USES OF THE JUDEO-CHRISTIAN BIBLE IN THE ANTI-ABOLITIONIST AND ANTI-GAY ...

325 Pages·2009·0.98 MB·English

by  Michael J. Mazza

THIS FIERCE GEOMETRY:
USES OF THE JUDEO-CHRISTIAN BIBLE
IN THE ANTI-ABOLITIONIST AND ANTI-GAY RHETORIC
OF THE UNITED STATES

by
Michael J. Mazza
B. A., State University of New York at Buffalo, 1990
M. A., University of Pittsburgh, 1996

Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of
Arts and Sciences in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy

University of Pittsburgh
2009
UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH
FACULTY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

This dissertation was presented

by

Michael J. Mazza

It was defended on
April 15, 2009
and approved by
Nancy Glazener, University of Pittsburgh
Moni McIntyre, Duquesne University
William Scott, University of Pittsburgh
Committee Chair: Jean Ferguson Carr, University of Pittsburgh

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THIS FIERCE GEOMETRY:
USES OF THE JUDEO-CHRISTIAN BIBLE
IN THE ANTI-ABOLITIONIST AND ANTI-GAY RHETORIC
OF THE UNITED STATES
Michael J. Mazza, PhD
University of Pittsburgh, 2009

Copyright © by Michael J. Mazza
2009
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Jean Ferguson Carr_______

THIS FIERCE GEOMETRY:
USES OF THE JUDEO-CHRISTIAN BIBLE
IN THE ANTI-ABOLITIONIST AND ANTI-GAY RHETORIC
OF THE UNITED STATES
Michael J. Mazza, Ph.D.
University of Pittsburgh, 2009

This dissertation examines the citational use of the Judeo-Christian Bible in two
sociopolitical debates within the United States: first, the debate over the abolition of slavery in
the nineteenth century, and second, the contemporary debate over gay rights. This study
incorporates two core theses. First, I argue that the contemporary religious right, in its anti-gay
use of the Bible, is replicating the hermeneutical practices used by opponents of the abolitionist
movement. My second thesis parallels the first: I argue that the contemporary activists who
reclaim the Bible as a pro-gay instrument are standing in the same hermeneutical tradition as
nineteenth-century Christian abolitionists. This study is thus about the acts of interpreting texts
and putting those interpretations to use in the public sphere.
The first chapter lays out the historical and conceptual groundwork for this study.
Among the issues considered are the evolution of the biblical canon, the role of interpretive
communities in biblical interpretation, and the matrix of human difference, privilege, and
marginalization. The second chapter reviews more than thirty biblical passages used by anti-
abolitionist activists in their public discourses. There is a comparative thrust to this chapter,
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because it juxtaposes this “slavemaster’s Bible” with the biblical passages used in anti-gay
discourse. The third chapter is a comparative analysis of the biblical hermeneutics practiced by
nineteenth-century abolitionists and contemporary pro-gay thinkers. In this chapter I identify
seven general strategies which these two groups hold in common as each engages the biblical
text. The fourth and final chapter considers the possible connections that link the hermeneutics
of the American abolitionist and gay rights movements to three other currents of thought: first,
the ubuntu theology of Desmond Tutu; second, the minjung theology of South Korea; and third,
the philosophy of hermeneutics developed by Hans-Georg Gadamer. The study ends with a brief
coda, which considers some of the political and cultural events of 2009 in light of the
dissertation’s main ideas.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1.0  INTRODUCTION: SODOMY, SATAN, AND THE SUMMER OF 2008 ............. 1 
2.0  CHAPTER ONE: DIFFERENCE, PRIVILEGE, AND BIBLICAL
INTERPRETATION .................................................................................................................. 19 
3.0  CHAPTER TWO: THE SLAVEMASTER’S BIBLE AND THE ANTI-GAY
BIBLE ..................................................................................................................................... 70 
4.0  CHAPTER THREE: THE LIBERATIONISTS’ BIBLE ..................................... 137 
5.0  CHAPTER FOUR: HERMENEUTICS WITHOUT BORDERS ....................... 232 
6.0  THIS FIERCE GEOMETRY: A CODA ............................................................... 275 
WORKS CITED........................................................................................................................ 280 
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A NOTE ON THE TEXT

