Flynt: The Southern Baptists In Appalachia

In 1844, there was great division over the issue of slavery. The Baptists of the South felt that the Northerners’ position that “‘slaveholding brethren were less than followers of Jesus’ effectively obliged slaveholding Southerners to leave the fellowship” . There was also disagreement between the Northerners and Southerners over the number of missionaries being supported and sent to the South (probably because of

According to Hinks, Methodists were usually more willing to place “the powerful God of Christianity… on the side of social and political justice.” One religious message that Walker conveys through this Appeal that supports this claim, was

“On a Christian Mission to the Top” by Laurie Goodstein and David Kirkpatrick deals with the controversial topic of religion, primarily the rise of evangelicals to the top of the social classes and their influence. The essay opens with a description of the differing religious groups in Brown University, originally a Protestant Christian school. After evangelicals surpassed other denominations of Christianity, the societal and political perspectives of America shifted to support Evangelism views. Goodstein and Kirkpatrick examine the attempt to sway colleges to evangelist perspectives. While I wholeheartedly encourage the freedom of religion, I do not support this attempt at mass conversion or the refusal of accepting of other cultures.

Since the beginning of slavery, leaders called on their faith to justify the immoral actions of the slave trade. These strong preachers for their communities’ strategically defined the meanings of scriptures to sway members into the ideals of North vs. South. Richard Furman and John G. Fee are historical activists using scripture to inform the community of their views. Both figures, arguments juxtaposed reveal the stark differences in their interpretations of the connection between human nature and scripture.

The first segment is about the "old" South and the plantations, slavery, supported by law, church, schools, and press. The second is the new order of Reconstruction, occupation and a changed federal Constitution. The third one is the third regime, following Reconstruction, which was the longest, characterized by the regime of "Jim Crow.” The last segment is the newest phase, comprising the demise of Jim Crow and the renewed intense devotion of the federal government and civil rights leaders to establish racial equality. This segments of Southern history has been involved to the relationship between the white and black race, specifically the legal and social status of blacks, and this work is essentially a study of the third segment - the rise and entrenchment of Jim

While his work did not engage directly with the topic, a tinge of anti-intellectualism was fostered within the movement this book examined. In Spiritual Mobilization’s magazine, Faith and Freedom, the editor devoted an entire issue to confronting clergymen who supported the Social Gospel, a movement which he claimed was led by, “a small, unusually articulate minority who feel political power is the way to save the world. . .” If the articles of the 1930’s demonstrated a distrust of the “unusually articulate,” the embracing of religious identity and language publicly by the Eisenhower administration had created an atmosphere in the 1950's whereby the Gideons International, Inc. was actively trying to influence curriculum in U.S. schools. Traveling preachers successfully utilized marketing techniques to blend entertainment, education, and religion into a single message. Sadly, that single message forbade the kind of discourse or dissent which fosters intellectual growth. Rather, the libertarian ideologies, which had inspired the original rebellion against the Social Gospel, had come to full fruition in snuffing out dissenters and making commonplace the existence of state-sanctioned

I sat down at my kitchen table with Michael Bruxvoort, a friend and fellow Tar Heel at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on October 25th, 2015. We laughed and talked about his journey through life and all the memories, obstacles and pleasures along the way. Among the many topics we spoke about, the ones that seemed most relevant to him and myself were: the family dynamics of religion within his household, his process of religion through secular spaces and lastly, his transition to Chapel Hill, NC and making it his home. Our conversation through Michael 's life shows how his faith has shaped him to be the man he is today. Through this paper, I will explain and analyze these topics in hopes of better understanding geographies of religion.

