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shaney_swift's review against another edition
Too academic for my preferences, did not hold my attention.
mscoutj's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting enough, but it was either 150 pages too long or 150 pages too short. The gist of it is this: the Civil War was a theological crisis because the US's religious freedom allowed anyone to interpret the Bible in any manner they wished. If I can explain that in one sentence, then I don't need 200 pages. There were lost of examples of how different people used the Bible to reinforce their position regarding slavery, but we already knew that, didn't we?
ddeanne's review against another edition
3.0
A solid academic book that does what is says on the tin.
smessmores's review against another edition
3.0
I'm not sure quite what I was hoping for from the book but what I got wasn't it, hence the three stars. It was informative, but I think I was expecting more drawing out applications and future patterns rather than merely cataloging statements. One of the things I really appreciated was the connection between religion and the growth of what American republicanism meant. I was surprised that European writers were able to clearly see the slavery/race connection so strongly, since I've never studied European views of American slavery before.
bottleofink's review against another edition
4.0
A must read for any American Christian, even if some sections ran a little longer than needed.
quodfelix's review against another edition
5.0
This book clarified a number of important things for me in a very readable format. Originally a set of lectures, the chapters come across as someone talking to you and the arguments are laid out so that one might be able to follow them orally easily.
I had always wondered about the Biblical arguments over slavery. Pro-slavery arguments always seemed able to quote chapter and verse, and I could never seem to find any anti-slavery arguments with a similar approach. There were some, apparently, but many of the anti-slavery arguments based on Christianity relied more on the spirit of the New Testament rather than the laws of the Old Testament.
Noll discussed the impact of the use of the Bible to justify positions on slavery. He also looked at the belief in Providence. Each side used the Bible and the belief in Providence to explain the war. One of the results was that after the war, the ability of the Christian Church to provide moral direction was severely hindered because the basis of authority that was often cited was cited by both sides during the war. Thus, even before Darwin's theory, the challenge to the church had already begun.
There was also an interesting section on Christian perspective on the War from overseas. Protestants tended to favor the Northern perspective and could not understand the way Southerners used the Bible to justify their actions. The Roman Catholic Church perspective was even more fascinating. They saw the way as the inevitable outcome of the Protestant emphasis on everyone being able to read and interpret the Bible. The lack of authority meant that anyone could interpret the Bible as they wanted, and they saw the American interpretations as being driven by materialism (both North and South being tied to slavery and its economic products).
A very thought provoking book for folks interested in the Civil War, certainly, but also for those interested in the role of religion in America. Observations about the use of literal translations and cherry picking verses and the broad authority of every individual to read and interpret Scripture have echoes in today's nation as well.
I had always wondered about the Biblical arguments over slavery. Pro-slavery arguments always seemed able to quote chapter and verse, and I could never seem to find any anti-slavery arguments with a similar approach. There were some, apparently, but many of the anti-slavery arguments based on Christianity relied more on the spirit of the New Testament rather than the laws of the Old Testament.
Noll discussed the impact of the use of the Bible to justify positions on slavery. He also looked at the belief in Providence. Each side used the Bible and the belief in Providence to explain the war. One of the results was that after the war, the ability of the Christian Church to provide moral direction was severely hindered because the basis of authority that was often cited was cited by both sides during the war. Thus, even before Darwin's theory, the challenge to the church had already begun.
There was also an interesting section on Christian perspective on the War from overseas. Protestants tended to favor the Northern perspective and could not understand the way Southerners used the Bible to justify their actions. The Roman Catholic Church perspective was even more fascinating. They saw the way as the inevitable outcome of the Protestant emphasis on everyone being able to read and interpret the Bible. The lack of authority meant that anyone could interpret the Bible as they wanted, and they saw the American interpretations as being driven by materialism (both North and South being tied to slavery and its economic products).
A very thought provoking book for folks interested in the Civil War, certainly, but also for those interested in the role of religion in America. Observations about the use of literal translations and cherry picking verses and the broad authority of every individual to read and interpret Scripture have echoes in today's nation as well.
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