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Summary Of Mark Noll The Civil War As A Theological Crisis

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“The Civil War as a Theological Crisis” written by Mark A. Noll, presents an in-depth view on the conflicts surrounding the interpretation of the Bible, slavery and the Civil War. In addition, he explains how the opposing interpretations of the Bible, slavery and the Civil War remain connected throughout. Moreover, his work depicts the complexities regarding Bible analysis and how these accounts were formed and debated. Mark Noll, is a Historian of Christianity in America and a Professor at Notre Dame is considered an expert in the field. The major argument of this work suggests “The United States in 1860 was not uniquely religious, but was nonetheless, and by almost any standard of comparison, a remarkably religious society”. Moreover, Noll …show more content…

Moreover, he demonstrates a divided population, one side who would offer resistance and demand change, the other side would also offer resistance to condemn the change in order to protect the existing conditions. Thus, many new interpretations came forth. For instance, some utilized the Bible to justify slavery while others used the Bible to disprove slavery. This is important as it presented or identified the religious conflict that occurred. Although, religious ideals across America’s population remained in opposition, each managed to place their mark that would proceed into the future despite the overwhelming amount of diversity that …show more content…

However, different times or centuries, each present their own story and struggles regarding religion. People, society, and politics in America, of course, involved a wide range of differing views regarding important issues of the time and religion was at the center. Noll depicts the fervent opposition of those involved in which he captured and delivered in “The Civil War as a Theological Crisis”. Noll introduces several notable figures and their views concerning slavery and how they believed the situation should be handled according to their own interpretation of the Bible. The different explanations introduced were thought provoking and provided a deep portrayal on just how passionate each side was about their beliefs towards slavery. For instance, he incorporated speeches, letters, and journals from notable figures religious and political of the period, which reinforce his stance and illustrated how America was overwhelmingly a religious society and experienced a theological crisis as indicated by his works title. Also, this technique enhances the passion of the peoples. The primary sources introduced bring validity, but genuinely sets the background of the challenges concerning religious conflicts. Noll’s work is comparable to Butler’s and Wacker’s in that each provide several primary sources from which to gather a deeper understanding of the context of the time discussed. They each adequately display

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