Furman's paradox of

“Perhaps we can do something for the general good of the churches and the benefit of the slaves...”Richard Furman, 1755-1825. Letter to unknown recipient, 29 June 1807."

At the start of Furman’s ministry, South Carolina Baptists were divided by a number of issues including slavery. After the invention of the cotton gin in 1793, cotton and slavery became more viable throughout South Carolina and both spread rapidly. Baptists looked to Richard Furman for guidance on matters of faith and slavery. In an 1807 letter Richard Furman’ responded to a series of questions on the stance of the church toward slavery, on Christians holding slaves, on slavery’s consistency with the ideals of the American Revolution, on the morality of the slave trade, and on slave masters separating husbands and wives, parents and children.

Furman’s answers contain some nuance, but in general clearly endorse slavery as compatible with Christian principles.Furman’s responses in the letter also linked the church’s public stance on slavery to his goal of unifying the Baptists and promoting the practical concerns of the denomination. Furman’s correspondent asked whether the church’s leaders should even take slavery into consideration as a moral issue.