Theological Works by Black Theologians, Pastors and Scholars

[JM]

Source: Theological Works by Black Theologians, Pastors and Scholars - The Witness

After several inquiries and internal discussion, The Witness wanted to provide a list of works by black theologians, pastors, teachers, and scholars. This list is not comprehensive, but serves as a primer. Other works will be added as we move forward and we welcome any suggestions that you may have.

Within these works you will find diversity of theological tradition and thought. While The Witness does not espouse every position represented in these books, we still believe that interaction with them will be enriching nonetheless. Enjoy!

BIBLICAL COMMENTARIES

True to Our Native Land: An African American New Testament Commentary by Brian K. Blount (Editor), Cain Hope Felder (Editor), Clarice J. Martin (Editor), Emerson B. Powery (Editor)

Africa Bible Commentary: A One Volume Commentary Written by 70 African Scholars by Tokunboh Adeyemo (Editor), John R. Stott and Rubert K. Aboagye-Mensah (Foreword)

Acts: A Theological Commentary on the Bible (Belief: A Theological Commentary on the Bible) by Willie James Jennings

Exalting Jesus in Luke (Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary) by Thabiti Anyabwile

THEOLOGY

The Spirit in Public Theology: Appropriating the Legacy of Abraham Kuyper by Dr. Vincent E. Bacote

Race: A Theological Account by J. Kameron Carter

The Christian Imagination: Theology and the Origins of Race by Willie James Jennings

Charts of Philosophy and Philosophers (Zondervan Charts) by Craig Vincent Mitchell

The Cambridge Companion To Black Theology (Cambridge Companions to Religion) by Dwight N. Hopkins (Editor), Edward P. Antonio (Editor)

Womanist Theological Ethics: A Reader (Library of Theological Ethics) by Katie Geneva Cannon (Editor), Emilie M. Townes (Editor), Angela D. Sims (Editor)

One New Man: The Cross and Racial Reconciliation in Pauline Theology by Jarvis Williams

Jesus and the Disinherited by Howard Thurman

CHRISTOLOGY

Christ Died for Our Sins: Representation and Substitution in Romans and Their Jewish Martyrological Background by Jarvis J. Williams

For Whom Did Christ Die? The Extent of the Atonement in Paul’s Theology (Paternoster Biblical Monographs) by Jarvis J. Williams

Captivated: Beholding the Mystery of Jesus Death and Resurrection by Thabiti Anyabwile

ECCLESIOLOGY & CHURCH LIFE

Christianity and Race Prejudice: Two Discourses Delivered in the Fifteenth Presbyterian Church, Washington, D.C. by Francis Grimke

Slave Religion: The “Invisible Institution” in the Antebellum South by Albert J. Raboteau

The Black Church in the African American Experience by C. Eric Lincoln and Lawrence H. Mamiya

The Negro Church in America/The Black Church Since Frazier (Sourcebooks in Negro History) by E. Franklin Frazier and C. Eric Lincoln

Introducing Black Theology: Three Crucial Questions for the Evangelical Church by Bruce Fields

Black Scholars in White Spaces: New Vistas in African American Studies from the Christian Academy by Anthony Bradley

Aliens in the Promised Land: Why Minority Leadership Is Overlooked in White Christian Churches and Institutions by Anthonty Bradley

Liberating Our Identity, Saving Our Souls by Dr. Lee H. Butler

Finding the Groove: Composing a Jazz-Shaped Faith by Robert Gelinas

Finding Faithful Elders and Deacons by Thabiti Anyabwile

Free At Last?: The Gospel in the African American Experience by Carl F. Ellis Jr.

The Divided Mind of the Black Church: Theology, Piety, and Public Witness by Raphael G. Warnock

Removing the Stain of Racism from the Southern Baptist Convention: Diverse African American and White Perspectives by Kevin Jones and Jarvis J. Williams

Disunity in Christ: Uncovering the Hidden Forces that Keep Us Apart by Christena Cleveland

On Pastoring by H.B. Charles Jr.

