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A review by davehershey
The Civil War as a Theological Crisis by Mark A. Noll
5.0
I've gotten into debates with people about whether the Bible allows for slavery. Everyone I have ever argued with has argued that the Bible condemns slavery. We are unified as Christians in seeing slavery as a horrific sin.
Yet go back to the era of the Civil War and the mainstream opinion was that the Bible approved of slavery. Mark Noll's fantastic book documents this in great detail. He shows that the very ideologies that made America what it was, such as individualism and democracy, led to a way of reading the bible "literally" that affirmed slavery. Southern theologians argued that the Bible supported slavery. They went further to argue that abolitionists went down a path that denied the Bible. To deny the straightforward and literal reading of the text was to move away from orthodoxy. Surprisingly, many in the North agreed! Northern theologians often came at the Bible with the same presuppositions and thus said the Bible allows slavery. The usual tact then was to argue that the form of slavery practiced in the south was far from the slavery allowed for in scripture. Thus they allowed for slavery as an institution, but attacked the specifics of southern slavery.
Overall it is a fantastic book. But it is more fantastic for making us think about how we read the Bible today then it is for shedding light on how it was read then. That is because many who are so quick to say the Bible does not allow slavery are the theological descendants of those who said the Bible did allow slavery. And many today read the Bible in the exact same way as those in the 1860s did!
The hot-button issue of today is gay marriage and I could not help but think of that often. The argument for slavery relied on a simple reading, picking out the clear proof-texts from all over scripture. Today the argument against gay marriage also rests on a few proof-texts. Further, back then those who argued the Bible does not allow slavery focused on the spiritual interpretation or the grand narrative of scripture. In other words, they moved past the words of a few texts to emphasize the principle beneath. For this they were accused of straying from orthodoxy. Those who defend gay marriage today use the same sort of argument.
How many who argue against gay marriage today shudder to realize how their theological arguments used the same arguments for slavery? At the very least this ought to humble us. It ought to make Christians very cautious when entering debate on these sorts of issues.
I listed this book as church history, but perhaps it ought to be required reading for those who interpret the Bible. As we interpret the Bible we need to keep in mind lessons from those who interpreted it before us, to help us steer clear of their same mistakes.
Yet go back to the era of the Civil War and the mainstream opinion was that the Bible approved of slavery. Mark Noll's fantastic book documents this in great detail. He shows that the very ideologies that made America what it was, such as individualism and democracy, led to a way of reading the bible "literally" that affirmed slavery. Southern theologians argued that the Bible supported slavery. They went further to argue that abolitionists went down a path that denied the Bible. To deny the straightforward and literal reading of the text was to move away from orthodoxy. Surprisingly, many in the North agreed! Northern theologians often came at the Bible with the same presuppositions and thus said the Bible allows slavery. The usual tact then was to argue that the form of slavery practiced in the south was far from the slavery allowed for in scripture. Thus they allowed for slavery as an institution, but attacked the specifics of southern slavery.
Overall it is a fantastic book. But it is more fantastic for making us think about how we read the Bible today then it is for shedding light on how it was read then. That is because many who are so quick to say the Bible does not allow slavery are the theological descendants of those who said the Bible did allow slavery. And many today read the Bible in the exact same way as those in the 1860s did!
The hot-button issue of today is gay marriage and I could not help but think of that often. The argument for slavery relied on a simple reading, picking out the clear proof-texts from all over scripture. Today the argument against gay marriage also rests on a few proof-texts. Further, back then those who argued the Bible does not allow slavery focused on the spiritual interpretation or the grand narrative of scripture. In other words, they moved past the words of a few texts to emphasize the principle beneath. For this they were accused of straying from orthodoxy. Those who defend gay marriage today use the same sort of argument.
How many who argue against gay marriage today shudder to realize how their theological arguments used the same arguments for slavery? At the very least this ought to humble us. It ought to make Christians very cautious when entering debate on these sorts of issues.
I listed this book as church history, but perhaps it ought to be required reading for those who interpret the Bible. As we interpret the Bible we need to keep in mind lessons from those who interpreted it before us, to help us steer clear of their same mistakes.