Slave Metaphor and Gendered Enslavement in Early Christian Discourse

<p><em>The Slave Metaphor and Gendered Enslavement in Early Christian Discourse</em> adds new knowledge to the ongoing discussion of slavery in early Christian discourse. Kartzow argues that the complex tension between metaphor and social reality in early Christian discourse is undertheorized. A metaphor can be so much more than an innocent thought figure; it involves bodies relationships life stories and memory in complex ways. The slavery metaphor is troubling since it makes theology of a social institution that is profoundly troubling. This study rethinks the potential meaning of the slavery metaphor in early Christian discourse by use of a variety of texts read with a whole set of theoretical tools taken from metaphor theory and intersectional gender studies in particular. It also takes seriously the contemporary context of <em>modern slavery</em> where slavery has re-appeared as a term to name trafficking gendered violence and inhuman power systems.</p>