HERMENEUTICS

The Stony Road We Trod: African American Biblical Interpretation by Cain Hope Felder

“You Shall Not Kill” or “You Shall Not Murder”: The Assault on a Biblical Text by Wilma Ann Bailey

Jesus Reads Scripture: The Function of Jesus’ Use of Scripture in the Synoptic Gospels (Biblical Interpretation Series) by Emerson Powery

PREACHING

Delivering the Sermon: Voice, Body, and Animation in Proclamation (Elements of Preaching) by Teresa L. Fry Brown

Introduction to the Practice of African American Preaching by Frank A. Thomas

They Like to Never Quit Praisin’ God: The Role of Celebration in Preaching by Frank A. Thomas

Rethinking Celebration by Cleophus J. LaRue

On Preaching by H.B. Charles Jr.

The Word Made Plain: The Power and Promise of Preaching by James Henry Harris

Preaching with Sacred Fire: An Anthology of African American Sermons, 1750 to the present by Martha Simmons (Editor), Frank A. Thomas (Editor), Gardner C. Taylor (Foreword)

The Burdensome Joy of Preaching by James Earl Massey

Making the Claim: Moving from Text to Sermon (Elements of Preaching) by Marvin A. McMickle

King Came Preaching: The Pulpit of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by Dr. Mervyn A. Warren

A Pursued Justice: Black Preaching from the Great Migration to Civil Rights by Kenyatta R. Gilbert

PASTORAL PROFILES & BIOGRAPHIES

An Encyclopedia of African American Christian Heritage by Marvin A. McMickle

The Words of Gardner Taylor: Special Occasion and Expository Sermons by Gardner C. Taylor

The Faithful Preacher: Recapturing the Vision of Three Pioneering African-American Pastors by Thabiti Anyabwile

May We Meet in the Heavenly World: The Piety of Lemuel Haynes by Lemuel Haynes and Thabiti Anyabwile

The Life, Experience, and Gospel Labours of the Rt. Rev. Richard Allen by Richard Allen

DEVOTIONALS/BIBLE STUDIES

Spiritual Disciplines by James Earl Massey

Immersion Bible Studies: 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon by James Earl Massey

Finding Fullness Again: What The Book of Ruth Teaches About Starting Over by Ralph Douglas West

Living in the In-Between Times: The Life of Samuel by Ralph Douglas West

Pas The Day, 365 Daily Devotional Journal by Ralph Douglas West

Immersion Bible Studies: Mark by Emerson Powery

 

[New Birth]

What is the point of "Blacks only" writings? Is there a difference between these writings and any other writings?

 

[PloverWing]

What is the point of "Blacks only" writings? Is there a difference between these writings and any other writings?

It depends on the writing. If you're talking about a calculus textbook, the author's individual point of view won't come into it much. But in theology and other religious writing, the author's personal experiences will often inform what they write. If the author is American, or Swiss, or Brazilian, or Japanese; if the author is a monk who has taken a vow of silence, or a pastor of an urban church, or a parent -- you can often hear echoes of these personal experiences in their writing. African Americans have some different life experiences than I do, and Africans living in Africa have a still different set of experiences. I can benefit from listening to what they have to say, learning what the world looks like from their vantage point.

 

[Jonaitis]

It depends on the writing. If you're talking about a calculus textbook, the author's individual point of view won't come into it much. But in theology and other religious writing, the author's personal experiences will often inform what they write. If the author is American, or Swiss, or Brazilian, or Japanese; if the author is a monk who has taken a vow of silence, or a pastor of an urban church, or a parent -- you can often hear echoes of these personal experiences in their writing. African Americans have some different life experiences than I do, and Africans living in Africa have a still different set of experiences. I can benefit from listening to what they have to say, learning what the world looks like from their vantage point.

I don't think I agree with every point you made...

Theology is theology, regardless what age you lived in or what place you were born; truth isn't relative to such things. That's what I also love about church history: if you have had no former acquaintance with reading certain authors and theologians and preachers, and you didn't know where they were from or who they were, it would read like it is the same author or friends of the author. I love that truth isn't relative to this world, it stays consistent throughout the ages.

