By Claire Taylor, Staff Writer
Wheaton College Associate Professor of New Testament Esau McCaulley is offering a new undergraduate Bible and theology class for the spring 2026 semester. Combining history and theology, “The Bible, Slavery and Liberation” aims to show how greed can influence biblical interpretation and highlight its historical repercussions.
McCaulley received a grant last semester from the University of Notre Dame to teach this signature course series. The course covers the history of ancient Near Eastern slavery, Greco-Roman slavery and American slavery. McCaulley hopes to show his students how to become activists for good, using the Christian abolitionist movement as a model.
“The Bible shows us how to do activism well,” McCaulley said.
After studying these historical systems of slavery, students will examine the Bible section by section, learning how both enslaved people and abolitionists interpreted scripture throughout history.
“This class will be a case study in not being afraid of asking hard questions,” McCaulley said.
The course also includes a trip to Whitney Plantation, a preserved plantation and museum in Louisiana. McCaulley plans to show his students the power of enslaved people’s biblical interpretation firsthand.
“This course taps deeply into the theological DNA of Wheaton College,” said faculty chair and Professor of Theology Keith Johnson. “The college has been bound together with abolitionism from its beginning.”
Wheaton was founded in 1859 by Jonathan Blanchard, an abolitionist and open supporter of the Underground Railroad. Blanchard Hall, the oldest building on campus, was used to hide enslaved people seeking freedom.
McCaulley said he hopes the course will help the wider Wheaton community learn about how abolitionists interpreted the Bible. There are events planned that relate to the course, which will be available to the Wheaton community, including a public showing of the film “12 Years a Slave.”
“Distorted Bible readings are still relevant today,” McCaulley said. He hopes the course will equip students to notice and be aware of these interpretations. “The Bible cannot be used to support anything, but it can be read wrong,” he said.
Junior Bible and theology major Caleb Inman plans to take the course. Having read McCaulley’s book, “How Far to the Promised Land,” and listened to his podcast, Inman is excited to learn from McCaulley firsthand.
“I am hoping to learn how the world in the Bible interacts with our context today,” Inman said.
Editor’s note: a former version of the article said that the school was founded in 1890. The Record regrets the error.
