Over the years, as I’ve studied the conversation between Science and Theology, it’s been clear that whatever perceived divide there is between the two, the width of that divide varies regionally. And in my experience one form of Applied Philosophy (either Science or Theology) is privileged in the US over the other depending which side the region was on during the Civil War. Essentially one region, the South insisted on a particular hemenuetic (method of reading Scripture) that could support their “peculiar institution” and the other, the North, used a hermeneutic that supported a meta-narrative that God abhorred enslavement.

I came across this quote from Noll’s book that illustrates that way of thinking – and notice it’s from the last year of the Civil War:

If you’re interested in such things, and looking for a Lenten Book study, I highly recommend Noll’s book.