Description: This study represents attempts on the part of African Christians to "own" their theological reflection, rather than to borrow it from others. This means taking seriously their African heritage. It examines the theological quest in the broader context of political, educational, literary, and religious factors in sub-Saharan Africa. Other chapters are devoted to Zaire, and specifically to three contrasting styles of theological reflection: the academic and literary; the area of "oral theology" illustrated by the "inspired" hymns of the Kimbanguist Church; and an experiment in Protestant contextual theologizing in seminars designed to effect an interaction between the gospel and contextual issues. From this total theological picture, the conclusion draws implications for theology itself, for theological education, and for theological educators in Africa today.
Description: This is a book that provides a historical study of the development of Christianity in the Caribbean islands and South America. It assesses the complex nature of the evolution of the religion in the region and its adaptation by the local people to meet the socio-cultural and spiritual needs inherent in their struggle for freedom.
Description: When assessing the legacy of black intellectuals in the 20th century there has been a general tendency to overlook the impact of black religious leaders. In Black Religious Intellectuals and the Fight for Equality from the Age of Jim Crow to the Dawn of the 21stCentury, Professor Clarence Taylor sheds some much-needed light on the rich intellectual and political tradition that lies in the black religious community. From the Pentecostalism of Bishop Smallwood Williams and the flamboyant leadership of the Reverend Al Sharpton, to the radical Presbyterianism of Milton Arthur Galamison and the controversial and mass-mobilization by Minister Louis Farrakhan, black religious leaders have figured prominently in the struggle for social equality in America.
Taylor shows how black leaders were able to carve out a space for religion as part of a progressive political agenda. Examining leaders from diverse religious and political backgrounds, he reveals the complex and innovative ways that black religious notions were continually reworked and reconstructed to accommodate the communities they served.
In the tradition of Cornel West, Hazel Carby, and Harold Cruse, Taylor gives us a valuable, though-provoking work that credits black church leadership for its important role in not only the fight for equality but also in shaping intellectual thought in this country.
Description: Spirit of the Ancestors: Lessons from Africa explores modern problems using a beautifully simple window to our inner truths. Westerners who have never traveled to Africa, or in some cases had no particular interest in African culture, report their success using the author's healing practice of honoring their ancestors. Mystical guidance was never so clear!
Description: This is the first critical comparison of two strands of liberation theology: Black theology (USA) and Latin American liberation theology. While Black theology has emphasized liberation in cultural and political terms, Latin American liberation theology has stressed the importance of socio-economic liberation. Cummings shows how these two strands have posed the terms for a holistic theology of liberation.
