Black theology
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (May 2008) |
 |
This article is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. Please help recruit one or improve this article yourself. See the talk page for details. Please consider using {{Expert-subject}} to associate this request with a WikiProject |
Black theology refers to a variety of Christian theologies held among people of black African descent (African Americans).
Contents |
[edit] Beliefs
H. Wayne House (Th.D., J.D.), a distinguished professor of biblical studies and theological studies at Faith Seminary, Tacoma Washington, and a professor of law at Trinity International University, described these aspects of Black theology in his book, Charts of Christian Theology and Doctrine[1].
[edit] What is Black Theology?
Black theology is a form of liberation theology that has its center in the theme of oppression of blacks by whites. It came out of the "need for black people to define the scope and meaning of black existence in a white society" (Cone). It emerged in the last two decades in the wave of liberation movements as an expression of black consciousness and seems to speak to the issues that blacks must contend with on a daily basis.
[edit] God
Intricate and largely philosophical views of God are largely ignored in preference for the concerns of the oppressed. White Christian concepts taught to the black man thus are to be disregarded or ignored. God's person, the Trinity, his supreme power and authority as well as "subtle indications of God's white maleness" are said not to relate to (and in some cases antagonistic to) the black experience. The dominant perspective on God is God in action, delivering the oppressed because of his righteousness. His immanence is stressed over His transcendence, and as a result He is seen to be in flux or always changing.
[edit] Trinity
The Trinity is not stressed. However, Jesus is God, but in the sense of God's visible expression of concern and salvation.
[edit] Christ
He is One who delivers, almost exclusively, in social ways. He is a liberator, or "Black Messiah" whose work of emancipation for the poor and rejected of society is the parallel to the blacks' quest for liberation. Christ's message is "black power" (Henry). His intrinsic nature and spiritual activity receive little or no attention. Some even deny his role as the atoning sacrifice for the world's sins and provider of eternal life (Shrine).
[edit] Revelation
Black theology is not bound to biblical liberalism, but is of a more pragmatic nature. Only the experience of black oppression is the authoritative standard.
[edit] Salvation
Salvation is freedom from the oppression and pertains to blacks in this life. Proponents of black theology are concerned specifically with the political and theological aspects of salvation more than the spiritual. In other words, salvation is physically liberation from white oppression rather than freedom from the sinful nature and acts of each individual person. Presenting heaven as a reward for following Christ is seen as an attempt to dissuade blacks from the goal of real liberation of their whole persons.
[edit] Church
The church is the focus of social expression in the black community where the blacks can express freedom and equality (Cone). Thus the church and politics have formed a cohesion where the theological expression of the desire for social freedom is carried out.
[edit] South African theology
Black theologies were popularized in southern Africa in the early 1970s by Basil Moore, a Methodist theologian in South Africa. It helped to give rise to, and developed in parallel with, the Black Consciousness Movement. Black theology was particularly influential in South Africa and Namibia for motivating resistance to apartheid.
Southern African black theologians include Barney Pityana, Allan Boesak, Itumeleng Mosala and Zephania Kameeta.
[edit] UK black theology
In the United Kingdom, Dr Robert Beckford is the most well-known black theology practitioner. He was the first in the UK to develop and teach a course on Black Theology at an academic level. Black Theology: An International Journal[2] is published in the UK. It is edited by Anthony Reddie, who has written over 40 journal articles, essays and books and is the most prolific black theology author in the UK today.
[edit] See also
[edit] Bibliography
[edit] 9/11 attacks
- Simmons, Martha and Frank A. Thomas. 9.11.01: African American Leaders Respond to an American Tragedy, Valley Forge: Judson Press, 2001.
[edit] Church planting
- Ratliffe, Joe S. & Michael J. Cox, Church Planting in the African American Community, Nashville: Broadman Press, 1993. 111 pages.
[edit] Music
- Cone, James H. The Spirituals and the Blues, Mary Knoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1991.
