Dale Martin, Slavery as Salvation: The Metaphor of Slavery in Pauline Christianity

Summary

This article portrays Dale Martin’s Slavery as Salvation (1990) as a ‘key text’. In his landmark study Martin characterises the Pauline metaphorical expression δοῦλος Χριστοῦ (slave of Christ) as a designation for salvation and leadership. A short survey of previous scholarship on this phrase will illuminate the challenging character of Martin’s work. The presentation of Martin’s book will be followed by a short evaluation in which the arguments of his most prominent critic John Byron (2003) will be outlined. The article closes with a brief problematisation of both Martin’s and Byron’s work.