Paul has been accused of many things. He’s been called a chauvinist, a supporter of slavery, and, when it comes to children, an authoritarian. These accusations are usually based on readings (misreadings, I believe) of his ethical teachings in texts like Colossians (especially 3:18–4:1) or Ephesians (5:21–6:4) or, to a lesser degree, Philemon. Other scholars have been so perturbed by these passages that they have concluded that Paul could not possibly have written the letters (particularly Colossians and Ephesians). There are numerous problems with this reasoning, not the least of which is that it fails to take into account […]
