Slavery wasn't so bad, say white Christians: In Gary Taylor's state of Alabama, a school is using a booklet called "Southern Slavery, As It Was" that seeks a biblical justification for the kidnapping and indentured servitude of Africans. The principal of the Cary Christian School defends the use of the highly unorthodox view of slavery: "As a classical Christian school, we think it's important for our students to be able to think and not be slanted to a particular position. We want them to think for themselves." There's no slant in these excerpts from the pamphlet (which, due to bad publicity, has been pulled from the curriculum):

"As we have already mentioned, the 'peculiar institution' of slavery was not perfect or sinless, but the reality was a far cry from the horrific descriptions given to us in modern histories." (page 22)

* "Slavery as it existed in the South was not an adversarial relationship with pervasive racial animosity. Because of its dominantly patriarchal character, it was a relationship based upon mutual affection and confidence." (page 24)

* "There has never been a multi-racial society which has existed with such mutual intimacy and harmony in the history of the world." (page 24)

* "Slave life was to them a life of plenty, of simple pleasures, of food, clothes, and good medical care." (page 25)

* "But many Southern blacks supported the South because of long established bonds of affection and trust that had been forged over generations with their white masters and friends." (page 27)

* "Nearly every slave in the South enjoyed a higher standard of living than the poor whites of the South -- and had a much easier existence." (page 30)

The Southern Poverty Law Center reports on the booklet and its neo-Confederate authors Douglas Wilson and Steve Wilkins (whose publications feature his opinion that feminists seek "to rob women of their beauty in submission" and that "[I]f neither parent believes in Jesus Christ, then the children are foul — unclean.")

Plus: Are there neo-Confederates in your town?