BLACK THEOLOGYPub Date : 2021-05-04DOI: 10.1080/14769948.2021.1954369
Anthony G. Reddie
{"title":"Editorial","authors":"Anthony G. Reddie","doi":"10.1080/14769948.2021.1954369","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/14769948.2021.1954369","url":null,"abstract":"A central aspect of Black theology has always been the necessity to rethink historically accepted norms, particuarly in terms of socio-cultural and political phenomena, within the realms of theological and religious traditions. It can be argued that the most central aspect of this facet of rethinking can be seen in the attempt by Black theology to rehabilitate the Black body against centuries of deleterious thinking. Alongside this central necessity, Black theology has sought to rethink all aspects of White, Euro-American hegemony. This issue of Black Theology: An International Journal contains five articles, all of which, draw into our purview substantive attempts to rethink historic phenomena, religious traditions and epistemological norms. Carol Troupe’s article opens this particular issue of our journal. Her work, emerges from a Council for World Mission’s (CWM) funded pilot project that is a part of their prophetic and epoch making “Legacies of Slavery” programme. As part of the Council for World Mission’s Legacies of Slavery project, the author, from her perspective as a descendant of enslaved Africans, explores the themes that emerged during her initial encounter with historical missionary magazine material. This research involved several visits to the London Missionary Society archives held at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS, in the University of London), in order to interrogate aspects of the historical literature held in their “Special Collections”. Drawing on insights from Black and Womanist theologies, she asks questions about what reflection on these themes can offer to contemporary practice and church mission. Willy L. Mafuta and Chammah J. Kaunda’s jointly written article draws on the insights of the famed British philosopher of religion, John Hick. Drawing from John Hick’s soteriological criterion of religious pluralism, this essay questions the way in which Christianity is often portrayed as the normative standard by which other so called “Primitive” religions are assessed, in terms of their veracity to be seen as legitimate forms of expression of the human quest for matters of ultimate concern. This essay claims that with a modern understanding of the globalized world, it is no longer the norm for a non-Christian religion to meet Christian-like features to be considered a “world religion”. By adopting a universal model that is gained through observing concrete particularizations, where no one religion can claim to serve as the clear and dominant standard for any other, this essay attempts to re-imagine and re-construct African Traditional Religions. While the focus of this article is on African Tradition Religions, particular focus is given to the Zulu religion, its deity, uNkulunkulu, and its moral fabric. This article rethinks how we have conceptualized “World Religions”.","PeriodicalId":42729,"journal":{"name":"BLACK THEOLOGY","volume":"19 1","pages":"99 - 100"},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2021-05-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44226444","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
BLACK THEOLOGYPub Date : 2021-05-04DOI: 10.1080/14769948.2021.1954373
Ronald B. Neal
{"title":"Theologizing in Black: On Africana Theological Ethics and Anthropology","authors":"Ronald B. Neal","doi":"10.1080/14769948.2021.1954373","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/14769948.2021.1954373","url":null,"abstract":"argued way, an important topic especially within Africana interpretive contexts of religion, theology, and biblical scholarship. What, in my view, makes the volume unique and thus interesting is that it deviates from others, especially those in the field of Hebrew Bible studies in terms of its treatment of the biblical Hagar character, by enlisting material from other disciplines such as African American History, Classics, Literature as well as Islamic studies among others, thus foregrounding the need for multi-interand trans-disciplinary studies in the scholars’ engagement with the biblical text. What I find missing though is the author’s omission of a deliberate engagement with the theme of the book’s function in the context of race studies, especially in a context that still sets great store by white supremacy like the U.S. One would certainly recommend Reimagining Hagar: Blackness and Bible to Bible, Theology and Religion scholars and students and the laity in general, and especially those with a keen interest in the (Hebrew) Bible and race studies and in the recovery of the Black presence in the Christian Bible.","PeriodicalId":42729,"journal":{"name":"BLACK THEOLOGY","volume":"19 1","pages":"187 - 189"},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2021-05-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41974288","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
BLACK THEOLOGYPub Date : 2021-05-04DOI: 10.1080/14769948.2021.1954370
David Isiorho
{"title":"From Lament to Action, The Report of the Archbishops’ Anti-Racism Taskforce","authors":"David Isiorho","doi":"10.1080/14769948.2021.1954370","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/14769948.2021.1954370","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":42729,"journal":{"name":"BLACK THEOLOGY","volume":"19 1","pages":"181 - 182"},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2021-05-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45317384","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
BLACK THEOLOGYPub Date : 2021-05-04DOI: 10.1080/14769948.2021.1955179
Willy L. Mafuta, C. Kaunda
{"title":"Recovering African Religions as “World Religions”: The Case of the Zulu Religion","authors":"Willy L. Mafuta, C. Kaunda","doi":"10.1080/14769948.2021.1955179","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/14769948.2021.1955179","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Drawing from John Hick’s soteriological criterion of religious pluralism (in his notion of saintliness and morality), this essay questions the validity of the Christian putative, normative status to establish Christian-like features for other religions to be considered a “world religion”. This essay claims that with a modern understanding of the globalized world, it is no longer the norm for a non-Christian religion to meet Christian-like features to be considered a “world religion”. Instead, a universal model is gaining its reality through concrete particularizations, where no one religion can claim to serve as the clear and dominant standard for any other. In this sense, this essay attempts to re-imagine and construct African Traditional Religions, particularly the Zulu religion, its deity, uNkulunkulu, and its moral fabric, as a religious particularization of the global systems.","PeriodicalId":42729,"journal":{"name":"BLACK THEOLOGY","volume":"19 1","pages":"122 - 134"},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2021-05-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44315477","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
