Colossians and Philemon

Paul's letter to the Colossian church addresses the challenges encountered by a Jewish community living in the Hellenistic world. Shaped by folk religion, Hellenistic mystery religions, Roman imperial cults, and other trends, the community lived in fear of turmoil and oppression if they did not placate the right gods and practice the correct rituals. Colossians is Paul's salvo into this context. More than a forceful response to a single church, it was a missive that addressed Hellenistic spiritual tendencies and how Christ confronts them. Gary Burge's study of this letter explores the Roman context for Colossians and demonstrates how Paul's gospel would overturn the religious beliefs that affected their lives. He also interrogates Paul's overlooked letter to Philemon, which accompanied Colossians and in which he instructs a Christian runaway slave to return to his Christian master. His novel interpretation offers new insights into this situation and how it enables us to understand slavery today.