"Fire from the midst of you" : a religious life of John Brown / Louis A. DeCaro, Jr.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

DeCaro, Louis A., 1957-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Abolitionists--United States--Biography.

Abolitionists.

Antislavery movements--United States--History--19th century.

Antislavery movements.

Christianity and politics--United States--History--19th century.

Christianity and politics.

Brown, John, 1800-1859.

Brown, John.

Brown, John, 1800-1859--Religion.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (365 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

New York : New York University Press, c2002.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

John Brown is usually remembered as a terrorist whose unbridled hatred of slavery drove him to the ill-fated raid on Harper's Ferry, Virginia, in 1859. Tried and executed for seizing the arsenal and attempting to spur a liberation movement among the slaves, Brown was the ultimate cause celebre for a country on the brink of civil war.“Fire from the Midst of You” situates Brown within the religious and social context of a nation steeped in racism, showing his roots in Puritan abolitionism. DeCaro explores Brown's unusual family heritage as well as his business and personal losses, retracing his path to the Southern gallows. In contrast to the popular image of Brown as a violent fanatic, DeCaro contextualizes Brown's actions, emphasizing the intensely religious nature of the antebellum U.S. in which he lived. He articulates the nature of Brown's radical faith and shows that, when viewed in the context of his times, he was not the religious fanatic that many have understood him to be. DeCaro calls Brown a “Protestant saint”—an imperfect believer seeking to realize his own perceived calling in divine providence.In line with the post-millennial theology of his day, Brown understood God as working through mankind and the church to renew and revive sinful humanity. He read the Bible not only as God's word, but as God's word to John Brown. DeCaro traces Brown's life and development to show how by forging faith as a radical weapon, Brown forced the entire nation to a point of crisis. “Fire from the Midst of You” defies the standard narrative with a new reading of John Brown. Here is the man that the preeminent Black scholar W.E.B. Du Bois called a "mighty warning" and the one Malcolm X called “a real white liberal.”

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction.

1. “And They Had No Comforter”

2. John Brown’s Heritage

3. Revival, Resistance, and Abolition in the Time of John Brown

4. The Early Years

5. Millennial Hopes, Abolitionist Awakenings

6. “This Path of Life”

7. Citizen Brown’s Calvinist Community

8. Citizen Brown’s Calvinist Community

9. Of Vows and Tears

10. Belted Knights and Practical Shepherds

11. “We Are Tossing Up and Down”

12. The Practical Shepherd in Springfield

13. A Cold and Snowy Canaan Land

14. “So We Go”

15. “All the Encouragement in My Power”

16. Ohio and Beyond

17. “Kansas the Outpost”

18. Pottawatomie and the Fatherless

19. “The Language of Providence”

20. “This Spark of Fire”

21. “My Public Murder”

Epilogue. A Saint’s Rest

Notes

Selected Bibliography

Index

About the Author

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 335-344) and index.

ISBN:

0-8147-4406-0

1-4294-1386-7

OCLC:

913695202