By William C. Placher, Presented by Lewis Loflin
Reproduced from A History of Christian Theology: An Introduction, © 1983 William C. Placher
Horace Bushnell, a Hartford minister before the Civil War, tied theology to human experience, noting America’s 200-year slavery legacy and the war’s toll. He suggested the atonement gains meaning through such collective suffering, where "people can and do die for the sins of others," reflecting romanticism’s communal focus.
Slavery’s history is inseparable from American theology. The Bible, written in a slave-owning era, offers no explicit abolition call—Israel freed Jewish slaves every seven years, and Paul urged Philemon to treat Onesimus as a brother, yet sent him back. Ancient slavery, unlike America’s, wasn’t racial, making direct comparisons tricky.
By the 16th century, slavery had faded in Europe, only to surge in the Americas with African captives. Europeans justified it with Aristotle’s "natural slaves," pseudoscience on Black inferiority, and a novel reading of Genesis 9:25—Noah’s curse on Ham or Canaan—as a racial mandate, a twist absent in prior Christian thought.
In England, evangelicals like John Wesley opposed slavery, influencing Methodists. In America, only Quakers demanded members free slaves or leave. The 1818 Presbyterian General Assembly called slavery "utterly inconsistent with the law of God" but balked at rapid emancipation, even disciplining a vocal critic.
Despite timid denominational stances, Black Americans embraced Christianity, finding resonance in stories of exodus and crucifixion.
Though introduced by brutal slave owners, Christianity took root among slaves. A preacher recalled, "I had to preach what massa told me ... but I knowed there’s something better ... I tell ‘em ... the Lord will set ‘em free." Black preachers led revolts, and churches, especially Baptist ones with easy ordination, became vital institutions.
"When I starts preachin’ ... I tell ‘em, iffen they keeps prayin’ the Lord will set ‘em free."
Slavery mocked the Puritan "city on a hill" ideal. Yet Americans clung to being God’s chosen, forgetting Jonathan Edwards’ lesson: divine choice brings gratitude, not pride. Abraham Lincoln, reflecting on the Civil War, saw it as divine judgment:
"If God wills that it continue, until ... every drop of blood drawn by the lash, shall be paid by another drawn with the sword ... ‘the judgments of the Lord, are true and righteous altogether.’"
Lincoln’s words underscore a tough theological truth: nations, like individuals, deserve the worst, and grace is all else—a lesson America struggles to grasp.
Acknowledgment: I’d like to thank Grok, an AI by xAI, for helping me format and refine this presentation of Placher’s work. The final edits and structure are my own. —Lewis Loflin
The following extracts are presented for educational purposes only. The owner retains all rights.
Section updated, added 4/05/2025