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Test 3

Terms in this set (34)

The Black Christ: Cleage
Generally: viewed Christ as literally "Black". Focuses on his ancestry, but there is speculation of validity of where did the author get his information from.

Jesus of Nazareth is ethnically Black. Based this statement on Jesus's bloodline. He traced the bloodline through Mary, his mother. Mary was part of the Israelite tribe of Judah, which this tribe consisted of mostly of non-white black people. This tribe was mixed with Chaldeans, Egyptians, Midianites, Ethiopians, Kushites, Babylonians, and other dark people who are also mixed with black people of central america. (meaning Mary is Black)

Cleage's term of Black is more than the skin color. He compared how the blackness of Jesus is the same as Black americans are black.
Cleage focused on his human ancestry, but he did not ignore Jesus's divine parentage. He mentions that God created man in his own image. God therefore is a mixed red, black, white, yellow. Technically by american law, one drop of black blood makes you black, soooooo God is Black.

This concept that Jesus and God are Black provides an understanding that Jesus and God are committed to the Black community. =reason to go to church and to actually believe in what Cleage preached at church
The Black Christ: Cone
Generally: Christ is "Black", but more in the sense of the "Black Condition". He gets backlash because this version of The Black Christ seems too exclusive and confrontational.

Provided a symbolic version of Christ's blackness. Blackness is a symbol for Jesus's existential commitments. Cone defined the black experience as a constant struggle to survive and become free from white racism. He argues that discrimination against Black people was primarily connected to the color of their skin. Christ must be found in his blackness.

Blackness refers being oppressed. Jesus during birth, ministry, and death was always oppressed.
People critique Cone because of the concept of blackness; they claim that his theology is too exclusive of white people.
Cone's concept derived for the soul purpose to force white theologians to deal with black people's reality. Black theology believes that they are the only keys that can open the door to divine revelation; therefore, no american theology can even tend in the direction of christian theology without coming to terms with the blacked-skinned people of America.
The Black Christ: Roberts
Generally: Guided by a vision of Black and White together. He emphasizes reconciliation and people "Black and White living together".
Like Cone, Roberts used Jesus's status as a symbol. Roberts emphasizes Christ's universal relationship to all of humanity.

His vision starts with understanding Christ's incarnation. Becoming Christ, God identified with all humanity. Christ significance was found with Christ's relation to a specific group of people, but in Christ's universal relationship with all people. Roberts stressed Christ's universal identification with humanity. Because Christ identified with all people, christ identified with each person in his or her own historical particularity. The gospel is both universal and particular. Jesus is savior of each and Lord of all.

If the universal christ came to all people in their particular historical context, then all people had a right to define Christ through their particular experience and image christ in their own likeness. Meaning that Black people had as much a right to see christ in their likeness.

This concept means that christ was not exclusive and not oppressive of others. Didn't want Jesus to be a captive to the black community. Did not want Jesus to be overidentified with the black community.
Black Liberation: cleage
Because Cleage argued that Christ was literally black, he was able to interpret Christ's identification with contemporary black struggle as a part of a long history of God's attempt to build an independent black nation.

Cleage divided this history into 3 distinct time periods: the time of exodus, the time of Jesus, and the time of malcolm X

Exodus: God helped the lowly israelites and they turned away from God when building a new black nation because they struggled for power. God did not give up on them, he eventually sent Jesus
Jesus: free israelites from roman rule.

Romans=white rule. Jesus was non white liberating his non white people. Identified Jesus with Zealots who often rebelled Roman rule. Jesus was crucified out of fear of overthrowing the roman government. The resurrection was something that did not happen to Jesus= it was a lie from white oppressors to distract black people from their earthly situation

Malcolm X: focused solely on black liberation and freedom from white oppression. Black freedom is primary. Connected work with Jesus.
Black Liberation: cone
Saw similar connection with how exodus story and black oppression, however he did not connect israelites with black people genealogically. He made an existential connection

Exodus component had 2 main components; god's saving israelites from egyptians and god making the israelites his people

Viewed jesus as the one who will free black people from white oppression. His death and resurrection was not just for 1st century jews but for everyone who is oppressed
Did not show distinct between jesus of history and christ of faith

Did not identify jesus with malcolm x
Black Liberation: roberts
Christs significance to the black freedom struggle was informed by gods relationship to the israelites. Connected israelites not genologically but having a shared connection. Those who were treated unjustly have favor to do god's work
Death and resurrection was to free humanity
Ways in which the Black Christ Is Inadequate
Lack of internal critique

One-dimensional understanding of oppression

Not made inroads in the Black Church

Failure to acknowledge Black women
Douglas' own understanding of oppression, liberation, and wholeness

Douglas' prophetic criticism of parts of Black culture
Douglas' understanding of the Black Christ
diversity of symbols
Black heroines
...
Anglo-Saxon idolatry
Jefferson considered America to be the "New Israelites".

Edwards, a puritan revivalist, said that the second coming of christ was destined to begin in America.

