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A review by persistent_reader
The Civil War as a Theological Crisis by Mark A. Noll
4.0
What happens when professing Christians who also profess to hold the authority in the Bible in high esteem have diametrically opposing views of slavery based on those very Scriptures? Does God speak from both sides of his mouth? Who is right and by what authority and hermeneutic? According to historian, Mark Noll, what you have is a national theological crisis. This book examines those opposing arguments and also includes the critiques (even support) of slavery and the Civil War from outside the US, protestant and Roman Catholic. The examination of outsider views was very interesting. Unfortunately Noll believes that once the war was over, the theological crisis regarding scriptural interpretation and public ethics, i.e. the prevalent racism, was left unaddressed.
In the last chapter "Retrospect and Prospect," Noll writes, "In addition, the United States has been spared, at least to the present, further shooting wars caused by the kind of strong but religiously divided self-assurance that fueled the Civil War. The republican traditions of liberty and the strong commitments to procedural democracy that have continued in this more secular America have also done a great deal of good at home and abroad."I couldn't help but contrast this statement with the events of January 6, 2021 and the attempted insurrection at the Capitol. One side, in particular, was invoking the "sanction" of God to overthrow procedural democracy.
Noll's observations are worth considering because we may very well be in the midst of our own theological crisis. Was it caused by not addressing the crisis of biblical authority during and after the Civil War? I don't know, but history does have a way of repeating itself.
In the last chapter "Retrospect and Prospect," Noll writes, "In addition, the United States has been spared, at least to the present, further shooting wars caused by the kind of strong but religiously divided self-assurance that fueled the Civil War. The republican traditions of liberty and the strong commitments to procedural democracy that have continued in this more secular America have also done a great deal of good at home and abroad."I couldn't help but contrast this statement with the events of January 6, 2021 and the attempted insurrection at the Capitol. One side, in particular, was invoking the "sanction" of God to overthrow procedural democracy.
Noll's observations are worth considering because we may very well be in the midst of our own theological crisis. Was it caused by not addressing the crisis of biblical authority during and after the Civil War? I don't know, but history does have a way of repeating itself.