experience of African American communities. Onesimus Our Brother opens surprising new vistas on Paul’s shortest and, in some ways, most troubling letter. About the Author Matthew V. Johnson is Senior Pastor of the Good Shepherd Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, and co-editor of The Passion of the Lord: African American Reflections (Fortress Press, 2005) James A. Noel is the H. Eugene Farlough California Professor of African American Christianity at San Francisco The Passion of the Lord: African American Reflections (Fortress Press, 2005), and contributor to True to Our Native Land (Fortress Press, 2007). He is also convener and founder of the Graduate Theological Union's Black Church/Africana Studies Certificate Program. Demetrius K. Williams teaches in the Theology Department at Marquette University and is the author of An End to This Strife: The Politics of Gender in African American Churches (2004). Contributors vii Introduction: Paul’s Relevance Today 1 Traditional Biblical Criticism 2 The Reorientation of Reader Perspectives: Reading “from the Margins” 3 Origins of the Present Volume 5 Overview of the Volume 7 1. “No Longer as a Slave”: Reading the Interpretation History of Paul’s Epistle to Philemon 11 Demetrius K. Williams Overview and Approach: An Ideological Optic/Option 11 Reading Philemon from the Early Church to the Reformation 15 Reading Philemon in the Modern Era 20 Newer Readings of Philemon from the Margins 35 2. Utility, Fraternity, and Reconciliation: Ancient Slavery as a Context for the Return of Onesimus 47 Mitzi J. Smith From Useless to Useful: Slave Productivity 48 I Am My Brother’s Keeper: Familial Slavery and Fictive Kinship 51 Fugitive Slaves and Reconciliation 55 Conclusion 57 3. Nat Is Back: The Return of the Re/Oppressed in Philemon 59 James A. Noel Slavery in the Greco-Roman World 61 Slavery in Paul’s Letters 63 The Occasion of Philemon 64 Dred Scott 65 American Slavery and the Legal Construction of Race 67 White Supremacist Religious Discourse 69 Turning Again to the Mis-Reading of Paul and the Gospels 73 Taney’s Freudian Slip 75 Nat Turner’s Voluntary Return 78 Nat Is Back in the Repressed 82 Conclusion 87 4. Onesimus Speaks: Diagnosing the Hys/Terror of the Text 91 Matthew V. Johnson Missing the Mark 91 Contra Paul 94 The Hys/Terror of the Text 97 5. “Ain’t You Marster?”: Interrogating Slavery and Gender in Philemon 101 Margaret B. Wilkerson Philemon Today 102 Dutchman 103 The Drinking Gourd 105 A Black Woman Speaks 108 Banished 113 Traces of the Trade 115 Philemon Meets Onesimus 118 6. Enslaved by the Text: The Uses of Philemon 121 James W. Perkinson Exegetical Background 122 Homiletic Middle Ground 124 Abolitionist Common Ground 126 Legal Ground 127 Slave “Black”-Ground 129 Stereotypic Foreground 131 Erotic Underground 133 Ground Cover 135 Groundwork 137 Grunt Work 139 7. “Brother Saul”: An Ambivalent Witness to Freedom 143 Allen Dwight Callahan Apostle of Freedom? 143 Freedom for Women 146 Hearing Paul Correctively 148 Paul and Jesus 151 Paul and Black Theology 154 Conclusion 157 Notes 161 Index 175 Philemon Is The Shortest Letter In The Pauline Collection, Yet--because It Has To Do With A Slave Separated From His Master--it Has Played An Inordinate Role In The Toxic Brew Of Slavery And Racism In The United States. In Onesimus Our Brother, Leading African American Biblical Scholars Tease Out The Often Unconscious Assumptions About Religion, Race, And Culture That Permeate Contemporary Interpretation Of The New Testament And Of Paul In Particular. The Editors Argue That Philemon Is As Important A Letter From An African American Perspective As Romans Or Galatians Have Proven To Be In Eurocentric Interpretation. The Essays Gathered Here Continue To Trouble Scholarly Waters, Interacting With The Legacies Of Hegel, Freud, Habermas, Ricoeur, And James C. Scott, As Well As The Historical Experience Of African American Communities--publisher Description. Introduction: Paul's Relevance Today -- No Longer As A Slave : Reading The Interpretation History Of Paul's Epistle To Philemon / Demetrius K. Williams -- Utility, Fraternity, And Reconciliation : Ancient Slavery As A Context For The Return Of Onesimus / Mitzi J. Smith -- Nat Is Back : The Return Of The Re/oppressed In Philemon / James A. Noel -- Onesimus Speaks : Diagnosing The Hys/terror Of The Text / Matthew V. Johnson -- Ain't You Marster? : Interrogating Slavery And Gender In Philemon / Margaret B. Wilkerson -- Enslaved By The Text : The Uses Of Philemon / James W. Perkinson -- Brother Saul : An Ambivalent Witness To Freedom / Allen Dwight Callahan. Matthew V. Johnson, James A. Noel, And Demetrius K. Williams, Editors. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.