Sacred Conviction: The South's Stand for Biblical Authority

by Joseph Jay

HISTORIANS HAVE LONG UNDERSTOOD that conflicts over slavery, Constitutional interpretation, economic interests, and culture contributed to the coming of the War Between the States. Joseph Jay’s original and insightful study illuminates yet another important difference that fueled conflict between the North and South—theology. It has been more than once observed that Southern clergy were among the strongest advocates of Southern Independence. Jay shows why that was so. He explains how Southerners based their faith on Biblical authority and regarded the “Higher Law,” Unitarianism, and crusading political religion of their Northern counterparts as a threat to Christianity.

Genres: History, American History, Theology, Christian, Civil War

98 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 2, 2018

Reviews

[Douglas Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good book. A treasure trove of citations from antebellum sources to help illustrate what Southern theologians believed the stakes were.

[Sean McGowan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good book. I had the opportunity to read the manuscript and this is a very good work that contributes to the debates surrounding the causes of the war. Many are not aware, for a varitety of reasons, of what many in the south believed was at stake.

[Rick Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating look at church history prior to the Civil War.

[George Mayes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very interesting read on a subject I've never spent much time researching. Joseph Jay demonstrates how many Southerners were operating within a strong Protestant theological framework, which included Sola Scriptura--a framework rejected by many Northerners. This opens up a more nuanced understanding for the causes of the Civil War, and it definitely makes me want to study this topic more in-depth. This also has implications for the current social justice movement and how the Church ought to respond.

[James Johnson]

It could be longer. This book though does give some introductory understanding on the religious aspect of the North/South divide. The North's centralizing and unchristian tendencies extended not only into politics, but also religion. The South kept to scriptural authority, even if it allowed them to continue an institution we all find repulsive.

[Jonathan Mauney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book! A part of Church History I wasn’t deeply aware of.

[Miles Foltermann · Rating 4 out of 5]

An incisive rebuttal to the cartoonish scholarship and Northern righteous cause mythology now commonplace in the history departments of America’s universities.

[Diane Harris]

Sacred Conviction: The South's Stand for Biblical Authority by Joseph Jay

This was an excellent read on a topic largely unaddressed surrounding the social justice movement. This well cited work exposes the theological motivations underpinning each side of the Civil War. Jay has referenced many direct sources that connect the religious convictions, economic trends and government ideals of the mid 1800s that led to the conflict. As Jay builds his case based on interviews and quotes from those living in that era, it becomes clear that the theological convictions on each side profoundly influenced economics and the governing leadership of both sides.
Be prepared to be surprised! Did you know that the Confederate Constitution banned slavery on biblical grounds and allowed each state to end it in its own way? I didn’t! This book is full of eye openers and a must read for anyone interested in the history of the Civil War, the Social Justice Movement or Biblical Christianity.

[David Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Important book - any Southern Baptist or Presbyterian - or really anyone wanting to understand the theological divide that led to the War Between the States should read this book.

[Patrick addamus · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Real Reason behind the Civil War

Jay, in this profound work, uses a litany of primary and secondary sources to explain the framework for why there was such a divide between the Northern States and Southern States. The divide was theological in nature and at its heart was a schism in the way each side believed in the truth and inerrancy of Holy Scripture. Education in the post modernist America we live in today has taught us the Civil War was fought over states rights and slavery which is true in a sense, but fails to capture the full picture as Joseph Jay does in this book. If you love history, love the Lord, love the south, or are just looking for a better understanding of why a bloody war was fought between Americans, this is the book for you.

[Taylor Sexton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very helpful book for understanding the fact that the War Between the States was not a matter of a righteous and equality-minded North wanting to liberate slaves from a cruel and barbaric South. Rather, the War centered around theology—namely, that of a liberal, Higher Critical, and pagan North (in general) and an orthodox and Bible-believing South. The North, as proved in this little book, had far more interest in socialism, communism, Unitarian heresy, utopianism, human perfectionism, and statism than they did in actually promoting equality.

Read the book for more details.

My only complaint is that I wish the book were longer.

[Miles Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good but not great attempt to do for a popular audience what Gregg Singer Eugene Genovese etc and others did. Its short, and the writing is fair at best, but its a good attempt to get at some of the theological differences between North and South. I think those differences can be a overstated but they shouldn't be ignored.

[Juan Ruiz · Rating 5 out of 5]

interesante x2

[Jacob · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating look into the underlying theological tensions surrounding the War Between the States! This book also contains a host of citations I hope to look into in the future.

[Ryan Watkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

A helpful book for understanding the theological underpinning of the antebellum period and their contributions to war between the states/civil war.

[J. Andrews · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writing style is wanting at various places, but it provides excellent resources and a fair argument for the theological differences between the antebellum north and south.