James H. Cone (1938 - 2018) has died. I'm deeply saddened to learn that we have lost a scholar whose voice is desperately needed today. I've been highly influenced and helped by many of Dr. James H. Cone's books, such as The Cross and The Lynching Tree, Risks of Faith: The Emergence of a Black Theology of Liberation, 1968-1998, and The Black Theology of Liberation, and many others. Dr. James H. Cone was Bill & Judith Moyers Distinguished Professor of Systematic Theology at Union Theological Seminary.

I've learned so much from Dr. James H. Cone. I discovered Dr. Cone through my studies of Karl Barth, because Dr. Cone studied Karl Barth and his doctorate dissertation was on "The Doctrine of Man in the Theology of Karl Barth."  If I had to describe him, I would say that James Cone was angry, and justifiably so. I learned from him that our god takes sides because god is the god of the oppressed. And to remain silent or delay for peace in the time of oppression is to ultimately side with the oppressors. I also learned from Dr. Cone about the prevalent problem of white supremacy in America today, and in the recent centuries, and that I was aware of the horrors that white supremacy have caused and still have not been resolved. I learned that white theology opposes the gospel, and that god was black, and that whites needed to become black. I was also disturbed by how strongly white people I knew resisted and opposed Dr. James H. Cone. And so James H. Cone has opened my eyes to the world I live in, in a way that few others have. Dr. Cone has helped me understand why the gospel is a theology liberation.

I wrote to Dr. James H. Cone last summary to express my thankfulness for his life work, and was ecstatic to receive this reply from Dr. Cone:

August 28, 2017

Dear Rev. Houtz,

Professor Cone very much appreciates your warm words about his work and is pleased that it has been useful to you in your ministry.

Thank you for taking the time to convey your thoughts.

Sincerely,

Victoria J. Furio

Special Assistant to James H. Cone

I highly recommend all of Dr. James H. Cones books, and here are a few things I've written and shared about him in the past:

• James H. Cone’s Reproach of Bibliolatry: Idolizing the Bible instead of Liberating the Oppressed
• James H. Cone: Liberation Theology is the Gospel of Jesus Christ 
• James Cone: Martin Luther King, Jr. is America’s Most Outstanding Theologian 
• James H. Cone on the Gospel and Liberation Theology
• James H. Cone on the Myth of a “Good” Slave Master 

One last anecdote that I'd like to share is that I was deeply moved by Daniel José Camacho's "James Cone Was Right" sign that he drew and carried in the Millions March in New York City in December 2014. This sign generated the #JamesConeWasRight hashtag that frequently appears on twitter, and through it became a signal that introduced James H. Cone to many people and brought Dr. Cone into dialog with many people.