JimBowie1958
Old Fogey
- Sep 25, 2011
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In the book/letter of Philemon, St Paul is returning a runaway slave named Onesimus to his owner, Philemon, and in this letter Paul says that Onesimus is not just a slave but a brother in Christ and should be treated as one would a true brother.
I know that book has become abused as a defense of slavery, but it would seem to teach the exact opposite, that, as Paul says elsewhere, there is no slave or freeman in the body of Christ.
By Paul telling Philemon to not punish his runaway slave but to treat him as a dear brother, Paul is binding on Philemon the obligation to treat Onesimus with human dignity and love.
Today so many Christians endorse the most extreme forms of capitalist management policies. Many investers will buy a profitable and stable company solely for the purpose of exploiting its good credit by leveraging its debt to the max, selling off any assets it has and then selling the company off to suckers as it slowly slides into bankruptcy, throwing all its employees into unemployment, destroying entire communities.
I hear Christians defend this type of thing all the time and it simply puzzles me.
Is this something that these people would do to their dear brothers?
If so, then it strikes me that such people are barbaric monsters and pagan in the most complete pejorative meaning of the word.
Is the practice of laying off workers to increase profit when a company is already profitable and doing well, is that consistent with the teachings of St Paul regarding the human dignity of our Brothers in Christ? Is it how we would treat our own dear brothers?
I know that book has become abused as a defense of slavery, but it would seem to teach the exact opposite, that, as Paul says elsewhere, there is no slave or freeman in the body of Christ.
By Paul telling Philemon to not punish his runaway slave but to treat him as a dear brother, Paul is binding on Philemon the obligation to treat Onesimus with human dignity and love.
Today so many Christians endorse the most extreme forms of capitalist management policies. Many investers will buy a profitable and stable company solely for the purpose of exploiting its good credit by leveraging its debt to the max, selling off any assets it has and then selling the company off to suckers as it slowly slides into bankruptcy, throwing all its employees into unemployment, destroying entire communities.
I hear Christians defend this type of thing all the time and it simply puzzles me.
Is this something that these people would do to their dear brothers?
If so, then it strikes me that such people are barbaric monsters and pagan in the most complete pejorative meaning of the word.
Is the practice of laying off workers to increase profit when a company is already profitable and doing well, is that consistent with the teachings of St Paul regarding the human dignity of our Brothers in Christ? Is it how we would treat our own dear brothers?
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