- Mapson, J. Wendell, Jr., The Ministry of Music in the Black Church, Valley Forge: Judson Press, 1984
- Walker, Wyatt Tee. Somebody's Calling My Name: Black Sacred Music and Social Change, Valley Forge: Judson Press, 1979.
[edit] Practical ministry
- Aldred, Joe. Preaching With Power, London: Cassells, 1998
- Andrews, Dale P. Practical Theology for Black Churches, Luisville: John Knox Press, 2002
- Cosby, Kevin W. Get Off Your But! Messages Musings and Ministries to Empower the African American Church, Lithonia, Georgia: Orman Press, 2000.
- Crawford, Evans E. The Hum: Call and Response in African American Preaching. Nashville: Abingdon, 1995.
- Kellar, Marcel. Timothy, Stir Up Your Gift!, Nashville: MEGA Corporation, 2000.
- Mitchell, Henry H. and Thomas, Emil M. Preaching for Black Self-Esteem, Nashville: Abingdon, 1994.
- Reddie, Anthony. Nobodies to Somebodies: Practical Theology for Education and Liberation, Peterborough: Epworth Press, 2003
- Taylor, Edward L. comp. The Words of Gardner Taylor, Volume 1: NBC Radio Sermons (1959 - 1970). Valley Forge: Judson Press, 1999.
- Thomas, Walter S., Spiritual Navigation for the 21st Century: Sermons from Walter Thomas. Valley Forge: Judson Press, 2000.
- Trimiew, Darryl M., Editor. Out of Mighty Waters: Sermons by African American Disciples, St. Louis: Chalice Press, 1994.
- Waters, Kenneth L. Afrocentric Sermons: The Beauty of Blackness in the Bible, Valley Forge: Judson Press, 1993.
- Wimberly, Edward P. Moving From Shame to Self-Worth: Preaching and Pastoral Care, Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1999.
- Wright, Jeremiah A. Africans Who Shaped Our Faith: A Study of Ten Biblical Personalities, Chicago: Urban Ministries, 1995
- Wright, Jr., Jeremiah A. Good News: Sermons of Hope for Today's Families, Valley Forge: Judson, 1995.
- Wright, Jr., Jeremiah A. What Makes You So Strong?: Sermons of Joy and Strength from Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr., Valley Forge: Judson Press, 1993.
[edit] Sexuality
Douglas, Kelly Brown. Sexuality and the Black Church: A Womanist Perspective, Mary Knoll, NY: Orbis Books.
[edit] Social issues
- Billingsley, Andrew. Mighty Like a River: The Black Church and Social Reform, New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.
- Fluker, Walter Earl, The Stones that the Builders Rejected: The Development of Ethical Leadership from the Black Church Tradition, Harrisburg: Trinity Press International, 1998.
- Franklin, Robert M. Another Day's Journey: Black Churches Confronting the American Crisis, Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1997.
- Grant, Paul and Patel, Raj (Eds.) A Time To Act: Kairos 1992 Birmingham: A joint publication of Racial Justice and the Black Theology Working Group, 1992.
- Harris, Forrest E. Ministry for Social Crisis: Theology and Praxis in the Black Church Tradition, Macon, Georgia: Mercer University Press, 1993
- January, Jerald. A Second Time: Examining the Sin of Racial Division that Remain in the Church Today, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996.
- Malone, Dr. Walter, Jr. An Operative Faith for Oppressed People, Nashville: National Baptist Publishing Board, 1988.
- Sawyer, Mary R. Black Ecumenism: Implementing the Demands of Justice, Philadelphia: Trinity Press International, 1998.
