Mark O. Hatfield

In this stirring book, Grounds has ably sketched the background against which the theology of revolution has emerged. Grounds puts it this way: I have sought to let the critics of the Establishment, Christian and secular alike, present in their own words the case for revolutionary change. I have also sought to let the revolutionary theologians set forth their interpretation of Christianity in detail. Quite literally, I have allowed them to speak for themselves. I have sought, further, to let Christian scholars who dissent from this new theology engage its proponents in debate. Very heavily I have drawn upon the work of Jacques Ellul, the towering French sociologist who is rapidly gaining in the United States the attention and respect which his rare fusion of professional distinction, intellectual power, and biblical commitment deserves. I shall feel amply regarded if through these pages he wins a wider readership among American evangelicals. An additional purpose has been to confront my own ecclesiastical tradition, that of Protestant orthodoxy, with the inexpressibly pressing need of permitting the anguish of our world to drive theological conservatism back to a New Testament discipleship which is nothing less than revolutionary. The Christian in particular must not remain insulated from the pace of revolutionary change that confronts us. Moreover, he need not be threatened by the appearance of instability in our social institutions. Somehow, many Christians have assumed that faith places them in a mandatory alliance with the political status quo. But this is not the message of the Bible. We are instructed never to place our security in the world's existing political and social institutions. . . . It is Christ Himself--He who has overcome the world--who provides the one and only basis for our security and hope in the future. -- from the Introduction by Mark O. Hatfield, former U. S. Senator Vernon C. Grounds (1928-2010), was Chancellor of Denver Seminary, a noted evangelical scholar, author, and educator. After graduating with the bachelor of arts degree from Rutgers University, Grounds received his divinity degree from Faith Theological Seminary, and his doctorate in philosophy from Drew University.

The heart of this book is the remarkable Civil War diary of the author's great-grandfather, William Benjamin Gould, an escaped slave who served in the United States Navy from 1862 until the end of the war. The diary vividly records Gould's activity as part of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron off the coast of North Carolina and Virginia; his visits to New York and Boston; the pursuit to Nova Scotia of a hijacked Confederate cruiser; and service in European waters pursuing Confederate ships constructed in Great Britain and France. Gould's diary is one of only three known diaries of African American sailors in the Civil War. It is distinguished not only by its details and eloquent tone (often deliberately understated and sardonic), but also by its reflections on war, on race, on race relations in the Navy, and on what African Americans might expect after the war. The book includes introductory chapters that establish the context of the diary narrative, an annotated version of the diary, a brief account of Gould's life in Massachusetts after the war, and William B. Gould IV's thoughts about the legacy of his great-grandfather and his own journey of discovery in learning about this remarkable man.

The heart of this book is the remarkable Civil War diary of the author’s great-grandfather, William Benjamin Gould, an escaped slave who served in the United States Navy from 1862 until the end of the war. The diary vividly records Gould’s activity as part of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron off the coast of North Carolina and Virginia; his visits to New York and Boston; the pursuit to Nova Scotia of a hijacked Confederate cruiser; and service in European waters pursuing Confederate ships constructed in Great Britain and France. Gould’s diary is one of only three known diaries of African American sailors in the Civil War. It is distinguished not only by its details and eloquent tone (often deliberately understated and sardonic), but also by its reflections on war, on race, on race relations in the Navy, and on what African Americans might expect after the war. The book includes introductory chapters that establish the context of the diary narrative, an annotated version of the diary, a brief account of Gould’s life in Massachusetts after the war, and William B. Gould IV’s thoughts about the legacy of his great-grandfather and his own journey of discovery in learning about this remarkable man.