359 - Black Theology and Black Power

Black Theology and Black Power
By James H. Cone
161 pp. New York, Seabury Press, 1969. $2.95.

Two fully developed analyses of the theological dimensions of the contemporary Black Power ideology have recently appeared, one by Albert B. Cleage, Jr., of Detroit's Shrine of the Black Madonna and another by James H. Cone of Union Theological Seminary. Viewing Black Power as the "complete emancipation of black people from white oppression by whatever means black people deem necessary," Cone portrays the dilemma of the black American in existential terms. Recognizing a contradiction between what is and what ought to be, the situation of contemporary blacks approaches absurdity. Drawing upon Camus' depiction of the rebel and Tillich's imperative for "the courage to be," the author concludes that the modern black has but two choices: either he accepts the absurd and despairs or "he fights back with the whole of his being." Adopting the tenets of the Black Power ideology in his rebellion, the black man will not accept any rationalization which precludes his total emancipation. In this regard, Black Power is, according to the author, irrational, and rebellion becomes a manifestation of existence, both to the world and to the self.

Into this highly political process Cone interjects the question, "What does the Christian gospel have to say to powerless black men whose existence is threatened daily by the insidious tentacles of white power?" Because God is on the side of the oppressed, he notes, Jesus is looked to as the liberator, freeing men for life in this world or delivering them from their toil in this world by freeing them into the next. But such liberation, according to Cone, should be oriented toward this life and not merely an escape from the present dilemma which seeks peace in a heavenly afterlife. "Black rebellion is a manifestation of God himself actively involved in the present-day affairs of men for the purpose of liberating a

360 - Black Theology and Black Power

people." Because the symbolic Jesus, not the historical Jesus depicted by Cleage, liberates the oppressed, Christ is seen as black because "black people have come to know Christ precisely through oppression, because he has made himself synonymous with black oppression." Black Power seeks the creation of a new order, a new black community, a transition from non-being to being, and it becomes the appointed task of the church, as the instrument of Christ, to carry out that mission as part of the will of God through preaching (kerygma), service (diakonia), and fellowship (koinonia).

But it is here, in the union of Black Power with the will of God, or the mission of Christ, that problems begin to develop. The tension is between theology, which is centrally concerned with the spirit, and ideology, which is concerned with the materialistic and action aimed at obtaining worldly goods. Does Jesus, as liberator, come to deliver the mind or the body or both? Cone affirms the latter but goes to great lengths to berate those in the Negro church who urge blacks to seek deliverance from white oppression in the afterlife and to tolerate it for the present. Indeed, Black Theology, as Cone writes it, "refuses to embrace any concept of God which makes black suffering the will of God." Black Theology does not seek talk, but action-revolution itself. If violence occurs in the course of this revolt, then it must, but it is only a "subordinate and relative question" in overcoming racism. Existentially, Cone seems to argue, even if the rebel is consumed in violence, he is redeemed for having joined the revolt, rejecting despair.

The author's theological elaborations upon a political ideology are uneven and unsupported. At various points throughout the book logic succumbs to formula: A topic is opened by stating the viewpoint of Black Power on a given subject, then relevant theological literature is reviewed to support the point and the conclusion drawn that Christian theology, as well as Jesus the liberator, supports the Black Power position. Perhaps a common viewpoint does exist, but when the author also embraces a conspiracy theory of history-all of white society being seen as plotting against black society-then Christianity is somehow made exclusively sympathetic to the Black Power cause and all of white society stands condemned. Indeed, for Cone, the Christian does not decide between evil and good, violence and nonviolence, but between revolutionary violence and the violence perpetrated by the system, and "if the system is evil, then revolutionary violence is both justified and necessary." This is an overstatement of the author's argument but serves to warn against the conclusions his theological considerations lead to. His arguments lean too much upon the words of others which he quotes when his points

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might be more clearly and forcefully made in his own words. He seems to write better political theory than theology.

But such criticism should not detract from the circumstances which prompted the preparation of this book. Theologians must come to grips with the oppressed condition of black Americans and with Black Power as an ideology arising from and speaking to that condition. The relationship between politics and theology is not an easy one but, in certain situations, can be a powerful one and Cone's discussion is a most powerful combination of these elements. He addresses himself to a real and explosive matter which demands action. Thus we are thrust back upon the ends-means relationship. His is one examination and response which should now prompt others as well.

Harold C. Relyea
School of Government
The American University
Washington, D. C.