Was the Apostle Paul Pro-Slavery?

In his letter to the 1st century Christian church in Ephesus, Paul writes: “Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ.” (Ephesians 6:5, KJV) These words are significant, for they seem to put the most influential Christian missionary and apostle of all time squarely on the side of institutionalized servitude – even perhaps chattel slavery. 

Who was Paul?

Except for Jesus, the most influential figure in the initial growth of the Christian church was a tentmaker and Jewish official originally known as Saul of Tarsus. At first committed to persecuting followers of Jesus Christ, Saul of Tarsus would himself commit his life to following Jesus Christ.

According to the New Testament book of Acts, Saul underwent a divinely ordained name change to Paul, and became a prolific and fervent witness for the Gospel message of Jesus Christ. His efforts eclipsed those of the other apostles – so much so that the book of Acts, which begins as a history of the early church, quickly turns into a biography of Paul.

The apostle’s influence wasn’t confined to his missionary and church-building efforts. He began an extensive letter-writing campaign to 1st century A.D. congregations spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Many of these letters have been preserved and included in what we know as the New Testament – a body of literature Christians regard as divinely inspired Scripture.

The stakes then are high. Did Paul, speaking presumably under the inspiration of God, endorse slavery? If so, what does that say of the Bible, of Christianity, and of God?