YouTube - A Conversation with James Cone
What is black liberation theology? Barack Obama's former pastor, Jeremiah Wright catapulted black liberation theology onto a national stage, when America suddenly discovered Trinity United Church of Christ. In order to understand what the thinking behind Jeremiah Wright's inflammatory preaching, a clear definition of black theology was first given formulation in 1969 by the National Committee of Black Church Men in the midst of the civil rights movement. The article that I'm deriving the information from comes from Anthony B. Bradley who wrote an article entitled, "The Marxist Roots of Black Liberation Theology" on April 2, 2008.
Black theology is a theology of black liberation. It seeks to plumb the black condition in the light of God's revelation in Jesus Christ, so that the black community can see that the gospel is commensurate with the achievements of black humanity. Black theology is a theology of "blackness' which liberates black people from white racism. In the 1960's, black churches began to focus their attention beyond helping blacks cope with national racial discrimination in particularly urban areas. The notion of "blackness" is not merely a reference to skin color, but rather is a symbol of oppression at the hands of "rich white people." Black liberation theology believes capitalism is evil and has been used to enslave the black people. The overall emphasis of Black Liberation Theology is the black struggle for liberation from various forms of "white racism" and oppression.
James Cone is the chief architect of Black Liberation Theology. He wrote a book in 1970 entitled, "A Black Theology of Liberation." It develops black theology as a system. In this new formulation, Christian theology is a theology of liberation--"a rational study of the being of God in the world in light of the existential situation of an oppressed community, relating the forces of liberation to the essence of the gospel, which is Jesus Christ. One of the tasks of black theology, says Cone, is to analyze the nature of the gospel of Jesus Christ in light of the experience of oppressed blacks. For Cone, no theology is Christian theology unless it arises from oppressed communities and interprets Jesus' work as that of liberation. Christian theology is understood in terms of systemic and structural relationships between two main groups: victims "the oppressed) and victimizers (oppressors). In Cones context, writing in the late 1960's and early 1970's, the great event of Christ's liberation was freeing African Americans from the centuries-old tyranny of white racism and white oppression. American white theology, which Cone has never defined, is charged with having failed to help blacks in the struggle for liberation. Black theology exists because "white religionists" failed to relate the gospel of Jesus to the pain of being black in a white racist society.
Black liberation theology sees whites as the oppressors. Cone believes in this theory that whites consider blacks animals, outside the realm of humanity, and attempted to destroy black identity through racial assimilation and integration programs--as if blacks have no legitimate existence apart from whiteness. Black theology is the theological expression of a people deprived of social and political power. God is not the God of white religion but the God of black existence. In Cone's understanding, truth is not objective, but subjective. Cone's theology teaches that "rich white people" are the oppressing class and are incapable of understanding oppression. However, Jesus knows what it was like because he was "a poor black man" oppressed by "rich white people." While Black Liberation Theology is not mainstream in most black churches, many pastors in Wright's generation are influenced by Cone's categories which laid the foundation for many to embrace Marxism and a distorted self-image of black "victims".
I will continue this thought in another post explaining that Black Liberation Theology is the same as Marxist victimology.
What is black liberation theology? Barack Obama's former pastor, Jeremiah Wright catapulted black liberation theology onto a national stage, when America suddenly discovered Trinity United Church of Christ. In order to understand what the thinking behind Jeremiah Wright's inflammatory preaching, a clear definition of black theology was first given formulation in 1969 by the National Committee of Black Church Men in the midst of the civil rights movement. The article that I'm deriving the information from comes from Anthony B. Bradley who wrote an article entitled, "The Marxist Roots of Black Liberation Theology" on April 2, 2008.
Black theology is a theology of black liberation. It seeks to plumb the black condition in the light of God's revelation in Jesus Christ, so that the black community can see that the gospel is commensurate with the achievements of black humanity. Black theology is a theology of "blackness' which liberates black people from white racism. In the 1960's, black churches began to focus their attention beyond helping blacks cope with national racial discrimination in particularly urban areas. The notion of "blackness" is not merely a reference to skin color, but rather is a symbol of oppression at the hands of "rich white people." Black liberation theology believes capitalism is evil and has been used to enslave the black people. The overall emphasis of Black Liberation Theology is the black struggle for liberation from various forms of "white racism" and oppression.
James Cone is the chief architect of Black Liberation Theology. He wrote a book in 1970 entitled, "A Black Theology of Liberation." It develops black theology as a system. In this new formulation, Christian theology is a theology of liberation--"a rational study of the being of God in the world in light of the existential situation of an oppressed community, relating the forces of liberation to the essence of the gospel, which is Jesus Christ. One of the tasks of black theology, says Cone, is to analyze the nature of the gospel of Jesus Christ in light of the experience of oppressed blacks. For Cone, no theology is Christian theology unless it arises from oppressed communities and interprets Jesus' work as that of liberation. Christian theology is understood in terms of systemic and structural relationships between two main groups: victims "the oppressed) and victimizers (oppressors). In Cones context, writing in the late 1960's and early 1970's, the great event of Christ's liberation was freeing African Americans from the centuries-old tyranny of white racism and white oppression. American white theology, which Cone has never defined, is charged with having failed to help blacks in the struggle for liberation. Black theology exists because "white religionists" failed to relate the gospel of Jesus to the pain of being black in a white racist society.
Black liberation theology sees whites as the oppressors. Cone believes in this theory that whites consider blacks animals, outside the realm of humanity, and attempted to destroy black identity through racial assimilation and integration programs--as if blacks have no legitimate existence apart from whiteness. Black theology is the theological expression of a people deprived of social and political power. God is not the God of white religion but the God of black existence. In Cone's understanding, truth is not objective, but subjective. Cone's theology teaches that "rich white people" are the oppressing class and are incapable of understanding oppression. However, Jesus knows what it was like because he was "a poor black man" oppressed by "rich white people." While Black Liberation Theology is not mainstream in most black churches, many pastors in Wright's generation are influenced by Cone's categories which laid the foundation for many to embrace Marxism and a distorted self-image of black "victims".
I will continue this thought in another post explaining that Black Liberation Theology is the same as Marxist victimology.
No comments:
Post a Comment