The household codes : the relationship among family members in the teaching of Saint Paul

Abstract

At the time when the idea of presenting a study for my Honours dissertation, on the relationships among family members of early Christianity, had crossed my mind, I was attending an in-service course organized by the Education department. In fact, we were discussing the problems encountered between parents and adolescents within the family. By analysing the different documents available, one arrives at obtaining a wider vision of the situation that early Christians faced within the nucleus of their families. Also, by studying the different texts, one concludes how similar the problems of early Christian families are to those of present day families. In this study, a group of New Testament Writings were chosen to be analysed and studied through well known and, most importantly, recent commentaries. The texts were divided into sections each concerning a particular group of the early Christian communities, namely husbands and wives, parents and children, masters and slaves and also sections on elders and widows. This study goes through four important Pauline and Deutero-Pauline writings, namely 1 Timothy, Titus, Colossians and Ephesians, and especially those sections that concern the study on the Household Codes or "Haustafeln". I hope that through my work and the help of my tutor, the concept of sound 'Christian relationship, so important for the right management of families, has been thoroughly explained and serves as an impetus for the improvement of relationships within my family and the families of others.