A really fascinating article, I never knew this, but one of the reasons why Spurgeon never went to the American South was because they threatened to kill him if he ever went there!
[quote] And if the pharisaical author should ever show himself in these parts, we trust that a stout cord may speedily find its way around his eloquent throat. [/quote]
Book burnings of his books also took place- but why? Because of his abolitionist stance.
PROFFESING Christians there had to cling on to their precious politics so much they threatened to kill a man of God with a heart and talent for preaching the Gospel, he would have surely brought a revival but nope, precious slavery was more important to these people!
I'm sure they also knew that hearing Spurgeon would get to their consciences and they would have known owning slaves went against scripture.
From what I have read it was protested by the [b]Southern American States[/b]. No mention of certain groups of "professing Christians" burning it.
Spurgeon’s character was assassinated throughout the Confederacy. His sermons, which in 1862-1863 sold one million copies annually, were censured. His books, which sold 1,000 copies per minute at trade shows, were publicly destroyed. Sermon bonfires illuminated jail yards, plantations, and bookshops throughout the Southern states.
The following article appeared in an Alabama [b]newspaper[/b] (Montgomery Mail, repr. in “Spurgeon’s Sermons—a Bonfire,” Nashville Patriot [March 15, 1860]):
It reads, "Spurgeon is in danger of an auto-de-fé. The '[b]Montgomery Mail[/b]' (Alabama) says: "A Gentleman of this city requests us to invite, and we do hereby invite all persons in Montgomery who possess copies of the sermons of the notorious English abolitionist, Spurgeon, to send them to the jail yard to be burned on next Friday, this day week. A subscription is also on foot to buy of our booksellers all copies of said sermons now in their stores, to be burned on the same occasion. Does anybody say nay?""
Apparently, not many people said “Nay.” For it was recorded a few days later in a ledger:
"February 24, (1860), -- Several volumes of Rev. Mr. Spurgeon's sermons, strongly tinctured with anti-slavery and abolition, were burned in the jail yard."
What would have happened if Spurgeon had visited the Southern states in 1860 as he planned to do?
America might have executed him:
“If the Pharisaical author should ever show himself in these parts, we trust that a stout cord may speedily find its way around his eloquent throat” (“Mr. Spurgeon’s Sermons Burned by American Slaveowners,” The Southern Reporter and Daily Commercial Courier [April 10, 1860]).
How did America respond to Spurgeon’s abolition?
Here are a few published comments from different parts of the country:
Florida: Spurgeon is a “beef-eating, puffed-up, vain, over-righteous pharisaical, English blab-mouth.” “A Southern Opinion of the Rev. Mr. Spurgeon,” The New York Herald (March 1, 1860).
Virginia: Spurgeon is a “fat, overgrown boy.” “The Great Over-Rated,” The Daily Dispatch (August 17, 1858).
Louisiana: Spurgeon is a “hell-deserving Englishman.” “Spurgeon on Slavery,” The Bossier Banner (February 24, 1860).
South Carolina: Spurgeon is a “vulgar young man” with “(soiled) sleek hair, prominent teeth, and a self-satisfied air.” “Spurgeon and the Lady,” Charleston Courier (June 15, 1858).
North Carolina: Many “would like a good opportunity at this hypocritical preacher.” “Rev. Mr. Spurgeon,” The North Carolinian (February 18, 1860). Additionally, anyone selling Spurgeon’s sermons in Releigh should be arrested and charged with “circulating incendiary publications” (“Rev. Mr. Spurgeon,” The Weekly Raleigh Register [February 15, 1860]).
Spurgeon’s character was assassinated [b]throughout the Confederacy[/b]. His sermons, which in 1862-1863 sold one million copies annually, were censured. His books, which sold 1,000 copies per minute at trade shows, were publicly destroyed. Sermon bonfires illuminated jail yards, plantations, and bookshops throughout the Southern states.
The following article appeared in an Alabama newspaper (Montgomery Mail, repr. in “Spurgeon’s Sermons—a Bonfire,” Nashville Patriot [March 15, 1860]):
It reads, "Spurgeon is in danger of an auto-de-fé. The 'Montgomery Mail' (Alabama) says: "A Gentleman of this city requests us to invite, and we do hereby invite all persons in Montgomery who possess copies of the sermons of the notorious English abolitionist, Spurgeon, to send them to the jail yard to be burned on next Friday, this day week.
