“The new evangelical movement in the early 19th century was strongly focused on social justice and social equality. The famous English preacher Charles Spurgeon saw some of his sermons burned in America due to his censure of slavery before the Civil… — Andrew Himes Copy Share Image
“The revival movement was responsible for a tremendous spread of Christianity among slaves in the South. Slaves came in their thousands to camp meetings organized mainly by Baptists and Methodists, where they listened to the same sermons, succumbed to the same transports of emotion, and pledged themselves to the same spiritual renewal as white revivalists. At times white slave owners… — Andrew Himes Copy Share
“The logic of evangelical Protestants in the 18th century led to an inescapable conclusion: If God was indeed no respecter of persons, and if… — Andrew Himes Copy Share Image
“The Baptist teaching that all are equal in the sight of God seemed to run right up against the notion that any human being… — Andrew Himes Copy Share Image
“The political dominance of the Religious Right over the past three decades in America has had a profoundly negative effect on how Americans think about Christianity. A groundbreaking survey titled Unchristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks About Christianity was published in 2007 by the evangelical Christian Barna Group. Its authors, David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons, report that large majorities of… — Andrew Himes Copy Share
“Doak and other early abolitionists planted a host of Presbyterian churches and “log cabin colleges” that taught a strong antislavery doctrine. They laid the basis… — Andrew Himes Copy Share Image
“Charles G. Finney, known as “America’s foremost revivalist,” was a major leader of the Second Great Awakening. Finney was a fiery, entertaining, and spontaneous preacher, and was widely influential among millions of Americans. In addition, however, Finney was deeply concerned with social justice. He was an abolitionist leader who frequently denounced slavery from his pulpit and denied communion to slaveholders.… — Andrew Himes Copy Share
“On the day of their arrival on Hazel Hill my family’s history and fortunes—and my own heritage—were first indissolubly linked with the enslavement of human beings. There Dangerfield bought his first slaves and began building a hemp plantation, the foundation of the family’s wealth and success. Just a few years later, in 1827, he died a prominent citizen and prosperous landowner,… — Andrew Himes Copy Share
“The roots of 20th century American fundamentalism can be discerned in the confluence of these two streams of immigration, culture, and history. A unique American expression of evangelical Christianity emerged—profoundly democratic, anti-royalist and anti-clerical, militant and missional, convinced that God was naturally on the side of Americans. Any who disagreed might be suspected of being on some side other than… — Andrew Himes Copy Share
“A principal leader of the revival movement in east Tennessee was Samuel Doak, the Presbyterian minister who had delivered his famous “Sword of the Lord” sermon in 1780 sending the Tennessee militia off to defeat the British. As the fires of revival flared up in the 1800s, Doak converted to abolitionism, freed all his slaves, and then traveled the countryside preaching… — Andrew Himes Copy Share
“The same radical egalitarianism, however, could just as naturally lead to the belief that any white person, made in the image of God, should… — Andrew Himes Copy Share Image
“Over the forty-two years that the Rice family lived in Missouri during the 19th century, the family evolved from poor dirt farmers to be the owners of many slaves and several contiguous plantations laid out on broad flat plains and green fields south of the wide river. They could leverage vast wealth embodied in human beings whom they owned as… — Andrew Himes Copy Share
“86 percent believe that Christians are hypocritical, saying one thing and doing another. 75 percent believe that Christians are too involved in politics. Over… — Andrew Himes Copy Share Image