Unless otherwise indicated, all Bible verses quoted in this document are in the King
James Version translation as presented in The African-American Devotional Bible. Verses
marked with NIV are taken from the New International Version translation as presented in The
NIV Study Bible, and verses marked with NRSV are taken from the New Revised Standard
Version translation as presented in The HarperCollins Study Bible.
This document makes occasional reference to three works recognized as sacred writings
within the Latter-day Saint faith community: the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants
of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the Pearl of Great Price. I have
represented these titles according to the recognized convention that sacred writings are neither
italicized nor placed in quotation marks when mentioned in the body of a work. I do, however,
italicize the specific editions of these books which appear in this document’s Works Cited
section. Parenthetical references to Doctrine and Covenants as scripture are given in chapter and
verse format, as with biblical references.
In citing specific passages from Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, I have followed the
notation convention used by Joseph Dunne in his study Back to the Rough Ground.
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Furthermore, I have supplemented these citations with page references to the primary English
translation I consulted.
Some of the nineteenth century sources cited herein make use of spelling, punctuation
and capitalization in ways that are not in accordance with current standard English usage; so as
not to excessively distract from these historic texts, I have opted not to append the Latin marker
sic in brackets after each such incident. I have opted to further eschew the use of sic when citing
non-U.S. Anglophone writers who employ British spelling conventions in such words as colour.
The title of this dissertation is inspired by a line from an English translation of Jorge Luis
Borges’ sonnet “Emanuel Swedenborg.” An excerpt from this particular translation may be
found on page xi of this document; the Spanish original may be found in a number of volumes,
among them Borges’ own Obra poética, 2 (140). More on Swedenborg and on his relevance to
my arguments may be found in the first chapter of the dissertation.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to express my gratitude to the following institutions and individuals, each of
which has, in some way, contributed to my progress on this dissertation: Barco Law Library,
University of Pittsburgh; Clifford E. Barbour Library, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary; Cross-
Cultural and Leadership Development, University of Pittsburgh; Associate Professor Alexis De
Veaux of the State University of New York at Buffalo; the Rev. Roberta Dunn, Pastor of
Metropolitan Community Church of Pittsburgh; East Suburban Unitarian Universalist Church,
Murrysville, Pennsylvania; the Rev. Elder Darlene Garner, Vice-Moderator of Metropolitan
Community Churches; Hillman Library, University of Pittsburgh; Humanities and Social
Sciences Library, New York Public Library, New York City; Levittown Public Library,
Levittown, New York; the late Rev. Michael Lumberger of Covenant Church of Pittsburgh;
Professor Dwight McBride of the University of Illinois at Chicago; Mid-Manhattan Library,
New York Public Library, New York City; The National Association of African American
Studies; Chancellor Mark Nordenberg of the University of Pittsburgh; Professor Emeritus
Donald Petesch of the University of Pittsburgh; the Pittsburgh First Ward of the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints; Pittsburgh New Church, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Rainbow
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Alliance, University of Pittsburgh; Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York
Public Library, New York City; the late Professor Richard Tobias of the University of
Pittsburgh; and Wilkinsburg Public Library, Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania.
I am particularly grateful for the guidance I have received from the three individuals who
have held the position of Graduate Secretary in the Department of English at the University of
Pittsburgh during my time as a student at this institution: Philippa Carter, Sue Borello, and
Connie Arelt.
I would like to additionally thank my dissertation committee: Nancy Glazener, Moni
McIntyre, William Scott, and chair Jean Carr. I also wish to acknowledge all of my professors at
the State University of New York at Buffalo, the United States Naval Academy and the
University of Pittsburgh; my family and friends; and, finally, my sisters- and brothers-in-arms,
past and present, in the armed forces of the United States and its allies.

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