The Black Theology And Liberation Approach

Since the arrival of African Americans in this country blacks have always had differing experiences. Consequently, African-Americans have had to forge a self-identity out of what has been passed on to them as fact about their true selves. History has wrought oppression and subjugation to this particular race of people and as a result, certain institutions were formed in order aid African-Americans, culturally, spiritually and economically. The African-American Church has served of one such institution. From the time of slavery, though outlawed, many slaves found ways to congregate and form their own "churches", away from the one-sided and bias lessons about the bible that they were being taught in the white church. The white ministers and

Looking back in time, I realize that God set the stage for me working with multi-ethnic ministry by ordering each step and influencing every endeavor. For over thirty years, I educated a broad sector of Illinois public school children representative of different economic, racial, cultural and environmental backgrounds.

“Roll, Jordan, Roll”, “Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Had”, “Go Down, Moses”, and “Wade in the Water” are the titles of only a handful of what were called “Negro Spirituals”, which originated during the reign of slavery in the United States (Frey). Such spirituals used call-and-response, a method of communication that was popular with slaves who brought African traditions to America, and gave way to the gospel music and unique form of preaching characteristic to the Black Church. The history of the Black Church, which began during the slave era, demonstrates the way that African Americans found refuge in Christianity, where the church became the center for African American communities (Baer). Born out of struggle and oppression, the Black Church not only became the focus for the religious practices of African American communities, but also worked to “re-member” the community through rituals such as that of call-and-response, a core element of the Black Church which served as a powerful tool for the African American community in the fight for the exercise of true freedom in America.

While traditional theology focused on invigorating faith, liberation theology is intended to promote social justice for marginalized populations and improve the community. In traditional theology, those mainly involved were scholars with academic qualifications who sought abstract and philosophical ideas regarding their faith. By contrast, liberation theology is inclusive of everyone, and all are able to contribute within their own capacity. In this inclusive system, liberation theology seeks to ask and address questions that arise from social analysis and engagement. Rather than allowing select individuals to preach to the rest of the population, as seen in traditional theology, liberation theology empowers all individuals to promote justice

“Christian theology is a theology of liberation. It is a rational study of the being of God in

Imagine the idea of living in a society where you are segregated from your peers as a result of the colour of your skin. Envision living in a place that you no longer wish to call home because the people around you are being eradicated left right and center.

The black church is not dead. Reviewing Eddie Glaude's and Joshua Lazard's article on the state of the black church as a noun an institution. Glaude states, the black church is dead, while Lazard rebuttal that the black church is very much alive. after reading Lazard's article I seem to identify with the reasons Lazard claimed the black church is not dead , writing responses for every bold statement made by Glaude's in his article the black church is dead. Lazard response to Glaude's statemets about the black church branches, and the presence in the black community.

To be sure, there were numerous black protests in the Americas as well. Revisionist historian Herbert Aptheker has done an admirable job of refuting the claim of many early white historians that slave rebellions were rare in the colonies, and that the black slaves were docile, disinterested, or indifferent to freedom. Neither slave songs nor folklore indicate that blacks either liked or were indifferent to slavery. Black ancestors took advantage of every opportunity to make it clear that they were not created for enslavement. Aptheker has written both of the frequency and the more than two hundred and fifty “reported Negro conspiracies and revolts.” In addition, there is no way to determine the large number of individual escapes and

The history of religion in the United States comes a long way dating from the early 1600s when the first pilgrim settlers came to this country. It has been noted that these settlers were highly influenced by the Protestant faith which led to a community level of influence in this country as well. The faith of theses settlers were motivated from the New World of Europe where they practiced their religion in a peaceful environment. Later in history, it was noted that people of Spanish decent started the famous network of the Catholic missions in California. When California became a part of the United States, Catholic churches and institutes were formed. These churches and institutes were also formed in New Orleans and Louisiana.

In the African American community, a major component of our history is the institution of religion. It has been with us since our time in Africa, and it still affects us today. The sad realization is many African Americans today never learned the history to understand how much religion affected us, so people of the current generation did not appreciate its importance. Now, there is a social conflict between generations of Blacks in regards to how they see religion. In this paper, I plan to show how religion has molded the African American community into what it is today, and how African Americans’ perspective of religion is changing in the community.

The strength of this view allows one to focus on receiving the fruits of there labor while being here on earth. For many, this view saves them the heartache of getting their hopes up for a future heavenly home, that they feel may or may not exist. It feels safer to interpret heaven on earth as a means of liberation and freedom. The weakness of this view, emphasizes the human work of self-liberation among blacks, and disregards Gods divine help.

By revealing the opposition and obstacles, the black church may seize the opportunity of becoming a force to be reckoned with in our society. America was born with a grotesque, cancerous disease called slavery. This disease lingers to this day in many forms and subtle variations. The plantation mentality is still with us. Sometimes it masquerades as democracy and free enterprise, but the effect is the same on the spirits of the poor and oppressed. When black men moved indoors to work in industry and business, they found themselves imprisoned behind the walls of institutional racism. Nothing really had

This book is not just interesting and insightful, it is appealing and practical. Anyabwile personal experience sufficiently encapsulates his message. Reviving the Black Church invites the reader to rethink the place of the bible, leadership, preaching, and discipleship as well as world missions. The two strengths include the value of a bible-centered church which will sustain the life of the church. In addition, how expository

Racism is a persistent issue directly threatening the values and teachings of Catholic theology and humanities advancement towards unity and peace. A destructive ideology such as racism debunks the entire foundation from which Catholicism is built. Catholicism follows the life and teachings of Jesus and the idea of solidarity, one of seven principals of Catholic Social Teaching; preaching for a single human family despite any national, racial, ethnic, economic, or ideological differences. Accepting or remaining silent when presented with an act of racial discrimination is equally as damaging as committing the act itself, as it contributes to an environment tolerant of racial prejudices. The Catholic church and its followers have a duty to acknowledge racism to its fullest extent and provide resolution. Through a collective stance against racism between the Catholic establishment and society while simultaneously providing education on the issue with realistic solutions, a progressed cultural environment can ultimately be developed that is reluctant to condone racism and all associated ideologies, utilizing peace, unity, and Catholic values as its foundational core.

Although this information on Liberation Theology is essential to understanding of this concept, the focus of our presentation, in relation to our class, was Black Liberation Theology. It is easy to see how African Americans relate to the idea of Liberation Theology, as a historically socially oppressed group of peoples. The encompassed theme of Black Liberation theologians is the concept of God emancipating African Americans from white racism. Jesus in Liberation Theology is commonly represented as a ‘Poor Black Man’, therefore allowing the representation of a relatable figure for the African American people. One way in which we felt the concept of Liberation Theology come together with class discussion, was in relation to the Black Liberation Theologian, James Cone, whom we had previously discussed in class time, leading up to this presentation.