Description - African-American
The specific objective of this unit is to engage in the interdisciplinary and holistic study of the Bible and its place in, and meanings from, multi-faceted and complex African-American cultural contexts.
Biblical Studies
The Africana Bible by
The Africana Bible features a critical commentary on every book of the Hebrew Bible, the Apocrypha, and Pseudepigrapha that are authoritative for many in African and African-diasporan communities worldwide. It highlights issues of concern to the global Black community (such as globalization and the colonial legacy) and the distinctive norms of interpretation in African and African Diasporan settings.
Insights from African American Interpretation by
Each volume in the Insights series discusses discoveries and insights gained into biblical texts from a particular approach or perspective in current scholarship. Accessible and appealing to today's students, each Insight volume discusses how this method, approach, or strategy was first developed and how its application has changed over time; what current questions arise from its use; what enduring insights it has produced; and what questions remain for future scholarship. Mitzi J. Smith describes the distinctive African American experience of Scripture, from slavery to Black Liberation and beyond, and the unique angles of perception that an intentional African American interpretation brings to the text for a contemporary generation of scholars. Smith shows how questions of race, ethnicity, and the dynamics of "othering" have been developed in African American biblical scholarship, resulting in new reading of particular texts. Further, Smith describes challenges that scholarship raises for the future of biblical interpretation generally.
Reading While Black by
Growing up in the American South, Esau McCaulley knew firsthand the ongoing struggle between despair and hope that marks the lives of some in the African American context. A key element in the fight for hope, he discovered, has long been the practice of Bible reading and interpretation that comes out of traditional Black churches. This ecclesial tradition is often disregarded or viewed with suspicion by much of the wider church and academy, but it has something vital to say. Reading While Black is a personal and scholarly testament to the power and hope of Black biblical interpretation. At a time in which some within the African American community are questioning the place of the Christian faith in the struggle for justice, New Testament scholar McCaulley argues that reading Scripture from the perspective of Black church tradition is invaluable for connecting with a rich faith history and addressing the urgent issues of our times. He advocates for a model of interpretation that involves an ongoing conversation between the collective Black experience and the Bible, in which the particular questions coming out of Black communities are given pride of place and the Bible is given space to respond by affirming, challenging, and, at times, reshaping Black concerns. McCaulley demonstrates this model with studies on how Scripture speaks to topics often overlooked by white interpreters, such as ethnicity, political protest, policing, and slavery. Ultimately McCaulley calls the church to a dynamic theological engagement with Scripture, in which Christians of diverse backgrounds dialogue with their own social location as well as the cultures of others. Reading While Black moves the conversation forward. -- Publisher's description.
The Talking Book by
The Bible has profoundly influenced African Americans throughout their history. This wide-ranging book is the first to explore the African American experience of the Bible from a variety of perspectives. Connecting biblical stories and images to the music, politics, religion, and arts and letters of African Americans, the book demonstrates the centrality of the Bible in black culture, both popular and highbrow. African Americans first came to the Bible under the yoke of slavery. The Bible was not read but heard, and its stories became first a source of songs, spirituals, and hollers, and later, after the Civil War, a powerful motivation for learning to read. Allen Callahan traces the Bible culture that developed during and following enslavement. He identifies the most important biblical images for African Americans - Exile, Exodus, Ethiopia, and Emmanuel - and discusses their recurrence and their role in the formation of a collective identity and sense of justice. With insights into the deeply interwoven histories of African Americans and the Bible, the author guides his readers toward a deeper appreciation of both.
Theology
African American Theology by
"This book presents a substantial introduction to the major methodologies, figures, and themes within African American theology. Frederick L. Ware explores African American theology from its inception and places it within dual contexts: first, the African American struggle for dignity and full humanity; and second, the broader scope of Christian belief. Readers will appreciate Ware's demonstration of how black theology is expressed in a wide range of sources that includes not only scholarly publications but also African American sermons, music, news and editorials, biography, literature, popular periodicals, folklore, and philosophy. Each chapter concludes with questions for discussion and suggested resources for further study. Ware provides a seasoned perspective on where African American theology has been and where it is going, and he demonstrates its creativity within the chorus of Christian theology." -- Provided by publisher.
Religion of the Field Negro by
Drawing together insights from black cultural studies and secularism studies, this book reinvigorates the field of black theology. It argues that black theology can best support the racial justice struggles of today by fully embracing both blackness (as opposed to multiculturalism) and theology (as opposed to religious diversity).
Is Christianity the White Man's Religion? by
"Antipas L. Harris, a theologian and community activist, believes that biblical Christianity is more affirmative of cultural diversity than many realize. In this sweeping social, theological, and historical examination of Christianity, Harris responds to a list of hot topics from young Americans who struggle with the perception that Christianity is detached from matters of justice, identity, and culture. He also looks at the ways in which American evangelicalism may have incubated the race problem. Is Christianity the White Man's Religion? affirms that ethnic diversity has played a powerful role in the formation of the Old and New Testaments and that the Bible is a book of justice, promoting equality for all people."--Publisher's statement