“The gospel of Jesus is not a rational concept to be explained in a theory of salvation, but a story about God’s presence in Jesus’ solidarity with the oppressed, which led to his death on the cross. What is redemptive is the faith that God snatches victory out of defeat, life out of death, and hope out of despair… Without concrete signs of divine presence in the lives of the poor, the gospel becomes simply an opiate; rather than liberating the powerless from humiliation and suffering, the gospel becomes a drug that helps them adjust to this world by looking for ‘pie in the sky.’"
“We have had too much of white love, the love that tells blacks to turn the other cheek and go the second mile. What we need is the divine love as expressed in black power, which is the power of blacks to destroy their oppressors, here and now, by any means at their disposal. Unless God is participating in this holy activity, we must reject God’s love… If God is not for us, if God is not against white racists, then God is a murderer, and we had better kill God.”
No worries! He’s an important figure, but not super well known outside of religious studies.
James Cone was the father of black liberation theology in the USA. He grew up in Arkansas and pursued his theological training during the heights of the civil rights movement. Once we got a job teaching theology back in Arkansas, he saw that his training had no connection to lived experiences. He wrote about his experience, “What could Karl Barth possibly mean for black students who had come from the cotton fields of Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi, seeking to change the structure of their lives in a society that had defined black as non-being?”
He was heavily influenced by Malcolm X and the black power movement and, later, MLK Jr. His writings began as more influenced from that secular thought than from moreso than liberation theologians writing at the same time like Gutierrez, Boff, and Segundo influenced by Catholic Vatican II. He started with black people and their experiences, not with academic theory. This actually allowed him to explore more his own material conditions and how his training fell short first vs diving deep into Marxist theory, which he did later in life. It also allowed him to work through some of his experiences that he owned up to and repent, like his latent homophobia and transphobia. He publicly apologized for this, repented, and spent the last decade of his life upholding queer rights in his work.
His last work The Cross and the Lynching Tree was his life’s work. He’ll argue that without the white church seeing the cross as a lynching tree, as a killing device meant to shame its victims and impart horror and fear into those like those victims. He says unless we see Jesus as experiencing this, and then see black people in America as identifying exactly with this experience, as an victim of oppression.
I don’t know how to adequately thank you for this - this was a beautiful read, and I’m really excited to dive into his work, this feels like something that could reshape a lot of how I feel about the world and The Word. Really - truly - thank you. ❤️ I appreciate your time and your care so much, thank you, thank you.
I hope so! His work is monumental, and I hope it can bring you growth and hope. As Cornell West said at James’ funeral, James was a warrior of love. If you ever have any questions or just want to chat about it, feel free to make a post in c/christianity. You can always ping me, and I’d love to chat about whatever it is you’re reading or finding!
James Cone quotes as a timeline cleanse:
“The gospel of Jesus is not a rational concept to be explained in a theory of salvation, but a story about God’s presence in Jesus’ solidarity with the oppressed, which led to his death on the cross. What is redemptive is the faith that God snatches victory out of defeat, life out of death, and hope out of despair… Without concrete signs of divine presence in the lives of the poor, the gospel becomes simply an opiate; rather than liberating the powerless from humiliation and suffering, the gospel becomes a drug that helps them adjust to this world by looking for ‘pie in the sky.’"
“We have had too much of white love, the love that tells blacks to turn the other cheek and go the second mile. What we need is the divine love as expressed in black power, which is the power of blacks to destroy their oppressors, here and now, by any means at their disposal. Unless God is participating in this holy activity, we must reject God’s love… If God is not for us, if God is not against white racists, then God is a murderer, and we had better kill God.”
I love this quote!! I will search for answers, but I’m interested in your perspective first, especially considering your username - who is James Cone?
I do indeed live under a rock, I’m sorry.
No worries! He’s an important figure, but not super well known outside of religious studies.
James Cone was the father of black liberation theology in the USA. He grew up in Arkansas and pursued his theological training during the heights of the civil rights movement. Once we got a job teaching theology back in Arkansas, he saw that his training had no connection to lived experiences. He wrote about his experience, “What could Karl Barth possibly mean for black students who had come from the cotton fields of Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi, seeking to change the structure of their lives in a society that had defined black as non-being?”
He was heavily influenced by Malcolm X and the black power movement and, later, MLK Jr. His writings began as more influenced from that secular thought than from moreso than liberation theologians writing at the same time like Gutierrez, Boff, and Segundo influenced by Catholic Vatican II. He started with black people and their experiences, not with academic theory. This actually allowed him to explore more his own material conditions and how his training fell short first vs diving deep into Marxist theory, which he did later in life. It also allowed him to work through some of his experiences that he owned up to and repent, like his latent homophobia and transphobia. He publicly apologized for this, repented, and spent the last decade of his life upholding queer rights in his work.
His last work The Cross and the Lynching Tree was his life’s work. He’ll argue that without the white church seeing the cross as a lynching tree, as a killing device meant to shame its victims and impart horror and fear into those like those victims. He says unless we see Jesus as experiencing this, and then see black people in America as identifying exactly with this experience, as an victim of oppression.
The Cross and Lynching Tree is critical reading, in my opinion, not only for followers of Jesus but for those interested in how liberation theology works. This lecture was given a few weeks before his death and summarizes his work.
I don’t know how to adequately thank you for this - this was a beautiful read, and I’m really excited to dive into his work, this feels like something that could reshape a lot of how I feel about the world and The Word. Really - truly - thank you. ❤️ I appreciate your time and your care so much, thank you, thank you.
I hope so! His work is monumental, and I hope it can bring you growth and hope. As Cornell West said at James’ funeral, James was a warrior of love. If you ever have any questions or just want to chat about it, feel free to make a post in c/christianity. You can always ping me, and I’d love to chat about whatever it is you’re reading or finding!