[edit] Sociological and historical studies
- Andersson, Efraim. Churches at the Grassroots, London: Lutterworth Press, 1968
- Cone, James H. and Wilmore, Gayraud S. Black Theology A Documentary History: Vol 1. 1966-1979, New York: Orbis Books, 1992
- Cone, James H. and Wilmore, Gayraud S. Black Theology A Documentary History: Vol 2. 1980- 1992, New York: Orbis Books, 1993
- Ela, Jean-Marc. African Cry, Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 1986
- Frazier, E. Franklin. The Black Church in America, New York: Shocken Books, 1964
- Jagessar, Michael N. and Anthony G. Reddie (eds.) Postcolonial Black British Theology, Peterborough, Epworth: 2007
- Jagessar, Michael N. and Anthony G. Reddie (eds.) Black Theology in Britain: A Reader, London, Equinox: 2007
- Lincoln, C. Eric, The Black Church in the African American Experience, Durham, N.Y.: Duke University Press, 1990
- Paris, Peter J. The Social Teaching of the Black Churches, Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1985.
- Paris, Peter J. The Spirituality of African Peoples, Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1995
- Pinn, Anne and Anthony B. Black Church History, Fortress Press, 2002
- Rabateau, Albert. Slave Religion, Oxford University Press, 1978
- Reddie, Richard S., Abolition! The Struggle to Abolish Slavery in the British Colonies, Lion Hudson PLC: Oxford, 2007.
- Reddie, Anthony. Faith, Stories and the Experience of Black Elders, London: Jessica Kingsley, 2001
- Sernett, Milton C. African American Religious History: A Documentary Witness, Duke University Press (2nd ed), 1999, ISBN 0-8223-2449-0
- Terrell, JoAnne Marie. Power in the Blood: The Cross in the African American Experience, New York: Orbis books, 1998
- Wilkinson, John. Church in Black and White, St. Andrews Press, 1994
- Williams, Ethel L. and Clifton F. Brown, Howard University Bibliography of African and Afro American Religious Studies: With Locations in American Libraries, SR Books, 1977, ISBN 0-8420-2080-2
- Wilmore, Gayraud. Black Religion and Black Radicalism, New York: Orbis Books, 1973.
- Wilmore, Gayraud and Cone, James H. (Eds.) "Black Theology: A Documentary History, 1966-1979", Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 1979. pp.350-359
[edit] Theology and philosophy
- Anyabwile, Thabiti M. and Mark A. Noll. The Decline of African American Theology: From Biblical Faith to Cultural Captivity, Inter-Varsity Press, 2007.
- Bailey, Randall C. and Jacquelyn Grant, editors. The Recovery of Black Presence: An Interdisciplinary Exploration, Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1995.
- Bond, Gilbert I. Community, Communitas, and Cosmos: Toward a Phenomenological Interpretation and Theology of Traditional Afro-Christian Worship, New York: University Press of America, 2002
- Bond, Gilbert I., A Phenomenology of Reconciliation: Diasporic Community, Cerole Consciousness, and the Religious Life of Paul, Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2000.
- Bridges, Flora Wilson. Resurrection Song: African-American Spirituality (The Bishop Henry McNeal Turner/Sojourner Truth Series in Black Religion, Mary Knoll: Orbis Books, 2000.
- Cone, James H. God of the Oppressed, New York: Seabury Press, 1975
- Cone, James H. For My People: Black Theology and the Black Church, New York: Orbis Books, 1984
- Cone, James H. My Soul Looks Back, New York: Orbis Books, 1986
- Cone, James H. Black Theology and Black Power (20th Anniversary Edition), New York: Harper SanFrancisco, 1989
- Cooper-Lewter, Nicholas. Soul Theology: The Heart of American Black Culture, Nashville: Abingdon.
