Session 2

The Black Church

1. Difficult to define precisely - multiple scholarly conceptions

2. Embraces all Africana Christians

3. Includes several Historically Black Denominations - e.g., AME, AMEZ, CME, COGIC, etc.

4. Is theologically diverse

5. Fosters spiritualities of empowerment

6. Is dynamic and evolving

Faith, Ontology, & Africana Spirituality

1. The Middle Passage, slavery, and segregation elicited an ontological crisis for African Americans

2. Faith is more than an intellectual exercise

3. Beliefs and actions are intertwined

4. Spirituality, self-conception, and wellness are directly related

5. Enculturation and other adaptive theological strategies help to ensure intellectual integrity & wholeness

6. Lived experience and spirituality must be congruent

Africana Christian Theologies

1. Consist of global conversations about Christian faith that conform to no single paradigm

2. Those in the Americas tend to deal with the implications of Christian discipleship and ongoing social marginalization

3. Vary in their attitudes toward and embrace of indigenous African and Africana faith traditions in the Americas such as Voudun and Santeria

4. Use narrative, poetry, the visual arts, and music to talk about God

5. Take seriously the role of Divine images in fostering holistic, inclusive, and affirming spiritualities

Questions - Part 2

1. What impact did divine images have on the health and well-being of enslaved and free Blacks in the Americas?

2. In what ways is Henry McNeal Turner’s idea that slavery was Divinely sanctioned to bring civilization to Africans problematic?

3. How is the debate between Daniel Alexander Payne and Turner about worship style and leadership in the Church emblematic of an ongoing conversation in the American Diaspora about the relationship between Christianity and African religious survivals in the New World?

4. How do the pioneering efforts of Elias Camp Morris, Richard Henry Boyd, William J. Seymour, Charles Price Jones, and Charles H. Mason contribute both to the coalescence of an independent Black Church movement and its fragmentation along both theological and denominational lines?