Douglas Wilson: Difference between revisions

Wilson's most controversial work is considered to be his pamphlet ''Southern Slavery, As It Was'', which he co-wrote with Christian minister [[J. Steven Wilkins]]. In it, Wilkins wrote that "slavery produced in the South a genuine affection between the races that we believe we can say has never existed in any nation before [[American Civil War|the War]] or since."{{Sfn | Wilson | Wilkins | 1996}} [[Louis Markos]] notes that "though the pamphlet condemned racism and said the practice of Southern slavery was unbiblical, critics were troubled that it argued U.S. slavery was more benign than is usually presented in history texts." Some historians, such as [[Peter H. Wood]], [[Clayborne Carson]], and [[Ira Berlin]], condemned the pamphlet's arguments, with Wood calling them "as spurious as [[Holocaust denial]]".

In 2004, Wilson held a conference for those who supported his ideas at the [[University of Idaho]]. The university published a disclaimer distancing itself from the event, and numerous anti-conference protests took place. Wilson described critical attacks as "[[abolitionist]] propaganda". He also has repeatedly denied any racist leanings. He has said his "long war" is not on behalf of [[white supremacy]]; rather, Wilson claims to seek restoration of a prior era, during which he says faith and reason seemed at one and when family, church, and community were more powerful than the state.

The [[Southern Poverty Law Center]] connects Wilson's views to the [[neo-Confederate]] and [[Christian Reconstruction]] movements influenced by [[R. J. Rushdoony]], concluding, "Wilson's theology is in most ways indistinguishable from basic tenets of [Christian] Reconstruction." Though categorized by some as a “neo-Confederate”, he rejects that term and calls himself a “paleo-confederate” instead.

[[Canon Press]] ceased publication of ''Southern Slavery, As It Was'' when it became aware of serious citation errors in 24 passages authored by Wilkins where quotations, some lengthy, from the 1974 book ''Time on the Cross: The Economics of American Negro Slavery'' by [[Robert William Fogel]] and [[Stanley L. Engerman]] were not cited. Robert McKenzie, the history professor who first noticed the citation problems, described the authors as being "sloppy" rather than "malevolent" while also pointing out that he had reached out to Wilson several years earlier. According to the [[Southern Poverty Law Center]], "He described the lifted passages as simply reflecting a citation problem, and attributed the latest uproar to "some of our local Banshees [who] have got wind of all this and raised the cry of plagiarism (between intermittent sobs of outrage)."" Wilson reworked and redacted the arguments and published (without Wilkins) a new set of essays under the name ''Black & Tan'' after consulting with historian [[Eugene Genovese]].

Concerns about Wilson's personal safety due to his comments on slavery, and criticism from liberals and conservatives, led to the Visão Nacional para a Consciência Cristã rescinding his invitation to speak at a large Reformed theological gathering in Brazil in February 2024.

Wilson and his wife Nancy married on New Year's Eve in 1975, and now have three children and many grandchildren.  

In 2018, Wilson announced on his blog that he had been diagnosed with a cancerous tumor in his jaw. He wrote in response to the news<blockquote>Scripture teaches us that we are to give thanks in everything (1 Thess. 5:18), and for everything (Eph. 5:20). God really is sovereign in every detail of every life. So we have thanked the Lord for this cancer, and we intend to continue to thank Him for it. We don’t know what good purpose God has for it, but we are assured that the One who counts both hairs and sparrows is also the One who controls the behavior of every cancer cell.</blockquote>Later that year Wilson had a successful operation removing the tumor, followed by a successful recovery.

His son [[N. D. Wilson|Nathan Wilson]], a writer of [[young adult literature]], had a year before undergone surgery for a brain tumor.

* [https://DougWils.com DougWils.com]