Daniel Kleven > Recent Status Updates

MacCaulley’s reading of the gospel of Luke sheds so much fresh light on that book!

“[Black]-missions director Ervin Krebs was most moved when I talked about the number of Black people who had confessed to me that, before they met us, they believed it was impossible for a white man to be a Christian”(85).

The first chapter opens up with the second bombing of the Graetz family home, and what he describes as a miraculous intervention in which a larger bomb that would have "leveled the whole neighborhood" somehow didn't go off. Graetz was a Lutheran pastor from Ohio who had studied with OT scholar Herbert Leupold, and then moved south to Montgomery, AL. They soon found an underground network of "liberal" friends.

In the face of so many white people, especially white Christians, who got it so terribly wrong in the history of our country, I've started a list of "white people who got it right." The list is necessarily broader than my tradition (white evangelicalism), and I'm especially interested to find what made the difference. Robert Graetz was "one of the very few white ministers involved in the Montgomery protest."

Chapter 5: “The great thinking/doing divide” — is spot on in describing the western / euro mindset. I felt so seen, and kind of attacked (just kidding — why do we tend to feel “attacked” when our unspoken assumptions and values are brought into the light, analyzed, and even critiqued? Especially since we do it all the time to other peoples perspectives?!?)

Anyway, loving this book so far, would recommend

Powerful depiction of southern Christianity:

"O, ye poor crittur!" said Tom, "han't nobody never telled ye how the Lord Jesus loved ye, and died for ye? Han't they telled ye that ye can go to heaven and have rest at last?"
"I looks like gwine to heaven," said the woman; "an't thar where white folks is gwine? S'pose they'd have me thar? I'd rather go to torment, and get away from Mas'r and Missis."

Ch. 16 -- so I'm conflicted between thinking that St. Clare is hilarious, and feeling guilty about it since he's the slaveowner. But his straightforward take on the hypocrisy of pro-slavery religion, as a slaveowner, is brilliant satire by Stowe.

I'm really enjoying this book so far.