Black Theology (BT) deals with liberation from oppression. It has been linked to Liberation Theology and uses the Bible, particularly the Exodus narrative, it can be argued, to highlight the struggle to be released from bondage into the Promised Land.
It can also be argued that the black experience in the USA has influenced, moulded and shaped the BT movement and BT theologians, such as James Cone. God is said to be the liberator that fights the oppressors. And in some BT literature the oppressors are whites, even white theologians and church leaders. The Hebrews of Exodus seem to be irrelevant and passed over. Were they not black enough?
The important oppressed minority group, according to some BT theologians, are the blacks, particularly the black Afro-American community. Mixed race folk, like Barack Obama, seem to be included. Blackness, it seems, can be a state of being rather than skin colour (color USA).
Christians throughout the world, in the Far East, in Asian and Chinese communities, struggle to square aspects of BT with NT Christianity and their experience of God, in the light of Galatians 3:26-29.
Now when it comes to oppression, well we should look within the current black community. There we can see the oppression of single mothers struggling to feed, clothe and educate their children without the support of fathers, male partners, spouses and absentee parents. Lone parent households can be a curse in the black community. There is criminal enterprise, custodial sentences, violence, truancy, anti-social behaviour, dishonouring parents, gang culture, obesity, knife attacks and drug/alcohol problems that need to be addressed and faced by folk in the black community. These issues were raised by black mothers at prayer meetings in workplace Christian fellowship meetings and in pastoral situations that I attended some years ago. Has the situation changed for the better? Has BT helped these Christian mothers?
I will continue looking at the blessing and curse of BT in future blog posts.
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