Aaron Mead
Slavery in the New Testament, Part 3: Glimmers of Justice
Five problematic New Testament passages tell slaves to obey masters but also contain surprising glimmers of justice.
top of page
AARON MEAD | WRITER
Historical Novelist
BLOG
Aaron Mead
- Jan 30
- 1 min
Book Interview in North Carolina
Interview at Lake Forest Church on Paul's letter to Philemon, slavery in the New Testament, and my novel Neither Slave nor Free.
85 views0 comments
Aaron Mead
- Jan 20
- 7 min
Slavery in the New Testament, Part 2: Seeds of Abolition
Bible readers rightly worry over Paul's view of slavery. However, the emancipatory passages in his writings complicate the story.
50 views0 comments
Aaron Mead
- Jan 6
- 4 min
Were My Ancestors Pro-slavery Preachers?
Bishop William Meade, a pro-slavery preacher, may be my ancestor. My novel, Neither Slave nor Free, alters that shameful family story.
78 views0 comments
Aaron Mead
- Nov 18, 2022
- 10 min
Backstory to Philemon: The Fugitive Slave Theory
What circumstance gave rise to the New Testament letter to Philemon? Was Onesimus a fugitive slave?
59 views0 comments
Aaron Mead
- Dec 28, 2021
- 5 min
Slavery in the New Testament, Part 1: Expect Liberation
The story goes that Martin Luther King Jr. used to carry around a copy of Howard Thurman’s Jesus and the Disinherited everywhere he went....
37 views0 comments
Aaron Mead
- Nov 1, 2021
- 2 min
Rowing into the Future
Hebrew actually and logically speaks of the past as what lies in front of us so that we can see it and of the future as what lies behind...
9 views0 comments
Aaron Mead
- Feb 19, 2021
- 4 min
Half the Black Congregation Walked Out on the White Presbyterian Preacher
Philemon is the shortest of Paul’s epistles. Although even identifying the subject matter of the letter is controversial, readers...
47 views0 comments
Aaron Mead
- Oct 6, 2020
- 4 min
A Lesson in Anti-Racism: Esi Edugyan’s Washington Black
In recently reading Esi Edugyan’s majestic 2018 novel, Washington Black, I noticed a thematic similarity with Paul’s New Testament letter...
12 views0 comments
Aaron Mead
- Dec 23, 2019
- 2 min
Zechariah in the Temple: An Advent Devotion
The following is an imaginative fictional account of Zechariah’s experience in the temple (Luke 1:5-20). I suggest reading the passage of...
9 views0 comments
Aaron Mead
- Jan 20, 2019
- 5 min
Mind the Gap: The Gospels and Oral Transmission
In recent posts (e.g., here and here), I’ve been writing about the authorship of the Gospels, and the degree to which Gospel content may...
6 views0 comments
Aaron Mead
- Dec 2, 2018
- 6 min
Advent and the Gospel
Lately, I’ve been thinking about what, exactly, the message of the gospel is. Of course, the term ‘gospel’ means “good news.” The puzzle...
1 view0 comments
Aaron Mead
- Apr 22, 2018
- 8 min
…and then the apostle Paul sent the slave back to his master
During the struggle for the abolition of slavery and the slave trade in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the New Testament letter...
74 views0 comments
Aaron Mead
- Feb 23, 2018
- 6 min
White Collar Sweatshops and Communism for the Rich: The View from Vietnam
There is something deeply right and beautiful about the principle, “From each according to her ability, to each according to her need.”...
2 views0 comments
Aaron Mead
- Dec 12, 2017
- 8 min
Pope Francis on the Lord’s Prayer: Leading Us into Temptation
Like the rest of the New Testament, the Lord’s Prayer was originally written in Koine Greek (though Jesus likely spoke it in Aramaic)....
1 view0 comments
Aaron Mead
- Dec 10, 2017
- 1 min
What’s Wrong with Networking? An Ethicist’s Perspective
My latest post is published on Medium.com. Choice quote: A while back a more seasoned colleague gave me some networking advice. He...
0 views0 comments
Aaron Mead
- Nov 14, 2017
- 3 min
To Whom Much is Given, Little is Expected (Sometimes)
I’ve been given much. It’s been given to me to hear, understand, and embrace the gospel of Jesus. I’ve been given a wonderful family;...
5 views0 comments
Aaron Mead
- Oct 22, 2017
- 4 min
Paul Against Peter and James
Lately I’ve begun reading commentaries on some of the Apostle Paul’s letters in the New Testament as part of my research for a novel I’m...
2 views0 comments
Aaron Mead
- Sep 14, 2017
- 3 min
Death and Glory on the Mountaintop
If I’m perfectly honest, I want glory. I want my gifts to be reflected far and wide. I want my accomplishments to be honored by many...
2 views0 comments
Aaron Mead
- Aug 20, 2017
- 3 min
“Have to” or “Want to”?
At the beginning of last school year my daughter made a friend who has had an especially hard childhood. As the year wore on, she learned...
0 views0 comments
bottom of page