One of the shortest letters to be found in the Bible is a letter written by
the Apostle Paul to one of his converts by the name of Philemon.
Apparently Philemon was a slave owner and one of his slaves, Onesimus, had
stolen from him and then run away.

But Onesimus came under Paul's influence and was converted to Christianity
and became convinced that he should return to his master. Realizing that
his crime was punishable by death under Roman law this returning slave
needed a good lawyer (or copywriter) on his side.

Paul, realizing the quagmire his new convert Onesimus was in decided to
write a very tactful letter to Philemon to persuade him to forgive Onesimus
and accept him as a brother. In just about 420 words Paul crafts one of
the most persuasive letters to be found in the entire Bible.

Let's look at Paul the copywriter.

Paul structures his letter after a popular form taught by ancient Greek and
Roman teachers:

1. Build rapport (ethos)
2. Persuade the mind (logos)
3. Move the emotions (pathos)

Paul builds rapport by reminding Philemon of their former relationship and
calls him "brother" and goes out of his way to compliments Philemon. We
see this in verses 4-10 of his letter. Note the kind and light
conversational tone of Paul's approach:

"I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear
about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints. I pray
that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full
understanding of every good thing we have in Christ. Your love has given
me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the
hearts of the saints.

Therefore, although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you
ought to do, yet I appeal to you on the basis of love. I then, as Paul-an
old man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus- I appeal to you for my
son Onesimus, who became my son while I was in chains."

A quick study of the choice of words turns up: "thank, remember, you, your,
love, sharing, good, joy, encouragement, brother, hearts, saints, appeal,
son." All these words are meant to build rapport and soften Philemon for
the request that is ahead. Note also that the name Onesimus is not
mentioned until the rapport is built.

Now comes the time for the logos-persuading the mind. Note the arguments
and logic of Paul's approach in this section of the letter: (verses 11-19)

"Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you
and to me.

I am sending him-who is my very heart-back to you. I would have liked to
keep him with me so that he could take your place in helping me while I am
in chains for the gospel. But I did not want to do anything without your
consent, so that any favor you do will be spontaneous and not forced.
Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that
you might have him back for good-no longer as a slave, but better than a
slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you,
both as a man and as a brother in the Lord.

So if you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. If he
has done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to me. I, Paul, am
writing this with my own hand. I will pay it back-not to mention that you
owe me your very self."

Notice the arguments Paul uses here:

a. Onesimus is so useful that I wanted to keep him for myself, He must have
been also very useful to you.

b. Since you own him it would not be fair for me to do anything without
your permission

c. It was 'good' that he ran away because he may not have ever become a
Christian

d. I will pay any debt he owes you even though you owe me yourself

All these are "reasons why" Philemon should accept Onesimus. And the real
call to action comes near the end of this section: "So if you consider me
a partner, welcome him as you would welcome me."

Finally he appeals to Philemon's emotions. (Verses 20,21)

"I do wish, brother, that I may have some benefit from you in the Lord;
refresh my heart in Christ. Confident of your obedience, I write to you,
knowing that you will do even more than I ask."

Note his use of "brother", "heart" and the expressed confidence that
Philemon would do the right thing. He is affirming the right action. And
like any great copywriter Paul include a "But there's more" after
presenting his main offer. He asks Philemon to prepare a guest room for
his next visit.

All the great tenets of great copywriting can be seen in this short letter.
Written in a conversational tone, writing as to a friend, giving' reasons
why' to take action, a well structured letter, a call to action, spelled
out benefits of taking the desired action, use of emotive words, risk
reversal, flattering the reader, and much more …
Copywriting is an old art indeed!

Raydal,

Nice study of persuasive writing used in the Bible.

Thanks for sharing.

Glad you like it Yancey. The more I study copywriting and read those who try to spin some fancy terms on old ideas I have to smile. Persuasion is a very old art to which we have applied new and fancy terms.

And who we consider as the "first" is not really the first.

There's a lot o' gold in dem ol' hills.

-Ray L.,

That's great, Ray! Persuasion is indeed a very old art form.

John