The second coming is where God is was trying to rescue the world from the" depths of darkness and ruin" in order to introduce a new and more excellent state of church. Specifically, he thought that god wanted to start all over in a new world "america", especially in what was called New
England.

Glorified manifest destiny and gave anglo saxons a super status and compels them to a sense of destiny, that is bound to turn deadly...
Natural Law Theo-Ideology
The natural law theo-ideology was the framework to sustained subordination of black people.This notion serves to exonerate white people from their brutal and sometimes fatal assaults on black people.

This ideology cherished white property and that this reflects an ontological truth
The natural law theory was derived from St. Thomas Aquinas's natural law doctrine. This is grounded in the presumption that law a function of reason, is always " directed to the common good".

Also St. Thomas Aquinas made it clear that "the good are perfectly subject to the eternal law, as always acting according to it."

Also, Charles Mills pointed out, that the declaration of independence was part of a racial contract that restricts the possessions of this natural freedom and equality to white men. Made black people deemed as non-humans, thereby disqualifying from being holders of inalienable rights

These racist perversions of natural law provided sacred justification for the enslavement of black bodies.
Polygenesis
Most believers of the church believe in monogenesis due to people descending from Adam and Eve.

Online definition: Polygenism is a theory of human origins which posits the view that the human races are of different origins.

Scientists, such as Agassiz, said that humans came from polygenism, meaning that they descended from no one source. This is the basis of how black people were considered "lower class/ subjected". Agassiz concluded this variation between races with " they were introduced into the human race by the creator himself".

God made people for the different environments. God did make humans in his own image; however, God made them by nature not equal. Quote
"Negroes...were by nature, submissive, obsequious, and imitative, and that it was "mock philosophy to consider them equal to whites"

According to Agassiz, The adam and eve story and Genesis only pertains to white history.
Pg 103: mentions book "Types of Mankind" this book exhibits polygenesis and gave some rationale for how the native americans were considered inferior. One rationale was that they needed to civilize them because they are barbaric. If they can't change their ways and assimilate, then they will drive the native americans to extinction.

The term "melting pot" is used to describe the melting away of other races into the ultimate group "americans".
Manifest Destiny
Manifest Destiny was inspired by Anglo- Saxon Exceptionalism and reflects the natural law ideology, supporting white supremacy. American Settlers believed it was their destiny by God to expand the land they had already taken. Doing so, they would get rid of non-white bodies who threaten to stop the increase their power. The mindset of Manifest Destiny still exist today. Douglas labeled it, "a declaration of war.
Exodus and the Promised Land
Manifest Destiny is supported by the bible. Thus this Exodus story is proof of why the America is considered the New Israelites.

Exodus is about the Israelites after they have been freed from the Egyptians and are going to their promised land, called Canaan (aka: the land of milk and honey). This land was promised by God; however, there were other people living there. Moses told his people, " that God will destroy these other tribes", so that they will get what they were promised.

So just like the israelites and Canaan, American settlers are getting rid of native americans to get their promised land which is America.
theodicy
Online definition: theodicy is the "answer to the question of why God permits evil". Theodicy is defined as a theological construct that attempts to vindicate God in response to the evidential problem of evil that seems inconsistent with the existence of an omnipotent and omnibenevolent deity.

This page did not rationalize lynching. It was more so about the black community trying to rationalize the situation in a theological aspect. This page more so asked theodical questions such as "Where was God in the gallows when people were being lynched?" and "If God is with them, what does that mean?".
Faith/theology
(pg 137) Two faiths: Faith of a Father and Faith of a nation

Faith of nation gives way to a culture that negates black life. ( my son was a targeted in the war)
Faith of a father affims black life in the midst of a culture of death ( my son was part of collateral damage of the war.)

(pg 139) What is faith generally mean? Faith is a response to God. Faith is possible if God has acted and has initiated a relationship with human beings. Thus, faith is the human response to God's invitation to be in a relationship.

Black faith is a testimonial of the divine/human interaction between God and black people. As such it is a witness to black reality and black hope.
Freedom of God
(pg 144) The enslavers' God is not truly God. God is free from being boxed by any human projections. Thus led to the black interpretation of God and the bible.

(pg 160) This page discusses God talking to Moses and that God's name is " I am who I am". This in itself shows how free God is. He did not he say that " I am the God of the Israelites". God is not attached to any particular group of people. He is seen with particular groups, but he is not bound to them. No One can exclusively claim God.
Transcendence/Immanence
Online definition: In religion, transcendence is the aspect of a deity's nature and power that is wholly independent of the material universe, beyond all known physical laws. This is contrasted with immanence, where a god is said to be fully present in the physical world and thus accessible to creatures in various ways.

(pg 144) The freedom of God is the transcendence of God. A transcendent God is one who is free from being boxed by any human projections. God is above all earthly structures and is not bound to people.