From the Revolutionary War onwards, the South has been developed as the shining example of what an American should be like. Slavery was a huge attribute of Southern society, though looked down upon by the world, it was practiced and eagerly defended by political logic and religious zeal. One argument is made from a Senator

The objective of this study is to examine the Baptist Church and slavery prior to the Civil War or the war that took place between the North and the South U.S. armies, which was a war, fought to a great extent over the issue of slavery. The 1840s and 1850s witnessed many of the largest denominations in America having internal struggles over the issues of slavery and even earlier, it is reported that there was a split in the Presbyterian church over the issue of slavery. The Baptists however are reported to have maintained peace through careful avoidance of discussion upon the topic however, the topic could not be avoided in 1840 as the issue came to ahead. The argument posited by Baptist Southern delegates was that while slavery was a tragic circumstance that it could not be considered to be a sin. The Alabama Convention requested that slave owners be eligible to become missionaries and the request was denied by the Baptist Board. Following this, a Baptist Free mission Society was formed and this organization did not want the dirty money of the South. The southern members withdrew from the Baptist Convention and formed the Southern Baptist Convention, which is now the largest Protestant denomination in the country.

Heyrman Christine Leigh’s “Southern Cross: The Beginnings of the Bible Belt” goes hand in hand with Greenberg Kenneth’s concepts on the depiction of southern men. Both texts present the structural relationship between the social elites and those considered to be at the bottom of the societal pyramid. In this case, slaves held the last place as per the laws by the white people. Heyrman points out that the turn of the century brought changes that shook the south and said changes did not have the perfect qualities that have since been encompassed into America’s history. On the other hand, Greenberg’s ideologies and arguments regarding the American men seem to concur with and attest to all the points made by Heyrman while providing different views to the same. This paper seeks to identify the depiction of Southern white Americans in both books and identify the similarities and differences with the inclusion of societies and northern states.

The Episcopal Church possesses an important history in its own part as well. Fortunately, some historians have made excellent contributions to the history of Episcopalianism in the South, which are relevant to the study of Episcopalians in Roanoke, Virginia. Rhys Isaac’s The Transformation of Virginia, 1740-1790 is a classic text on Southern religious history, and in Virginian religious history in particular. Isaac is especially helpful in explaining the disestablishment of the Anglican Church and the reorganization into the Episcopal Church. But once the Episcopal Church began, it quickly encountered a crisis of identity, with some desiring to maintain a “high church” liturgy, while others, perhaps adapting to the surrounding religious culture, tiptoed into a “low church” evangelicalism. Diana Hochstedt Butler’s Standing Against the Whirlwind is effective in its portrayal of the evangelical influence in the Episcopal Church, which seems to have had an influence not only in Virginia, but also in Roanoke in particular. Nevertheless, research from Thomas F. Rzeznik and Peter W. Williams have demonstrated that Episcopalians were also generally sophisticated and cultured. But even these apparent privileges did not prevent Episcopalians in Roanoke from facing their share of struggles. Even still, in the words of Walter B. Posey, “[T]his transplanted church remained close to its traditional faith and ritual,” and the same was true in Magic

The Holy Bible authorities people to be evangelists for Jesus Christ, and they will impart their beliefs on others, therefore knowing the doctrine of Jesus Christ is important.

Religion’s influence in the South is appropriate, in multiple aspects. Religion is tied to politics in different levels of government and in everyday life. In the State of North Carolina, our state constitution directly mentions God/religion in the preamble, which is as follows, “We, the people of the State of North Carolina, grateful to Almighty God, the Sovereign Ruler of Nations, for the preservation of the American Union and the existence of our civil, political and religious liberties, and acknowledging our dependence upon Him for the continuance of those blessings to us and our posterity…” With this North Carolina is stating that the use of religion is appropriate for governmental attributes and therefore is appropriate therein.

Dr. Joe Newman, secondary principal of First Assembly Christian School in Memphis, Tennessee, holds a Ph.D. in United States history and a M.Ed. in educational administration, and is also an ordained minister in the Assemblies of God having served in various positions since 1981. Dr. Newman’s credibility on the subject of race, gender, and economic issues in the Assemblies of God church is noted in his book, Race and The Assemblies of God Church: The Journey from Azusa Street to the “Miracle of Memphis”. With the genre of his book as historical non-fiction, many historical and society changing cultural events are explored and are essential to explaining and understanding the stance of the Assemblies of God church in their support of racial

Religion’s role in the fight for equality is an especially divisive factor in America during the period before the Civil War. In the late 1700’s, Americans are relatively united under a common Christian identity. A Poem, On the Rising Glory of America uses Christian overtones