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For those of us who are under about 130 years of age or so, it may be difficult to relate to the subject matter of this passage. We have not had to witness slavery in its most blatant forms. All this talk about Onesimus and his complicated relationship with Philemon as a runaway slave turned fellow believer in Christ may just kind of go over our heads.
However, just because slavery isn't rampant in America, at least not openly, we should not deceive ourselves into thinking it has simply passed into history. A recent Time magazine article, highlighting the sex trade in South Africa, notes that slavery, if defined as people working for no pay other than basic sustenance in deplorable conditions, is more rampant now than at any point in the past 150 years, despite all the international anti-slavery pacts that have been ratified in that time. While it has major concentrations in south Asia and Africa, human trafficking has become a worldwide epidemic. For the full text of the article, go to http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1952335-1,00.html.
However, just because slavery isn't rampant in America, at least not openly, we should not deceive ourselves into thinking it has simply passed into history. A recent Time magazine article, highlighting the sex trade in South Africa, notes that slavery, if defined as people working for no pay other than basic sustenance in deplorable conditions, is more rampant now than at any point in the past 150 years, despite all the international anti-slavery pacts that have been ratified in that time. While it has major concentrations in south Asia and Africa, human trafficking has become a worldwide epidemic. For the full text of the article, go to http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1952335-1,00.html.
