The Decline Of African American Theology

Who were Jupiter Hammon, Lemuel Haynes and Daniel Alexander Payne? And what do they have in common with Martin Luther King Jr., Howard Thurman and James Cone? All of these were African American Christian theologians, yet their theologies are, in many ways, worlds apart. In this book, Thabiti Anyabwile offers a challenging and provocative assessment of the history of African American Christian theology, from its earliest beginnings to the present. He argues trenchantly that the modern fruit of African American theology has fallen far from the tree of its early predecessors. In doing so, Anyabwile closely examines the theological commitments of prominent African American theologians throughout American history. Chapter by chapter, he traces what he sees as the theological decline of African American theology from one generation to the next, concluding with an unflinching examination of several contemporary figures. Replete with primary texts and illustrations, this book is a gold mine for any reader interested in the history of African American Christianity. With a foreword by Mark Noll.

Named an Honor Book for Nonfiction by the Black Caucus of the American Library Association African American theology has a long and important history. With modern roots in the civil rights movements of the 1960s, African American theology has gone beyond issues of justice and social transformation to participate in broader dialogues of theological inquiry. The Oxford Handbook of African American Theology brings together leading scholars in the field to offer a critical and comprehensive analysis of this theological tradition in its many forms and contexts. Using an interdisciplinary approach, this Oxford Handbook examines the nature, structures, and functions of African American Theology. The volume surveys the field by highlighting its sources, doctrines, internal debates, current challenges, and future prospects in order to present key topics related to the wider palette of Black Religion in a sustained scholarly format. This formative collection presents current scholarship on African American Theology and scripture, eschatology, Christology, womanist theology, sexuality, ontology, the global economy, and much more. The contributors represent a diverse set of faith perspectives, adding to the layered discourses within the volume. These essays further important discussions on the pressing debates and challenges that shape black and womanist theologies.

African American theologians tend not to find philosophy as a meaningful tool to advance their theological positions. African Americans and Christianity offers an engaging and thorough bridge between African American theology and philosophy of religion.

"Examines the development of oppressive Christian theologies and the normalization of white superiority and white privilege in the United States"--

Black Theology emerged in the 1960s as a response to black consciousness. In South Africa it is a critique of power; in the UK it is a political theology of black culture. The dominant form of Black Theology has been in the USA, originally influenced by Black Power and the critique of white racism. Since then it claims to have broadened its perspective to include oppression on the grounds of race, gender and class. In this book the author contests this claim, especially by Womanist (black women) Theology. Black and Womanist Theologies present inadequate analyses of race and gender and no account at all of class (economic) oppression. With a few notable exceptions Black Theology in the USA repeats the mantras of the 1970s, the discourse of modernity. Content with American capitalism it fails to address the source of the impoverishment of black Americans at home. Content with a romantic imaginaire of Africa, this 'African-American' movement fails to defend contemporary Africa against predatory American global ambitions.

Enduring Truth argues that faithfulness to Scripture is the solution to a “crisis” among African American preaching. Though misinterpreting God’s Word is not restricted to one race or culture, author Aaron Lavender identifies three factors that have precipitated the decline of black preaching specifically: racial segregation, black liberation theology, and prosperity theology. The book’s first chapter recounts the history of the crisis, noting how discrimination in theological education led black ministers to liberal colleges and seminaries that prophetically confronted Jim Crow but taught the social gospel and other forms of theological error. Such schools ultimately were harmful to the spiritual health of black churches. Subsequent chapters discuss the role of biblical exegesis in preaching, develop a theology of preaching, and suggest preaching methods for the postmodern world. Every biblical text has one meaning, according to Lavender. The preacher’s job is to determine and communicate that meaning, then show its relevance in the cultural context of his hearers. Proof-texting and relativism, Lavender writes, are two great enemies of biblical preaching. While focused on the African American context, this volume addresses topics relevant to all preachers. Enduring Truth is suited both for ministry practitioners and preaching courses. It will help readers elevate the Word of God over the worldly allures of any ministry setting.

A book that reviews the principles of modern Black Theology, its roots and contributions to the Christian world. It also discusses what challenges Black theologians face in their minister and their religious communities.

In this compelling research, Kent Michael Shaw I reveals a concise and comprehensive work on the development of Missions Theology informed by the perspectives from early African American missionaries. Missiology Reimagined unveils the hidden and ignored missions history of enslaved and free African Americans during the antebellum period of the United States. This book helps the student of missiology decipher how the events of the 1800s shaped the missions theology of Black Americans. The enslaved of that day constructed a hermeneutic and interpreted the sacred text through a lens that contradicted their enslaver's version of Christianity. Through these constructs, they critically engaged in scripture and formulated a theology of mission contextualized for their lived experience. This insight compelled them to risk death and re-enslavement to pursue a global mandate from God. These pioneering missionaries would emerge as experts in the field of global evangelism, heralding them as both missionaries and missiologists. Since they were practitioners and students of Scripture, an applied mission’s theology would materialize. The reader will observe how this theological formation influenced the black church in the nineteenth century and their missiology reimagined. These men and women held two titles: missionary and missiologist. These pioneer missionaries would emerge as early experts in the field of global evangelism. As practitioners and students of scripture, an applied mission’s theology evolved. The reader will observe how this theological formation would shape the black church in the nineteenth century and a reimagined missiology.