Ephesians 5 contains what scholars call a “household code” — a list the of behaviors expected of a good member of Roman society. There are many examples in the ancient world that are similar to St. Paul’s. Of course from our perspective so much of the Roman household code was patriarchial and hierarchical and is not what living the gospel life requires. Slaves, be obedient to your human masters with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ. Really? Paul himself names that instruction as contrary to the gospel when he adds that with God there is no partiality. Because the Bible seems to approve of slavery it was not until the nineteenth century that the Church officially condemned it. That serves as a reminder that the doctrine of the Church grows and develops over time — like a child becoming an adult a more developed form of an original idea can grow. Similar development is going on currently in the Church’s condemnation of capital punishment and, in nascent form, the understanding of the role of women.
