Summary Cone Chapters 2 and 3 - Short Version

A Black Theology of Liberation—James H. Cone Ch.
2&3, 1
Chapter 2
The Sources and Norm of Black Theology
All theologies are born of sources and norms, the sources being the factors which form the character of
theology, and the norm being the manner, or criteria, in which the sources are used. Cone presents, and
narrows, the sources of black theology to six key factors which Cone specifies come in no hierarchical order.
Black Experience: All black theology must come from the perspective of the “life humiliation and suffering”
which is the black life in a white-racist dominated society. It also includes the positive understanding of
awareness of self and embracing the “spirit of blackness.” The black experience wants to know what Jesus
Christ means when confronted with racism.
Black History: In addition to the establishment of slavery in America, and the dehumanization of the black
population, black history contains the active resistance to racism and the establishment of the black church.
Black theology holds that divine activity is inseparable from black history, and asks “What are the
implications of black history for the revelation of God?”
Black Culture is the result of creativity in light of black history and the shared black experience of pain and
joy. As culture refers to “the way persons live and move in the world,” black culture is the black living and
moving in the world, through all creative expressions. God’s revelation comes through the culture of the
oppressed: the black culture is God’s culture.
Revelation comes as an event, and God’s revelation to humanity comes through acts of human liberation. The
revelation of God in the Old Testament is God’s actions in the Exodus narrative. There must be a
contemporary revelation of God as well, and that is the event of blacks acting for their own liberation.
Scripture: Black theology is a biblical theology, which is to say it holds scripture as highly important in
theological discourse. It is important to consider that the Bible is not a revelation of God, but only a
witness to God’s revelation. The Bible should be used as a scale to examine current interpretations of
God’s revelation for consistency with the Biblical narrative, that message being human liberation.
Tradition: Tradition involves the reflection of nature of Christianity and the church from the first century
onward to present day. If God is on the side of the oppressed, the established church of the society cannot
be the true church. The tradition of black theology then considers foremost the black church in America,
and secondly the establishment of white, western Christianity. Black theology asks, “How is the Christian
tradition related to the oppression of blacks in America?”
The Norm of Black Theology

The norm of black theology must be the balance of two main ideas: one is the liberation of blacks, and the
second is the revelation of Jesus Christ. The standard which is the result of the sources of black theology is an
understanding that “God-talk which seeks to be black-talk is the manifestation of Jesus as the black Christ who
provides the necessary soul for black liberation.”
Chapter 3
The Meaning of Revelation
How do we know that our claims about God are valid? We understand that our finite existence leaves us
indefinitely separated from true knowledge of God, and as such, it is not within our human capacity to make
absolute claims about God. What we are to ask is whether our actions as Christians are in accordance with our
knowledge of God. Black theology’s goal is to “define what the knowledge of God means for its existence in a
white racist society.” This definition, and knowledge, comes through Revelation.
Revelation and American Theology

Originally, revelation was understood as divine information about God communicated through reason or faith.
Schleirmacher’s ideas presented a new option, being the idea of religion as “absolute dependence,” which had
certain dangers in its subjectivity in a projection of God. In the post-WWI world, a new understanding of
revelation was reached wherein revelation became the “disclosure of God in the person of Jesus Christ.” Cone
concludes that in all cases, revelation is held to mean a “manifestation of God in human history.”
A Black Theology of Liberation—James H. Cone Ch.2&3, 2
What is absent from the tradition of American theology is the discussion of liberation as a knowledge of God.
The absence of such a discussion is simply more evidence of participation in the structures of oppression in
white society, which leaves the white church thoroughly unchristian.
Revelation and Black Theology

Black theology accepts the understanding that divine revelation characterized distinctly by God’s self-
disclosure. Specifically, revelation is the result of God within a personal relationship with humankind exerting
the influence of divine will upon our history. As such, revelation must be God’s self-disclosure in the context
of liberation. God’s revelation is then only for the oppressed of the land, granting them the “divine right to
break their chains by any means necessary” with assurance that they will be doing God’s work. God’s
revelation is liberation.
The Biblical View of Revelation

The focus on revelation as liberation is a biblical idea which must be explored through the relationship of
revelation, faith, and history. As a “historical religion,” Christianity affirms that knowledge of God comes
through God’s actions in history, specifically the history of the Israelite people. Because God chose be revealed
to an oppressed people, the nature of the faith of such a god must be synonymous with liberation. Only the
community of faith can perceive God’s revelation; faith is then that thing which allows a humans to recognize
God’s actions in human history.
General Revelation: general revelation is an idea primarily applicable to oppressed peoples. This comes from
a sort of inherent knowledge of the ungodliness of slavery and oppression, which is interpreted as a revelation
to the oppressed population as a whole. It is through this sort of identification with God that slaves rebel
against their masters as if it were nature.
Special revelation: this is the idea that God was revealed through the history of the bible, culminating in Jesus
Christ. It is through Christ’s being that the norm of all existence is determined.
Bultmann’s View of New Testament Revelation

Bultmann presents a new idea wherein revelation is “an occurrence that puts me in a new situation as a self.”
That is, revelation is that which creates a new self-understanding: revelation is self-knowledge, and a current
present event. This applies to black theology in that revelation can be understood as a black event, that is,
“black persons expressing their being” despite the history and tradition of oppression. Akin to the idea of self-
understanding as part of the black experience, it is an understanding that knowing oneself equals knowing God,
and this is revelation.

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A Black Theology of Liberation—James H. Cone Ch.

The Norm of Black Theology

Revelation and American Theology

Revelation and Black Theology

The Biblical View of Revelation

Bultmann’s View of New Testament Revelation

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