The Civil War as a Theological Crisis..., Mark A. Noll
The Civil War as a Theological Crisis..., Mark A. Noll
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The Civil War as a Theological Crisis

Author: Mark A. Noll

Narrator: Marc Cashman

Unabridged: 7 hr 6 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 10/13/2010

Synopsis

The Civil War was a major turning point in American religious thought, argues Mark A. Noll. Although Christian believers agreed with one another that the Bible was authoritative and that it should be interpreted through commonsense principles, there was rampant disagreement about what Scripture taught about slavery. Furthermore, most Americans continued to believe that God ruled over the affairs of people and nations, but they were radically divided in their interpretations of what God was doing in and through the war.In addition to examining what white and black Americans wrote about slavery and race, Noll surveys commentary from foreign observers. Protestants and Catholics in Europe and Canada saw clearly that no matter how much the voluntary reliance on scriptural authority had contributed to the construction of national civilization, if there were no higher religious authority than personal interpretation regarding an issue as contentious as slavery, the resulting public deadlock would amount to a full-blown theological crisis. By highlighting this theological conflict, Noll adds to our understanding of not only the origins but also the intensity of the Civil War.

About Mark A. Noll

Mark A. Noll is professor of history emeritus at the University of Notre Dame. His recent publications include In the Beginning Was the Word: The Bible in American Public Life, 1492-1783; America's God: From Jonathan Edwards to Abraham Lincoln; and, as coeditor, Protestantism after 500 Years.

Reviews

Goodreads review by James on August 03, 2011

The Civil War as a Theological Crisis is The Steven and Janice Brose Lectures in the Civil War Era, delivered at the University of North Carolina, and as a book that came out of a series of lectures, it has a relatively conversational and approachable tone. Mark Noll is an eminent historian of Chris......more

Goodreads review by Matthew on April 06, 2022

An excellent read that addresses a deficit in our understanding of the Civil War. Recommended for students of theology and history alike. I was constantly surprised how similar many contemporary theological debates sound in comparison to the arguments of abolitionists versus proponents of slavery.......more

Goodreads review by Brian on October 17, 2015

Intriguingly even handed. Won't just assume that the America of the past was more religiously faithful, but endeavors to quantify that. Won't just assume that the consequences of that fervor and piety are entirely positive but endeavors to show the firmly-held divisions that result. Even for readers......more

Goodreads review by Christopher on September 16, 2013

This book shows how the beliefs and assumptions held by American Christians in 1860 precluded any kind of critical reflection on the Civil War. If you've read Nathan Hatch's Democratization of American Christianity, this serves as an excellent second installment in the saga. Many of the ideals whose......more

Goodreads review by Dakota on September 16, 2020

Chapter three,"The Crisis over the Bible,"is the meat of the book. In it Noll observes that antebellum protestantism was mostly unified in its interpretation of slavery with some exceptions (Quakers, for example) along with a robust confidence in Scripture. He explains that Christian values in revol......more

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