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 Slavery

Some other resources by Dr. Haynes:

- The Battle for Bonhoeffer: Debating Discipleship in the Age of Trump

Hear our previous interview: here

- The Last Segregated Hour: The Memphis Kneel-ins and the Campaign for Southern Church Desegregation

Other resources:

A Consuming Fire: The Fall of the Confederacy in the Mind of the White Christian South by Eugene D. Genovese

The Curse of Ham by David Goldenberg

The 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 Reeve

Second-Class Saints: Black Mormons and the Struggle for Racial Equality by Matthew Harris

Introductory audio clips:

1. W.A. Criswell
2. NPR & the SBC apology

Corey Mahler clips (approx. 31:30-40:35)

1. News Channel 5 news clip
2. Not submitting to black elders (YouTube Short)
3. Conversation with Samuel Sey
4. News Channel 5, Full interview
5. Fighting for the Faith with Chris Rosebrough

Closing clips

1. Cleon Skousen Old Testament Lecture
2. Mormon Land - no apology for race issues