 

[JM]

Theology should always look the same but it can be expressed differently. I'm a white guy married to a black lady, we have 3 mixed kids and I'm attending a predominately black church and was established in 1841 by escaped slaves. I plan on joining this church in the near future. The same doctrines are expressed differently. The Calvinism is warm and experiential.

Yours in the Lord,

jm

 

[twin1954]

Theology should always look the same but it can be expressed differently. I'm a white guy married to a black lady, we have 3 mixed kids and I'm attending a predominately black church and was established in 1841 by escaped slaves. I plan on joining this church in the near future. The same doctrines are expressed differently. The Calvinism is warm and experiential.

Yours in the Lord,

jm

Thanks JM. I am sure there is a lot of great things in these writings.

 

[Sovereign Grace]

Theology should always look the same but it can be expressed differently. I'm a white guy married to a black lady, we have 3 mixed kids and I'm attending a predominately black church and was established in 1841 by escaped slaves. I plan on joining this church in the near future. The same doctrines are expressed differently. The Calvinism is warm and experiential.

Yours in the Lord,

jm

I am going to quote Jesse Duplantis once...I know.... ..."There is only one race. The only way you can marry someone out of your race is if you married someone with the last name 'Spock'." He said this as he recounted a time he was called to preach at a church. As he was taking the pulpit a black family came in and took a seat in one of the pews. One of the members got up and went to them and said something and they started gathering their things to leave. He stopped them and said, "Wait a minute!" Then he looked at the guy and asked, "Did you tell them to leave?" And then guy said something(can't remember what it was), he then closed his bible and left with them and they went and had dinner together. He said they had a blast.

It is sad that even in our churches, racism is there. The one place where we should all agree that every person is made in God's image, regardless the color of their skin, and yet some there think if you're not white, you're less than them. And yes, all ethnicities have racists in them.

If a guy is white, black, Asian, Spanish, Russian, Mexican, or any other, I could not care less. If they are solid in their beliefs, I would love to read their writings. They are my Brothers and Sisters in Christ.

 

[JM]

A very poor example of biblical exegesis but worth a listen to for historical context.

LibriVox

Bible Defence of Slavery
Josiah PRIEST (1788 - 1851)

The full title of this book is Bible Defense of Slavery; and Origin, Fortunes, and History of the Negro Race, by Rev. Josiah Priest, A. M. 5th edition. This is a compilation of pro-slavery literature and propaganda that went through numerous editions in the Southern United States before the Civil War. It contains the highly influential book, Slavery, as it Relates to the Negro, or African Race, by Rev Josiah Priest, which was originally published in 1843. This compilation also includes many essays and favorable reviews of Rev Priest’s book from contemporary magazines and newspapers, and written endorsements from national politicians. From the preface: ‘The question, “Is slavery, as it exists in the United States, justifiable?” is one which, at least, admits of discussion. If it be in harmony with the immutable principles of truth and justice, and not a “crime against humanity,” and a libel upon our holy religion, let it be so understood and practiced by our honest citizens, whose highest ambition consists in faithfully serving God, and living in obedience to the laws of the country.’ (Summary by JoeD)

Josiah Priest (1788–1861) was an American nonfiction writer of the early 19th century. His books and pamphlets, which presented both standard and speculative history and archaeology sold in the thousands. Although Priest appears to have been poorly educated, he attempted to portray himself as an authority in his books. Priest is often identified as one of the creators of pseudoscientific and pseudohistoric literature.[1] Although his work was widely read and several of his works were published in multiple editions, his books were characterized by theories that were used to justify the violent domination over both the Native American and African-American peoples. Priest's works were among the most overtly racist of his time. Priest's offensive works help set the stage for the Trail of Tears and the defense of slavery that contributed to the conflicts of the American Civil War.

Critics dismiss Priest's books as compilations of poorly supported theories motivated by racism. Robert Silverberg notes, "The argument he constructs is built on literal interpretations of Biblical passages mixed with popular pseudo-scholarly views and gross misreadings of related texts."[13]