Philemon

I confess to a bit of prejudice before starting this book, because I kinda know how the story ends.  It's like someone spoiled the ending of The Sixth Sense for me . . .

1:4 Knowing what Paul is about to ask of Philemon, this certainly smells like buttering up.

1:8,9 A nice touch, and seemingly sincere

1:10 Wow, I didn't expect to find this so touching.

1:20 Hmm I wonder what other requests could reasonably be made under this logic.

So here's the mystery of this disappointingly brief book: who was Onesimus?  What connection did Paul feel with him, or was this a matter of principle, Paul making a point about the relationship between slaves and their masters?  Paul's sincerity pours off the page here, in a way that one seldom sees elsewhere in his writings, so I choose to believe the former: that Onesimus was indeed a remarkable fellow, and special to Paul in some way.  Is he the same Onesimus that later became bishop of Ephesus?  That seems highly dubious, but a fascinating line of inquiry.  In the dogma of the early church, would the power of love and equality as expressed by Christ and, to a lesser extent, by Paul, be strong enough to overcome social prejudices and human pride?