Thanks to the generosity of a friend who gave us a week in their TimeShare plan, Denise and I have spent the last few days in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina - giving my voice a rest in the salty ocean air. It’s working! “I do believe I’m Feeling Stronger Every Day” - thank you Chicago. 

While in the area, we took a day trip 98 miles south to Charleston, South Carolina. And why wouldn’t we? Charleston was named the top city in the U.S. by “Travel and Leisure” readers and “Conde’ Nast Traveler.” So, let’s check it out!  

We left our visit to Charleston disturbed. Here’s why. 

Charleston has been given the nickname, “Holy City” for its many churches and its history of religious diversity. But, Charleston also bears the ignominious title as the nation’s capital of the slave trade.

During the Transatlantic Slave Trade, about 40 percent of enslaved Africans brought into the country passed through Charleston Harbor. Historians estimate that more than 90% of all African Americans can trace at least one ancestor to this area.

Any history of slavery in America begins with Charleston - the Holy City.  

Charleston - a Holy City and Slave Central.

Why, if there were so many churches in Charleston, was Charleston also the center of the slave trade? Do you see a contradiction? How can the same place be both Holy City and Slave Central?  

Maybe a part of the answer lies in this statement from Richard Furman (1755-1825), pastor of First Baptist Church of Charleston, “The right of holding slaves is clearly established in the Holy Scriptures, both by precept and example.”

Do you see the culprit? Scripture - not Scripture per se, but their view and use of Scripture.

Their view? The Bible is our authority. The “Paper-Pope.”  
Their use? They used the Bible literally.   

Those who advocated for slavery appealed to literal verses of Scripture - and there are a lot! Those who opposed slavery appealed to the spirit of Jesus found in the Golden Rule and other less specific parts of the Bible.  

Those who took a literal approach to the Bible came to a conclusion we today see as abhorrent.  

What does that mean for us today? A lot.  
Their view then, is the view of many now. (Have you heard or have you said, “The Bible says it, that settles it.”)   
Their view led to oppression then. It leads to oppression now. 

I am sad and angry over how much damage the Bible and the church has done and is doing. 
But, I am thrilled and amazed at how much good they have done and are doing too.  

If we want to see Scripture as good and use Scriptu re for good, we need to move beyond a literal reading to a spiritual reading. For deep readers, sacred texts can lead us to more love, more humility, more inclusion, more connection.  

That’s how I want to use sacred Scriptures.