Sin and Salvation: Marita Bonner’s Early Explorations of Christian Theology

Abstract

Abstract:“Sin and Salvation: Marita Bonner’s Early Explorations of Christian Theology” explores three of the author’s overlooked writings—a short story and two essays—to establish their theological underpinnings and the ways in which they engage larger cultural debates about religion in the Harlem Renaissance. West situates Bonner’s writings within the swirling and evolving discourses of orthodox Calvinism, progressive orthodoxy and Social Gospel theology that dominated New England Protestantism in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Doing so establishes the contexts for Bonner’s repeated invocations of theological rhetoric and her use of literary traditions rarely, if ever, linked to the Harlem Renaissance. While existing scholarship links Bonner to Old Testament vengeance, these three texts far better reflect Bonner’s understanding of the New Testament. When read from a theological perspective, Bonner’s 1925 short story “The Hands—A Story” takes on an allegorical character and participates in the homiletic tradition. In “The Young Blood Hungers” (1928) Bonner gently advocates for progressive orthodoxy. Finally, Bonner explores the intersections of race, racism, and theology in her 1927 essay “—And I Passed By,” which remains frequently overlooked in bibliographies of her work. This pseudonymous essay functions both autobiographically and allegorically as a contribution to the tradition of homiletic narrative and the Social Gospel. While scholars have long acknowledged Bonner’s pervasive use of religion, West’s essay uncovers the roots of Bonner’s references and establishes an important foundation for future explorations of religion in her work.