A Black Theology of Liberation By James H. Cone “Christian theology is a theology of liberation. It is a rational study of the being of God in the world in light of existential situations of an oppressed community, relating the forces of liberation to the essence of the gospel, which is Jesus Christ. ” (pp. 1) James H. Cone stresses the idea that theology is not universal, but tied to specific historical contexts. In A Black Theology of Liberation James, Cone explains what Black theology is and uses the Exodus story, found in the Old Testament and the life of Jesus Christ, New Testament, to give examples of the oppression and liberation.
Cone believes both stories are vital and necessary in understanding God and God’s relationship with the black community. Cone must reject any conception of God which stifles black self-determination by picturing God as a God of all peoples. Either God is identified with the oppressed to the point that their experience becomes God’s experience, or God is a God of racism. The blackness of God means that God has made the oppressed condition God’s own condition according to Cone.
By choosing Israelite slaves as the people of God and by becoming the Oppressed One in Jesus Christ, the human race is made to understand that God is known where human beings experience humiliation and suffering. Liberation is not an afterthought, but the very essence of divine activity. (63-64) Cone’s understanding of human freedom is connected to his thoughts about the nature of God. God’s chosen people are the oppressed, and human freedom is being oppressed and fighting for the liberation of that oppressed community. Thus theonly way to be truly free is to try and do God’s work of liberating one’s oppressed community.
This freedom cannot be bought, inherited or given, but it must be taken, by force, in the attempt to liberate the oppressed of the world, or God’s chosen people. Cone defines freedom as doing all that you can to try and please God and freeing his people. This can only be done from that community, though. Cone believes White people cannot know freedom because they are members of the oppressive community. To be able to attain true freedom they must destroy all of their whiteness, become black, and try with every means possible to bring about the liberation of their new community.
The oppression African Americans have felt through slavery and discrimination have made them God’s chosen people, so understanding God and his will cannot be done independent of understanding their community. In fact, understanding the God of Black theology, the only true theology as Cone sees it, is not possible by white people as they are oppressors and it is not possible for them to understand the oppressed community and their condition or to understand the nature of God, as he is the God of the oppressed.
In Cones discussion on Black theology he critique White theology, the theology of oppressors because even the historic Black church has been controlled by White theology and the wrongs of this theology must be shown and realized so that the true Black theology can be followed. Cone frames a theology of liberation from within the context of the Black experience of oppression, understanding the central core of the Gospels as Jesus’ identification with the poor and oppressed and the resurrection as the ultimate act of liberation.
In Chapter 6, Cone digs deep into the New Testament and uses the New Testament as evidence on Jesus relationship to the oppressed. James Cone believed that the New Testament revealed Jesus as one who identified with those suffering under oppression. According to Cone, Jesus Christ was the epitome of oppression and liberation. Cone uses the Gospel of Luke toprove this point: “the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the good news preached to them.
Cone argues that through Jesus Christ, God enters human affairs and takes sides with the oppressed. Their suffering becomes his. 1. The Birth. He was oppressed from birth and His birth was a symbol of oppression. Being born in a stable was the equivalent to being born in the ghetto using Luke 2:7 as the foundation to his argument. 2. Baptism and Temptation. Cone believes that Jesus baptism revealed his identification with the oppressed using Mark’s account of Jesus baptism.
Cone believes John’s baptism was for sinners and Jesus submitting himself to be baptized by John connects him with sinners and affirmed that sinners do exist and He is one of them. God’s approval, “Thou art my beloved Son: with thee I am well please” (Mark 1:11) is proof according to Cone that this was a work that needed to be some by Jesus. The temptation story in Luke 4:3- 12 is another example that Cone says is essential to knowing Jesus’ identification to the oppressed more so in this case the poor. Jesus refusal to turn stone into bread was a form of his refusal to identify himself as King of kings.
He wanted to suffer with the poor. 3. Ministry. Cone believes after John the Baptist was arrested and Jesus said “The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:14-15) was evidence that this was a radical decision about a movement in the world, slavery is about to end. If I were to introduce this book to someone in a church context, I would first introduce them to James Cone the person, so they will have a better understanding of his writings and is form of theology.
This book would only be good to those communities who have been oppressed. I would let them know that the most important biblical parts of Black theology and Black liberation are the Exodus story and the story of Jesus Christ. These are important because they are both proof that God is the lord of the oppressed. But this book negates what I believe isthe true essence of God, which is God loves everyone no matter the ethnicity, social statue, or sins committed.
I believe that Cone’s belief that God is the God of the oppressed and wishes people to work for their liberation is in line with the Scripture that he bases it on and is thus very convincing, but his oppression towards White communities is unpersuasive because he is keeping an amazingly large community of individuals from knowing God. Cone makes God out to be a God that favors a certain race more than the other. I would recommend this book because Cone makes valid statements but I would only recommend it to a person who knows how to engage a text and not take everything for face value.
