#293: Titus and Philemon | The Cretans are always liars

These are the last two of the epistles attributed to Paul. Philemon is one of Paul's undisputed epistles; Titus is pseudepigraphal (a forgery). There's not much of interest in Titus. But we do learn about liars (God can't tell a lie, Jews and Cretans can't tell the truth), Jewish fables and genealogies (disregard them), wives and slaves (must be obedient), and heretics (are condemned by God and should be avoided). In Philemon, Paul was writing about Onesimus, whom he had converted while in prison, and who was a runaway slave belonging to Philemon. Since Paul was in a position of authority among believers, this would have been a great opportunity for him (and God) to condemn slavery -- if he (and God) had anything against it, that is. But apparently he didn't. Instead he returned the slave to his owner, asking him to free him, but without so much as a word against the institution of slavery itself. The text and notes for this episode can be found here: https://skepticsannotatedbible.com/fewer-words/293.html If you enjoy these podcasts, consider supporting us at https://patreon.com/BFW