Preaching Bondage: John Chrysostom and the Discourse of Slavery in Early Christianity

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Univ of California Press, Jul 21, 2015 - Religion - 331 pages
Preaching Bondage introduces and investigates the novel concept of doulology, the discourse of slavery, in the homilies of John Chrysostom, the late fourth-century priest and bishop. Chris L. de Wet examines the dynamics of enslavement in ChrysostomÕs theology, virtue ethics, and biblical interpretation and shows that human bondage as a metaphorical and theological construct had a profound effect on the lives of institutional slaves. The highly corporeal and gendered discourse associated with slavery was necessarily central in ChrysostomÕs discussions of the household, property, education, discipline, and sexuality. De Wet explores the impact of doulology in these contexts and disseminates the results in a new and highly anticipated language, bringing to light the more pervasive fissures between ancient Roman slaveholding and early Christianity. The corpus of ChrysostomÕs public addresses provides much of the literary evidence for slavery in the fourth century, and De WetÕs convincing analysis is a groundbreaking contribution to studies of the social world in late antiquity.
 

Contents

of Masculinity
127
On the Discipline and Punishment of Slaves
170
Managing
220
Preaching Bondage and the Legacy
271

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About the author (2015)

Chris L. de Wet is Associate Professor of New Testament and Early Christian Studies at the University of South Africa.

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