182. Stephen Haynes on Noah's Curse

In this episode, we welcome back Dr. Stephen Haynes to discuss his book Noah’s Curse: The Biblical Justification of American Slavery. What is Noah’s Curse, especially in regard to the supposed “Curse of Ham”? When did this curse become race-based in the history of biblical interpretation and reception? How did American clergy develop this tradition? And how prominent was the kind of reading in which Genesis 9-11 became a key part of the defense of slavery – and then segregation, both in society and in the church? In this interview, Dr. Haynes takes us through this and more as we try to understand the social context in which readings now widely relegated to the fringe of American Christianity used to be seen as obvious within the mainstream of America. And why does this matter today – especially in understanding the correlation between proponents of both an antebellum patriarchal honor-culture and a revival of the use of Genesis to promote actual white supremacy and segregation among many white men today. In addition, we will learn about an old Presbyterian divine named Benjamin M. Palmer, who himself embodies the handing down to future generations a complicated legacy, which includes within it the use of Genesis 9-11 to defend racial hierarchy and segregation - in the name of Christianity.Book: Noah’s Curse: The Biblical Justification of American SlaverySome other resources by Dr. Haynes:- The Battle for Bonhoeffer: Debating Discipleship in the Age of TrumpHear our previous interview: here- The Last Segregated Hour: The Memphis Kneel-ins and the Campaign for Southern Church DesegregationOther resources:A Consuming Fire: The Fall of the Confederacy in the Mind of the White Christian South by Eugene D. GenoveseThe Curse of Ham by David GoldenbergThe Theology of B.B. Warfield by Fred G. Zaspel (also here)Defending the Faith: J. Gresham Machen and the Crisis of Conservative Protestantism in Modern America by D. G. Hart (also here)Compare: SBC apology (also here), LDS non-apology (also here, here, here)Religion of a Different Color: Race and the Mormon Struggle for Whiteness by W. Paul ReeveSecond-Class Saints: Black Mormons and the Struggle for Racial Equality by Matthew HarrisIntroductory audio clips:W.A. CriswellNPR & the SBC apologyCorey Mahler clips (approx. 31:30-40:35)News Channel 5 news clipNot submitting to black elders (YouTube Short)Conversation with Samuel SeyNews Channel 5, Full interviewFighting for the Faith with Chris RosebroughClosing clipsCleon Skousen Old Testament LectureMormon Land - no apology for race issues