Black Faith, Communal Worship 4.6.17

Michael Battle: Communal Worship Emergence of Black Denominations African Methodist Episcopal Church African American Baptist Church African American Pentecostalism

Battle: Communal worship African American denominations do not represent schism and fracture commonalities: love for all political and social mobilization message of deliverance and redemption style of worship — emotionalism

Battle: Communal Worship Black worship Allen vs Payne tensions between emotionalism and formalism King’s third option of Affirmation ministry of social healing and empowerment Spirituals and Blues framed by black theodicy: “is God a white racist?” distinction of blues = “not yet” of plantation life and work songs, rather than otherworldly “already” of worship gatherings false opposites of sacred / profane; mourn / dance

Black Faith: Continuity within change In face of social and political change, black faith communities served as source of stability as well as vehicle for change acted to solve problems of community organization, education, economic development, and employment Albert Raboteau “The centrality the church in the African American’s search for identity and meaning has demonstrated its ongoing adaptability and stability during a period of rapid and unsettling change…For many, religion offered a source of courage, strength, and hope in the midst of times so bleak that repair seemed the only response.”

DR Martin Luther King, JR & Black Liberation theology 4.11.17

Dr Martin Luther King, JR Biography: Born in Atlanta. Morehouse graduate. PhD at Boston University Religious Background - father Baptist minister, MLK becomes Baptist minister Influenced by Gandhi (non-violence disobedience) and Walter Rauschenbusch (social gospel) Mountaintop Speech April 3, 1968 Memphis Sanitation Strike Last part of speech Advocates trust in God and to avoid violence

James H. Cone Born 1938 in Arkansas MA and PhD from Northwestern University Currently teaches at Union Theological Seminar in NYC Ordained minister in AME church Influenced by Black Power Movement, Malcolm X, & MLK jr Stressed the idea that theology is not universal, but rather is tied to social and historical contexts

Black Liberation Theology Connection to slavery in America Sojourner Truth, Frederick Douglass, MLK Jr Reads Bible through experience of people who have suffered Contends that dominant cultures have corrupted Christianity Result is a mainstream faith-based empire that serves its own interests, not God’s Asks whose side should God be one — the side of the oppressed or the oppressors? Belief in alternative and true God who desires the empowerment of the oppressed through self-definition, self-affirmation, and self-determination Cone interview Black Liberation Theology, Jeremiah Wright

Religion, Race and Identity

MLK Jr, Black Theology and Black Church — article What is Cone’s argument about the relationship between King, the black church, and scholarship? King Interview (6 min) Who is King’s audience in this video? How do his answers reflect that? (411) How does Cone argue that King’s actions demonstrate his connections to the black church? SCLC & Ebenezer Baptist (412) Critique of Civil Rights Movement and Southern white ministers (415) Cone’s argument about oppression: “Freedom is not a gift but must be taken” (416)

Cone, King & Black Theology Cone differs from King in the following ways: Believes that any mean, not just non-violence, should be used to achieve freedom Believes that “the people who benefit from the unjust social, political, and economic order are not likely to be the ones who will change it radically (416) “…groups seldom, if ever, can transcend their interests for the sake of another” (416) Contends that differences between he and King are understood better within the context of the Black Church

freedom and hope Significance of the “eschatological hopes freedom” found in King’s diction (417) Cosmic peace? Who does this appeal to? How does this relate to King’s “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” sermon? Key to understanding King’s theology is understanding the relationship between style and meaning (417) Meaning is found in the way the word is spoke, as well as the effect upon those who hear it Style is reflected in sermon oration