Journal #3 - Liberation (Christian Formation)
Written Journals due January 29 @ Colloquium
Verbal Journals due January 26-February 6
Professor of Black Theology, James Cone states, "To be enslaved is to be declared nobody, and that form of existence contradicts God's creation of people to be God's children. Because black people believed that they were God's children, they affirmed their somebodiness" (The Spirituals and the Blues, 33).
Cone argues that through spiritual slave songs (called "spirituals"), African Americans took Christian scriptures taught by their white masters and communicated a theology of freedom and liberation.
Cone states, "According to the spirituals, the meaning of Jesus' birth, life, death, and resurrection is found in his identity with the poor, the blind, and the sick. He has come to set them free, to restore their wholeness. He is the conquering King and the crucified Lord who has come to bring peace and justice to the dispossessed in the land. That was why the slaves wanted to...
Go tell it on de mountain,
Over de hills and everywhere,
Go tell it on de mountain,
That Jesus Christ is born." (44-45)
- How does Christian theology offer hope to those who suffer?
- Describe your understanding of "somebodiness." What does it mean to be Person or what does it mean to be Nobody?
- In what ways do you witness the Church affirming or denying "somebodiness"?
- What do you want to "go and tell on the mountain" about Christianity?
