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Enslaved Leadership in Early Christianity challenges readers to re-think common perceptions about how enslaved persons participated in first- and second-century CE Christian communities. Using archaeology and ancient literature, the book destabilizes structures of domination and reimagines early Christian communities through the ambiguities of power.
List of contents
- Introduction
- Chapter 1: Power in Perspectives: Interpreting Enslaved Presence in Archaeological Materials
- Chapter 2: Power Plays: Roman Policies, Public Slaves, and Social Status
- Chapter 3: Voices of Power: Onesimos, Paul, and the Ambiguity of the Enslaved "in Christ"
- Chapter 4: Shifting Power: Ambiguous Status, Visual Rhetoric, and the Enslaved in Imperial Sacrificial Practices
- Chapter 5: Power in the Ekklesia: Contesting Enslaved Leadership in 1 Timothy and Ignatius
- Epilogue
- Appendix
About the author
Katherine A. Shaner is Assistant Professor of New Testament at Wake Forest University School of Divinity. She teaches courses across the New Testament and early Christian history that explore the theological, social, political, and ethical implications of biblical interpretation for contemporary communities.
Summary
Enslaved Leadership in Early Christianity challenges readers to re-think common perceptions about how enslaved persons participated in first- and second-century CE Christian communities. Using archaeology and ancient literature, the book destabilizes structures of domination and reimagines early Christian communities through the ambiguities of power.
Additional text
Shaner's work has great significance for present-day American church leaders, first because she describes the historical context of the early churches as a time when slaves were present and active everywhere. Second, by analyzing the New Testament texts alongside other evidence, she arrives at a more complex representation of the power dynamics between the enslaved and those who thought of themselves as their masters. Her conclusions challenge not only traditional interpretations of troubling texts, but also debates about leadership, author-ity, and power within contemporary Christian communities.
