God's Household Manager: Reading the Pastoral Epistles in Light of Philodemus
Abstract
Abstract: A common reading of the Pastoral Epistles (PE) is that they seek to inculcate Greco-Roman patriarchal values as normative for the church. A comparative reading of the PE with Philodemus, On Household Management will test that theory. According to the PE, an ideal bishop is “God’s household manager” (Titus 1:7) and “presides well over his own house” (1 Tim 3:4-5). Would a Christian overseer make a good Epicurean household manager? Would Philodemus’s ideal household manager make a good Christian overseer? These questions can help sharpen our understanding of how Greco-Roman social values function in the PE.
This paper has been withdrawn.