J's Pages

by Esau McCaulley 

Over the years, in listening to anecdotes from missionaries and Bible translators, I realized that people from other cultures had insights into the Bible that I didn't have in my own culture. That was cool. Or at least the fact that listening to people from other cultures could give me new insights into the Bible was cool. So when I heard about this book, I had to check it out. Dr. McCaulley shares a brief overview of African American interpretation of scripture, touching on significant issues such as policing, protesting, racial identity, and, of course, slavery. Christians have argued and fought over these things over the years, and any Christian who really wants to live as a member of the body of Christ needs to confront those issues. Some theologians have found the answer in disregarding the difficult passages of scripture. Dr. McCaulley explains how the African American church has not disregarded them, but has actively wrestled with the text. 

As a theologically conservative Anglo American Christian, I appreciated the insights Dr. McCaulley shared. There was one or two times, I thought, where he stretched the scripture passages a bit, but all in all I don't think he strayed from orthodoxy. What I read reinforced and increased my respect for my African American brothers and sisters in Christ, who have endured centuries of hardship with grace and, well, the only word that comes to mind is beauty.

Labels: CheckItOut

// posted by John @ 12:14 PM