The transcendent freedom of God is essential for black faith born on the soil of the oppressor's faith, directed presumably to the same God.
(pg 156) This page discusses how people are able to transcend racist social attitudes. "You are a ******" becomes "You are loved" and "You are a child of God".
West African Religious Traditions
(Enslaved Africans experienced God way before being brought to America. They experienced God as being free of human limitations and infinite realities. They referred to Him as "The Great High God. " Unlike Christian belief, in West African traditions, God does not directly contact the human realm, instead through the creation of lesser deities, He is able to have a relationship with human beings.)
Great High God
(The Great High God is the Supreme Creator in ancient West African Culture. West Africans believed the Great High God created everything in existence, including lesser gods to act as mediators between worshipers and Him.)
Creation ex nihilo
(The theological principle that God creates out of nothing. He is the source of everything and nothing can exist without Him.)
Imago Dei
( Imago Dei is the Spirit of "total liberation in all Humanity." To be created in God's image means that every human being is meant to be free from human constraints.)
Chosen—by blood (idolatry) or for freedom
(The Anglo Saxons believed they were God's chosen people because of their "blood." This is far from the truth and becomes idolatrous because of their focus on their own "dominance" and as Douglas mentions,"betrays the concern for all God created." God has preferential option for freedom and doesn't choose a certain group of people to be above everyone else.)
Norm or "adjudicating principle"
Online def: To study and settle a dispute or conflict.

The core of black faith is a belief in the freedom of God. The recognition of God's freedom contests the claims of ideologies that denigrate black bodies. It is an adjudicating principle of black faith however if the freedom of God serves as an adjudicating principle, then it must also serve as a principle for self critique. Simply put, if the central claim of the black faith tradition is that God has a preferential option for freedom, then the black faith community must be accountable to that claim. This means that the black community must not be blind to the ways in which it is complicit or participates in denying certain bodies the freedom that God has given them.
The Cross and the Lynching Tree
James Cone wrote the book " The cross and the Lynching tree". This book looked at how black artists have portrayed lynching and then he compared lynching to Jesus's death. Main point: Jesus's crucifixion was the first century roman version of lynching.
Crucified class
(The Crucified Class are a group whose bodies are, "particular targets of the world's violence" (Douglas,188) In modern context, this would mean black people, who are often subjected to violence in society, with the prime example being police brutality. Jesus' resurrection assured the restoration of life for the Crucified Class, because he was among the Crucified class. His resurrection was a triumph of over violence and death.)
Kenosis
(Kenosis theology is the "self -emptying" of Jesus' own will to be obedient to God. But as Douglas points out, it also shows his alliance with the crucified class. She quotes Jon Sobrino to support this and he says,"The cross, for its part, tells of God's affinity with victims; nothing in history has limits to the closeness of God.")
Evil of the Cross
The cross reflects the lengths that unscrupulous power will go to sustain itself.

The cross is the extinction side of manifest destiny ultimatum: be assimilated or become extinct. The cross reflects the power to give up its grip on the lives of others. It is the refusal of power to retreat. Essentially, the cross represents the height of humanity's inhumanity.
"Redemptive suffering"/surrogacy
Delores Williams focuses on Jesus's crucifixion. She also states that she is concerned with how black women have been compelled into surrogacy roles. She relates Jesus's crucifixion to those women saying that Jesus is virtually viewed as a surrogate for human sin, thus giving legitimacy to surrogacy roles.

Williams's argument implies that any interpretation of Jesus's crucifixion that finds redemptive meaning in its leads to finding redemptive value in human suffering.
Crucifixion/Resurrection
Jesus died on the cross. Williams says that one cannot glorify suffering. She also warned about tolerating suffering as well. Jesus's death and resurrection are signs of God's triumph over evil and his power that values life.

Jesus died in Golgotha. Jesus resurrected in Galilee. Galilee is known to be the place of the poor and despised. It is where Jesus began his ministry. Jesus told the disciples to go Galilee after his resurrection ( and not Golgotha). This shows how there is more emphasis on a person's life than their death death.
America's Original Sin
(America's Original Sin was Anglo-Saxon Exceptionalism. This led to slavery and the genocide of indigenous people in foreign land.)
Ekstasis
Online def: "to be or stand outside oneself, a removal to elsewhere"

Jesus preached to many social standing of people. He preached to people such as the Samaritans who were rich and told them that in order to receive salvation that the first step of reaching salvation is ekstasis. Salvation in this case is about life of the body and soul.
Kairos
Online def: a propitious moment for decision or action.

Kairos time means the right or opportune time. It is most thought of as a period of chaos and crisis. People believe that during chaos and crisis that God is most present. Kairos is considered God's time. It is redefined as a time pregnant with infinite possibilities for new life. It is time bursting forth with God's call to a new way of living in the world.
Two faith traditions
Two faith claims arose after MLK jr. gave his "I have a Dream" speech.

The two faiths are: America's faith in itself and black faith in the freedom of God. The goal of these two is to break the persistent pattern of social reality.
Black prophetic testaments
MLK jr is considered to push America into a history of black prophetic testimony meaning it made the nation accountable for its history.
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