Civil War and Scripture
The case for taking the Bible literally created quite a stir in 19th century America. It was, of course, the popular position to take. The democratic spirit had given great resource to the idea of everyone simply reading the Bible for themselves. The plain and simple sense of Scripture would be plain to anyone who had eyes to see.
So it was quite plain to see for most ministers and theologians in the middle years of the 19th century to thus argue that slavery was perfectly acceptable to God and it would be an affront to the Bible to try and change the institution of slavery. Those who took another point of view and tried to suggest that the spirit of the Bible or the spirit of God purposes would suggest freedom for every person fell on deaf ears and earned the charge of being a person who didn't take the Bible seriously.
I find it so amazing that the cultural forces at work in America had appropriated Scripture itself to uphold a cultural vision that nearly everywhere else in the world had long since been left behind. I think, in a large way, the reason for it was the ability to uphold the institution of slavery by a naive appeal to the literal sense of the Bible.
Having said that, I wonder what cultural factors are at work for us in the 21st century that we either resist or uphold by making similar appeals to the Bible?
The scary thing is that in the middle of our holding on to or resisting we make a mockery of the Scripture's voice to enlighten and guide God's people. In the 1800's the moderate voices that sought to hear the heart of God in Scripture and resisted making the Bible a lawbook were usually ignored. And unfortunately, it was not a theologian or a preacher or even a regular church going person who helped to stay the course. With characteristic humility, Abraham Lincoln himself could speak of persons from the north and the south, "Both read the same Bible, and pray to the same God."
It is regrettable to see the Bible become the club by which we enforce a way of thinking, rather than allowing the Bible to set a course for freedom, equality, and hope.
Carson Reed
in Interpretation of Scripture
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Reader Comments (4)
You opened the floodgates and no one entered. I can't believe there are any posts! ;-)
I would also be intrigued to know what inspired this entry...
I can't help but think that Christians are still dealing with the same fundamental issue that drove the debate over slavery- equality. Today that manifests itself in addressing the current attitudes towards feminism and homosexuality.
It's easy to get mired in splitting hairs over laws. But if examined hard enough you begin to see the futility in it. The pure gospel- removed from political agendas- is pretty straightforward.
I also appreciate the need to continue to engage how we read and understand Scripture. For something we all see as essential to guiding our faith, we don't spend a lot of time thinking about how that is supposed to work.
And I think we've innoculated ourselves against seeing how Scripture's core messages so often run counter to the cultural values we let run our lives.