BLACK THEOLOGYPub Date : 2021-05-04DOI: 10.1080/14769948.2021.1955178
M. S. Kgatle
{"title":"Spirituality of Liberation in African Pentecostal Worship and Its Implications for Black Theology","authors":"M. S. Kgatle","doi":"10.1080/14769948.2021.1955178","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/14769948.2021.1955178","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Pentecostal worship is widely studied with but little attention given to its link with a spirituality of liberation. This article uses literary analysis to demonstrate that African Pentecostal Worship (hereafter APW) is an expression of a spirituality of liberation with implications for Black theology. In order to achieve this, the article introduces Black theology within the theoretical framework of a spirituality of liberation. APW, an African style of worship, is discussed in relation to African Pentecostalism and Blackness. Three aspects of APW are discussed; a Spirit of liberation, the music of liberation and the sermons of liberation to illustrate their connection to a Spirituality of liberation. This Spirituality of liberation in APW has some implications for Black theology as it challenges Black theologians to incorporate African Pentecostalism in their studies. Therefore, Black theologians can no longer ignore the contribution of African Pentecostalism to the development of Black theology in Africa.","PeriodicalId":42729,"journal":{"name":"BLACK THEOLOGY","volume":"19 1","pages":"168 - 180"},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2021-05-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/14769948.2021.1955178","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45897210","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
BLACK THEOLOGYPub Date : 2021-05-04DOI: 10.1080/14769948.2021.1948712
Carol Troupe
{"title":"Engagement with Mission Magazine Archives: A Black Laywoman’s Perspective","authors":"Carol Troupe","doi":"10.1080/14769948.2021.1948712","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/14769948.2021.1948712","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT As part of the Council for World Mission’s Legacies of Slavery project, the author, from her perspective as a descendant of enslaved Africans, explores the themes that emerged during her initial encounter with historical missionary magazine material. Drawing on insights from Black and Womanist theologies, she asks questions about what reflection on these themes can offer to contemporary practice and church mission.","PeriodicalId":42729,"journal":{"name":"BLACK THEOLOGY","volume":"19 1","pages":"101 - 121"},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2021-05-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/14769948.2021.1948712","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44703496","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
BLACK THEOLOGYPub Date : 2021-05-04DOI: 10.1080/14769948.2021.1954371
Michael N. Jagessar
{"title":"Liturgies from below: praying with people at the end of the world (also published as From the ends of the world: prayers in defiance of empire)","authors":"Michael N. Jagessar","doi":"10.1080/14769948.2021.1954371","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/14769948.2021.1954371","url":null,"abstract":"doubt that this will be an effective strategy for change. It is possible that powerful groups within the church will become even more entrenched in their failure to appoint UKME/ GMH people. When this report tells us that Black Church members, despite being highly qualified and experienced, are continually passed over by the overwhelmingly White church systems nothing new is being added to our knowledge base. Black people know this even if White Church people do not want to acknowledge it and must be reminded time and time again. But to whom is this report addressed? Presumably, those who have the power to change things. Who can tell in the strange world and culture of the Church of England? So, do we really need yet another report that draws the conclusion that a great resource for the Church is being underused and marginalized? Yes, we know this. This is the lived experience of Black Christians, particularly their clergy who seek to represent Christ to the world. It is not unlike saying that slum environments prevent academic learning. I understand the contributors of this report would be keen to commission new research to make some sense of the Church of England’s theological foundations of prejudice and discrimination. In this context, I hope they will welcome this review as an initial and meaningful contribution to that process. I do not doubt the sincerity of the writers, but will the Church of England deliver on the recommendations that would seriously change its life and culture as an institutionally racist institution? Some of the recommendations are crucial, others are not so important, so it would not be difficult for readers to predict which ones are likely to succeed. So, will anything change? From Lament to Action runs the tightrope between the optimistic and the naive. This is something readers will have to decide for themselves. Clearly time will tell, so watch this space, but as I said previously, do not hold your breath.","PeriodicalId":42729,"journal":{"name":"BLACK THEOLOGY","volume":"19 1","pages":"182 - 185"},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2021-05-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42949647","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
BLACK THEOLOGYPub Date : 2021-01-02DOI: 10.1080/14769948.2021.1895559
Thomas P. Dixon
{"title":"Dr. King and Martin Luther on Law: Politics, Theology, and Captivity","authors":"Thomas P. Dixon","doi":"10.1080/14769948.2021.1895559","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/14769948.2021.1895559","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This paper places Dr. Martin Luther King and Martin Luther in conversation in order to compare their polyvalent engagements with law in protest speech. Each figure viewed God’s law dialogically and applied this tension to complex censure of unjust human laws, fostering protest that was combative yet constructive. Both insisted on the grounding of human laws in the law of God, and both invoked divine judgment on those in power who misused law to exploit and oppress. Luther marshalled the Apostle Paul to denounce the captivity imposed upon the German people by ecclesiastical authority; King echoed Israel’s prophets (as well as Paul) to threaten the unjust state in the battle for civil rights legislation. Although in drastically different circumstances, the purpose and character of “law” lay at the heart of each movement, particularly because both King and Luther were protesting laws entrenched in putatively Christian nations.","PeriodicalId":42729,"journal":{"name":"BLACK THEOLOGY","volume":"19 1","pages":"18 - 31"},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2021-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/14769948.2021.1895559","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42581482","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}