James H. Cone Was Right (1936 – 2018) (April 28, 2018)

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 […]

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James H. Cone’s Reproach of Bibliolatry: Idolizing the Bible instead of Liberating the Oppressed (October 23, 2017)

Bibliolatry is prevalent in America (and many other parts of the world), and bibliolatry happens when the bible is turned into an idol. The Heidelberg Catechism defines Idolatry as "having or inventing something in which to put our trust instead of, or in addition to, the only true God who […]

Related: A Black Theology of Liberation, American Barthians, American Evangelicals, James Cone, James H. Cone, Karl Barth, Liberation Theology

James H. Cone: Liberation Theology is the Gospel of Jesus Christ (August 17, 2017)

James H. Cone defines the Gospel of Jesus Christ in terms of liberation theology. According to Cone, the Gospel is not an abstract idea or spiritual truth that applies to all people indiscriminately—both victims and victimizers alike—because God specifically sides with the oppressed, and the Gospel is the liberation of […]

Related: A Black Theology of Liberation, black theology, Gospel, James Cone, James H. Cone, Liberation Theology, poor, racism, sexism, white supremacy, white theology

James Cone: Martin Luther King, Jr. is America’s Most Outstanding Theologian (January 18, 2015)

Martin Luther King, Jr.'s (1929—1968) birthday was January 15, 1929 and he would have been 86 years old, if he had lived until today. MLK was assassinated on Thursday, April 4, 1968 when he was 39 years old in the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. Tomorrow is the only major federal holiday […]

Related: 1968-1998, H. Richard Niebuhr, James Cone, James H. Cone, Jonathan Edwards, Martin Luther King Jr., MLK, Perry Miller, Reinhold Niebuhr, Risks of Faith: the Emergence of a Black Theology of Liberation, Walter Rauschenbusch

James H. Cone on the Gospel and Liberation Theology (January 12, 2015)

Liberation Theology is at the heart of the Gospel, and is the task of setting captives free of bondage. Deliverance from slavery is the constant theme from the beginning of the Bible and throughout Church History until today. It is God delivering the Israelites out of the Egyptian captivity by […]

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James H. Cone on the Myth of a “Good” Slave Master (January 10, 2015)

Paul Cézanne's O Negro Cipião (source:wikipedia) Shamefully, there exists evangelicals today who still argue that slavery is biblical or justified by Christian theology, and these deplorable statements are often defended by claiming that the horrors of American Slavery were exaggerated because some slaves were treated "well" by their masters. Even if these evangelicals […]

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