Category Archives: History of the United States

666 and all that, 3

What the US brand of ultra-Evangelicalism most resembles historically is the fanatical Crusaders who believed that killing those who refused to accept Christ or opposed the preaching of His message was both just and essential if His Kingdom is ever to be brought into the world.  There is none of the humility and self-understanding of being a fallible sinner that might even betray the Master that we find in the Apostles or the Apostolic and Post-Apostolic Fathers (and Mothers) of the ancient Church.  There is no hint of the first believers who “turned the whole world upside down” and shook the foundations of the Empire itself by turning the other cheek, turning back to be crucified with his people, as Peter did, or heading to Rome to face the Emperor himself even if it meant death, as Paul did.  There is no hint of “love your enemies, do good to those who hate you and persecute you, and so you will prove yourselves to be the children of your Heavenly Father”.

Lincoln and Douglass

Today, the US recognizes both these titans, wary allies and occasional opponents, as unquestionably great men. Both were necessary, and both fought the same battle, but from very different vantage points. As a young man of nineteen, Lincoln had already begun to abhor slavery and the oppression of ‘the African Race’ as an abomination. He had said, “If I ever get the opportunity, I will hit this thing hard.” This was long before he had any notion of becoming President. He was not yet even on the road to becoming a lawyer.