No doubt. We have not heard the last from Rev. Jermiah Wright. And, I think that’s a good thing for our country. I’ve been challenged recently to think through black liberation theology from an Anglo-male perspective, and I’ve gained sympathy and points-of-view to apply in my personal reflections on theology. I’ve been reading A Black Theology of Liberation by James H. Cone, and I’m especially grateful for some discussion on the subject that occurred with a neighbor of ours who did his doctoral studies in black theology. None of that reflection or discussion would have happened if the topic had not become relevant during the presidential primaries.
One thing that I’ve taken away from this experience over the last couple of months is a realisation that my understanding of race relations in America is developing. This is a journey; I’m at the beginning.
Another thing that I’ve gained is a better understanding of the process of doing theology in a social context. The dominant streams of thought in the theological disciplines have been flowing out of the ivory towers of academia, through a trained and specialized class of pastors, to a church congregation, and (hopefully) into the community. Black liberation theology developed in a grass roots way from the bottom-up. I think theology might be best done from the bottom-up… but that gets messy, huh?
In a community with needs unmet, God is a real person in the life of the neighborhood, rather than a theoretical construct in a systematic theological grid that is disconnected from “on the ground” daily experience. God picks sides and rescues and delivers. An experience of exile and servitude to worldly systems are felt, and God resides with the oppressed in their struggles for freedom and plenty. Interdependence emerges between the community’s needs and God’s passions in real-time and real-space. God’s character and presence precipitates out of the life of his people in this environment.
I’m not sure what this means for my family in a place of relative affluence in our culture. I’m not sure what kind of investment I am bound to make as a follower of Jesus because of his abundant provision for my family. I don’t know why God provides plenty for some and not for others. I don’t know exactly how much I have benefited from the exploitation of workers or the misuse of environmental resources. I’m thankful for new questions and new challenges in my life with Jesus. I’m glad that God gives us new opportunities to live out our role as his healing community in the world.