- Douglas, Kelly Brown. The Black Christ (Bishop Henry McNeal Turner/Sojourner Truth Series in Black Religion), New York: Orbis Books, 1994
- Duffield, Ian K. (ed) Urban Christ: Responses to John Vincent, Sheffield: UTU, 1997
- Evans, Jr., James H. We Have Been Believers: An African American Systematic Theology, Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1992
- Felder, Cain Hope Stony. The Road We Trod: African American Biblical Interpretation, Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1991
- Gerloff, Roswith I. H. A Plea for British Black Theologies, Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 1992
- Hood, Robert E. Must God Remain Greek?: Afro-Cultures and God-Talk, Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1990
- Hood, Robert E. Begrimmed and Black: Christian Traditions on Blacks and Blackness, Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1994
- Hope, Marjorie and Young, James. The South African Churches in a Revolutionary Situation, Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 1979
- Hopkins, Dwight N. (Ed.) Black Faith and Public Talk: Critical Essays on James H. Cone’s Black Theology and Black Power, New York: Orbis Books, 1999
- Hopkins, Dwight N. Introducing Black Theology of Liberation, New York: Orbis book, 1999
- Hopkins, Dwight N. Down, Up and Over: Slave Religion and Black Theology, Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2000
- Hopkins, Dwight N. and Cummings, George. Cut Loose Your Stammering Tongue: Black Theology and the Slave Narratives, New York: Orbis Books, 1991
- Jennings, Theodore W. Good News to the Poor, Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1990
- Jones, William R. Is God a White Racist? Boston: Beacon Press, 1998.
- Kalilombe, Patrick A. Doing Theology at the Grassroots, Gweru, Zimbabwe: Mambo Press, 1999.
- Okholm, Dennis L. The Gospel in Black & White: Theological Resources for Racial Reconciliation, Inter-varsity Press, 1997.
- Pinn, Anthony B. Why Lord?: Suffering and Evil in Black Theology, New York: Continuum, 1995
- Pinn, Anthony B. Terror and Triumph: The Nature of Black Religion, Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2003
- Reddie, Anthony. Black Theology in Transatlantic Dialogue, Basingstoke & New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006.
- Reddie, Anthony. Dramatizing Theologies, London: Equinox, 2006.
- Roberts, J. Deotis. Africentric Christianity: A Theological Appraisal for Ministry, Judson Press, 2000.
- Roberts, J. Deotis. Black Religion, Black Theology, Continuum International, 2003.
- Roberts, J. Deotis. Black Theology in Dialogue, Westminster, John Knox, 1987.
- Roberts, J. Deotis. Liberation and Reconciliation: A Black Theology, Westminster, John Knox, 2005.
- Roberts, J. Deotis. The Prophethood of Black Believers: An African-American Political Theology for Ministry, Westminster, John Knox, 1994.
- Roberts, Samuel K. In the Path of Virtue: The African American Moral Tradition, Cleveland: Pilgrim Press, 1999.
- Roberts, Samuel K. African American Christian Ethics, Cleveland: The Pilgrim Press, 2001.
- Sanders, Cheryl J. Empowerment Ethics for a Liberated People, Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 1995.
- Singleton III, Harry H. Black Theology and Ideology, Collgeville, Minnesota: The Liturgical Press, 2002.
- Society for Biblical Literature, Reading The Bible in The Global Village, Cape Town, No.3, Atlanta: Society for Biblical Literature, 2002
- West, Cornel. African American Religious Thought: An Anthology, Westminster, John Knox, 2004.
[edit] Women in ministry
- Aldred, Joe. Sisters with Power, London: Continuum, 2000
- Collier-Thomas, Bettye. Daughters of Thunder: Black Women Preachers and Their Sermons 1850-1979, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1998.
- Lightner, Ann Farrar. And Your Daughters Shall Preach: Developing a Female Mentoring Program in the African American Church, St. Louis: Hodale Press, Inc., 1995.
[edit] Other
- Felder, Cain Hope. The African Heritage Study Bible, Nashville, Tenn. The James C. Winston Publishing Company, 1993
- "Black Theology: An International Journal", Equinox Publishing Ltd., published three times per year. Dr Anthony Reddie, Ed, email: a.g.reddie@queens.ac.uk
[edit] References
- ^ Charts of Christian Theology and Doctrine by H. Wayne House
- ^ Black Theology: An International Journal
