Slavery and the textual battle of 200 years ago

This is a must read. I'd been aware of the fact that there were Christians arguing both sides of the debate on slavery and could understand the reason why. What is really helpful about this article for me is the way that it does a really good job of laying bare the basic interpretive strategies that are still being fought over today. In this case, though, part of the interest is that the conservatives have largely accepted the principles of the abolitionist argument despite the fact that 200 years ago they were denouncing the abolitionist case as unbiblical and selling out biblical authority. Kind of sounds familiar, doesn't it? Excellent edition of the Bible Society's 'Bible in Transmission' and the article in question is here.

THE BIBLE IN THE AMERICAN SLAVERY DEBATES: TEXT AND INTERPRETATION - CARL SANDERS
In the period leading up to the Civil War, Christians in the United States were engaged in intense battles over the issue of slavery. American evangelicals’ opinions on slavery were divided into two broad categories.
The first party regarded slavery as intrinsically evil. Radical abolitionists like William Lloyd Garrison believed in the evil of slavery despite biblical teaching which seemed to contradict that belief. Less extreme abolitionists like Albert Barnes believed the spirit of the Bible opposed slavery, despite the appearance that Scripture tolerated the institution.

You gotta read it. I'm thinking of using it as an introductory article for students looking at hermeneutics in practical theology. It's brief and to the point and likely to be topical both in terms of the original referents and the contemporary applications.
THE BIBLE IN TRANSMISSION: Filed in: slavery, hermeneutics, justice, text, interpretation