Black Theology's View Of God Essay

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Black theology’s view of God derives from the early Chalcedonian tradition, and views Christ as fully God and fully Man. Jesus Christ is to us One and the same Son, the Self-same Perfect in Godhead, the Self-same Perfect in Manhood. Black theology extends this view by claiming the reincarnation of God through Jesus Christ to free people of bondage. James Cone compares the United States to Egypt, predicting that oppressed people will soon be led to a promised land. Just like God, the depiction of Christ is that Jesus is a black man. James Cones believe it is important for people of color to take a stance on this view, because if not, it contaminates the minds of blacks in which their lord and savior looks just like people who victimize them. …show more content…

James Cone never spoke directly on this view, but through research one can easily process his stance. James Cone believed that the New Testament revealed Jesus as one who identified with those suffering under oppression. If we look back in the New Testament, we will see that Jesus’s birth symbolizes oppression under the attack of King Herod. Matthew 2:13-18 tells us Joseph is warned by an angel in a dream to take Jesus and Mary to Egypt to escape King Herod’s wrath. They escape by night, just before Herod orders the murder of all baby boys born in and around Bethlehem during the last two years. King Herod was an insecure King who feared anyone who could possibly take his throne. Jesus was born in a Manger. Mangers were located wherever livestock were kept, like stables, corrals, or caves. The son of the living God was birthed in a place where humans would not even lay their heads at night. James Cone connects this story with the black experience because Joseph and Mary were put in a position where their self worth and dignity were not valued. James Cone correlates the dominance of King Herod with the Dominance of White Americans towards blacks when it comes to power and rule. He connects Jesus’s birth in a manger to the slavery of blacks who were forced in situations that they could not