black crisis Essays

Kelly Brown Douglas begins by posing a series of questions, including, “Who is the Black Christ?” and “Is the Black Christ Enough?” (6-7) For Douglas, the Black Christ, “…represents God’s urgent movement in human history to set Black captives free from the demons of White racism” (3). The question of “Who is the Black Christ?” is addressed in Chapter 3. The question of “Is the Black Christ enough?” is addressed in Chapters 4 and 5, as Douglas critically examines the relationship of the Black Christ to the Black community and ends with addressing what womanist theology is and why there is a need for it in understanding the Black Christ.

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

Black religion was no longer regarded as exemplary or special. During a time of growing segregation and violence, some black leaders attempted to counter this perspective seen by whites by embracing the romantic racialist notions that “blacks possessed peculiar gifts.” These gifts being directly connected to the importance of black churches in a time of direct exclusion of blacks from other pieces of society.

“On a Christian Mission to the Top” by Laurie Goodstein and David Kirkpatrick deals with the controversial topic of religion, primarily the rise of evangelicals to the top of the social classes and their influence. The essay opens with a description of the differing religious groups in Brown University, originally a Protestant Christian school. After evangelicals surpassed other denominations of Christianity, the societal and political perspectives of America shifted to support Evangelism views. Goodstein and Kirkpatrick examine the attempt to sway colleges to evangelist perspectives. While I wholeheartedly encourage the freedom of religion, I do not support this attempt at mass conversion or the refusal of accepting of other cultures.

In his book, A Critical Introduction to the Study of World Religions, Craig Martin aims to introduce undergraduate students to a socio-functional approach in exposing the methods in which religion disrupts class equality. He succeeds by using intelligible explanations, arguments, and examples to skeptically understand how man is shaped by religion.

What ministry types are present within the Black Urban Church that may not take place in the Black Rural Church setting? (Chapter 6) The present picture of black urban churches is a complicated, mixed picture of some effects of privatization among unchurched sectors of the black population, and the withdrawal of some black churches into a sphere of personal piety and religiosity; but there are also numerous signs of a continuing tradition of activism and involvement in the political, economic, educational, and cultural aspects of black life among the majority of black clergy and churches (Lincoln, C. Eric, and Lawrence H. Mamiya

There are multitudinous signs that are highly indicative of the poor condition of blacks in America, and there does not seem to be any immediate relief in sight. If I had the responsibility of summing up the current condition in Black America in one word, that word would be “Crisis.” The term crisis is expressive of a pivotal point in which an already dire situation will either turn for the better or turn for the worse. The black collective is in crisis in almost every aspect of its existence — creating a situation in which proactive and strategic measures are in order.

While the neo-Pentecostals in the A.M.E. Church had produced enormous church growth, there were severe critics, who resented the threat to traditional worship in an atmosphere of order. In addition, they criticized the spiritual loyalty of many people who tend to view their way as the only way. There is some evidence that the neo-Pentecostal movement also involved Black church denominations, including a few churches in the A.M.E. Zion Church and some middle-class Baptist churches. The challenge that neo-Pentecostalism posed for the Black church is an issue of how to benefit from this church growth and spiritual revitalization without producing a crisis of differences in

The element of worship has always been an essential part of the Black American culture. Black Americans “are markedly more religious on a variety of measures than the U.S. population as a whole.” 87% of blacks vs. 83% of all Americans affiliated with a religion according to the U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, conducted in 2007 by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public

The African Methodist Episcopal Church also known as the AME Church, represents a long history of people going from struggles to success, from embarrassment to pride, from slaves to free. It is my intention to prove that the name African Methodist Episcopal represents equality and freedom to worship God, no matter what color skin a person was blessed to be born with. The thesis is this: While both Whites and Africans believed in the worship of God, whites believed in the oppression of the Africans’ freedom to serve God in their own way, blacks defended their own right to worship by the development of their own church. According to Andrew White, a well- known author for the AME denomination, “The word African means that our church was

Black theology can be traced back to when slavery times. During this time Christianity became the blacks man’s purpose of life,

These three perceptions are distinctly different, but ultimately speak to the contextual nature of Black theology—rooting worship, adoration, and discipleship within the notion a (conscious) living G-d. The first perception explored is the image G-d adored through the lens of Sister Sweet and Mother Darling. At first glance, these women appear different in life style and theology—different churches, different abilities, and different approaches to discipleship. But upon further examination, one discovers the same paradigm at work. Both have lost children to AIDS. Both have committed themselves to a praxis centered theology to process their loss. Mother Darling is street missionary and Sister Sweet is a disabled woman confined to a wheel that feeds the birds and attends to the needs of the Little piece of Heaven Church. Both have found peace in their personalized work for the Lord. Their G-d is a “shelter in a time of storm.” The second perception is the image of G-d as seen through Deacon Zee. This G-d is one of salvation and complacence for Deacon Zee. The “White Jesus” he prayed to for his assistance in finding his copy of the Wall Street Journal—a nuanced symbol for prosperity. This G-d speaks to the corporate nature and element of

I jumped at the opportunity to complete the extra credit assignment because of the topic. I have always wanted to attend an African American Baptist Church. I was raised Catholic in a predominantly white community and for the chance to experience something different was appealing. I’ve seen the stereotypes in movies and on TV about what an African American Baptist church looks like but I wanted to experience it myself. I wasn’t sure on what to expect but kept an open mind about the situation.

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.

Hughes' description of the church and the presence of Christ were meant to illustrate the religious dependence many African Americans embraced during that time. Many African-Americans enjoyed their religious freedoms and depended on religion to see them through the hard times. African-Americans traditionally considered religion important in their everyday lives ("Black American"). In an article entitled "Henry McNeal Turner," the author states