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The Shepherd is a second guide, a male who takes her place in the next two sections. In the first set, labeled “Visions,” Hermas meets a female guide who embodies the church, known here as the Woman-Church. The visions in The Shepherd of Hermas are organized in three sections. He had become the head of a household, probably one embedded in a densely populated neighborhood in Rome where people of some means, like Hermas, lived in close proximity with the poor and provided as they were able for their more indigent neighbors. He had been a slave who was freed and appears to have had some financial success before his subsequent reversals. He nevertheless had charismatic authority due to his visions. He was prominent in the Christ groups at Rome although he did not have one of the leadership roles that his work mentions. He shared his visions in the collection known as The Shepherd of Hermas. Hermas was a freedman who lived in the city of Rome in the late first and early second century C.E., most probably a real historical person. Published as a collection in the seventeenth century, writings in The Apostolic Fathers offer many insights into the thought and life of the Christ groups in the early centuries. While these documents were valued by the church leaders who ultimately determined which writings would be part of the New Testament, they were not finally included. Some say this text was more popular even than the Gospel of Mark. The Shepherd of Hermas was particularly popular and viewed by many as of the same value as texts now in the New Testament. These documents circulated widely among Christ groups in the early centuries. The documents in this collection, including The Shepherd of Hermas, were written in the late first and early second century C.E. The Shepherd of Hermas is included in the collection known as The Apostolic Fathers. About The Shepherd of Hermas Where can I find The Shepherd of Hermas? Some basic information about this text will be helpful before we consider the implications of Hermas’s slave experience. His visions offer a window into his interior experience as well as information about the world of early Christ groups. Why is it worth reading? A major reason is the unique view its author, Hermas, offers of his experience of having been a slave, a freedman, and then the head of a household. Most extracanonical texts are shorter than the long and repetitive document, The Shepherd of Hermas. Why bother reading The Shepherd of Hermas today? Many clues to the influence of slavery can be found in extracanonical texts, including The Shepherd of Hermas. Understanding how the slave system is embedded in Christian language can play a role in overcoming slavery’s persistent influence. Ancient slavery shapes more of our religious language today than we may realize. Yet the system of slavery is deeply embedded in concepts and language found in early Christian texts. Most of us today justifiably bristle at the notion of slavery, and many of us seek to undo its terrible legacy. “You’re gonna have to serve somebody” expresses what became a widespread Christian view, a view which Hermas represented at far greater length, the notion that every community member is a ‘slave of God.’ In a few lines, Dylan encapsulates a concept that looms large in The Shepherd of Hermas. Bob Dylan pointedly addresses people in positions of privilege in a lyric from the brief period of his conversion to evangelical Christianity (1979-81).