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Tales from the Crypt؛ A Same Gender Loving (SGL) Reading of Mark 5: 1-20 Backwards
Get PDFThis article presents an interpretation of Mark 5:1-20 employing the method of reading backwards, a narrative technique introduced by Randall C. Bailey. It foregrounds the lived experiences of same-gender loving (SGL) people of African descent, naming hegemony, homophobia, hatred, and hypocrisy among the legion of the unclean spirits of Empire which must be exorcised. / argue that once the man is clothed and restored to his right mind (5:15), he is redeployed by Jesus not only to proclaim what the Lord has done, but he also has the obligation to tell the stories of those who do not survive (or choose to remain in) their own caves as a result of empire. I do so from the lens of my SGL lived experience which emerges from the intersection of African American, Queer, and Postcolonial biblical interpretation
Journal of the Interdenominational Theological Center, Back Matter, 1999
No full textJournal of the Interdenominational Theological Center, Back Matter, 199
Increase in Beauty and Fullness: The Traits and Qualities Within Them
Get PDFThe life and ministry of Thomas J. Pugh represent a monumental contribution to the area of pastoral care in general and pastoral care with African Americans in particular. As a pastor, educator, and social activist he informed and empowered the liberation and reconciliation tasks of God's people. An important contribution to that liberation and reconciliation work were Professor Pugh’s research and publications. In his printed works his role as a pastor, educator, and social activist is evident. With careful scholarship and prophetic insight he built a solid foundation upon which subsequent scholars in the pastoral care field could develop. This essay is a review of Professor Pugh’s publications with particular attention given to his thought which influenced the pastoral care of African Americans and those preparing to provide such care
Journal of the Interdenominational Theological Center, Front Matter, 1996
No full textJournal of the Interdenominational Theological Center, Front Matter, 199
A Time for Solutions: Problems of Crime and Incarceration
Get PDFThe “plague on our house” caused by crime and punishment reflects our common concern. The emphasis, “Partnerships in Corrections,” is appropriate. Inasmuch as we are all religious persons—Christian and Muslim—we must develop partnerships to combat this severity or run the risk of losing not only a generation but a race of people—the loss of ourselves. This imperative is based upon the following statistics: Two of four Black children bom in the 80s will live in a fatherless home. More Black young men are in the criminal justice system than in college—609,000 to 439,000. Homicide is the number one killer of young Blackmen. Black males have a jobless rate twice that of white males. Black children are more likely to die as infants. Black men are less likely to reach retirement. An estimate: 1 million persons. Black and white, are incarcerated. Of this number 80% lack a high school diploma and 75% lack basic reading and math skills. The U.S. now has the world’s highest known rate of incarceration with 3,109 prisoners per 100,000. The total cost of incarcerating the 1 million Americans in prisons and jails is 17,000-$30,000 for each prisoner. We are losing the war on drugs. At least 50% of all inmates indicate that one familymember had also been incarcerated
How to Be a Powerful Church Leader II Corinthians 12:1-10
Get PDFFrom the beginning of time the use of power has been a major problem. Having observed situations relating to ministers and their exercise of authority, it is unfortunate that too many clergy view ministry as the license to be authority figures and exalt themselves to the point of practicing religious quackery. The ministry, especially in the Black Church Tradition, expects charisma from those who occupy the pulpit and presupposes God's grace as the basis for this gift. Instead of effectively utilizing this resource for ministry enhancement, many of us rely on theatrics to demonstrate power and control. Persons are used as objects for manipulation rather than as divinely created human beings in need of loving care—the recipients of God’s grace. Regrettably, many ministers acclaim their own importance, interpreting personal understandings as reality. Consequently, orality, for instance, is whatever they say. The authority of the ministry is confused with the power of the minister
Journal of the Interdenominational Theological Center, Front Matter, 1994
No full textJournal of the Interdenominational Theological Center, Front Matter, 199
To See What the End Will BE’ A Response to Stony the Road We Trod: African American Biblical Interpretation
Get PDFHaving been familiar with the process which led to the production of this volume, it is difficult to contain the excitement. I remember when Thomas Hoyt, John Waters and Randall Bailey were gathering names of African American Biblical Scholars. Atthat time, I did not know what the end would be; perhaps they did not know either. Appropriately entitled, Stony the Road We Trod: African American Biblical Interpretation, the book has arrived, and not a day too soon. The biblical (chastening) rod has indeed been bitter. Struck down on every side, we were. We were brow beaten, brainwashed. We were whipped with selected scriptural passages taken out of context. We were crucified by distorted biblical interpretations. Who would have thought that we would ever rise again
The Power of Language And the Language of [Em]Power[ment]
Get PDFIn any given context consisting of a variety of people and perspectives from different places and positions we find a variety of views on any given topic. Certainly this is true on the question of inclusive language. Perspectives may range from those who are actively committed to language revision, to those who fail to see the relevancy of the issues, to those who adamantly challenge the audacity of women to raise such issues
Defending The Faith: Nascent Black Theology As An Apology For Christianity
Get PDFMore than any other issue in the history of African American religious thought, the meaning of Christianity and its relation to Black oppression has generated ongoing controversy and debate. In fact, no interpretation of Black life in America can ignore the manner in which the debate concerning Christianity impacted the social, political, and religious dimensions of the African American freedom struggle, particularly the civil rights and Black Power movements of the late 1940s, ’50s and ’60s