The text discusses the invisible contributions that enslaved people made to early Christianity and the writing of the New Testament. It argues that our modern understanding of authorship overlooks the collaboration between masters and slaves.

Enslaved people worked as scribes, copyists, readers, secretaries, and messengers who helped produce, distribute, and interpret early Christian literature. Figures like Tertius, Epaphroditus, and Onesimus assisted Paul in writing his letters. The four Gospels may have been shaped by enslaved co-authors as well.

Stories are presented to imagine how enslaved collaborators may have impacted biblical texts. For example, an enslaved reader named Felix adds details to Mark's gospel during a performance. The text also explores how beliefs like martyrdom, spiritual possession, and hell drew from the realities of slavery.

Overall, the work seeks to make enslaved contributions visible and reconsider how their experiences shaped early Christian identity and practice. Concepts like authority, authorship, community, and justice developed in dialogue with the systems of Roman slavery that the New Testament both engaged with and helped legitimize. A more complete history must acknowledge how enslaved labor interwove with the rise of Christian ideas, traditions, and power structures.

In summary, the text uses history, literature and theory to argue that our modern understanding of the Bible overlooks the formative role of invisible enslaved collaborators in producing, disseminating and interpreting early Christian texts and traditions. It seeks to give voice to their invisible labor and bring understanding of how slavery shaped Christianity.