Harry H. Singleton is concerned in this work with the disparate ways blacks and whites have experienced American history and subsequently the way they have fashioned God's communication to humans, formerly referred to as revelation. This book makes the case that while white Christian leaders have rooted God's revelation either in an inherently inferior black humanity or a Christian faith void of black suffering, black theologians have rooted that same revelation in the plight of oppressed peoples in general and black people in particular, i.e., that God's essence is found in the struggle for human liberation. With clarity and passion, Professor Singleton draws on the treatments of revelation of the most celebrated white theologians to demonstrate that the Christian theological enterprise has by intent and effect linked God's revelation with black inferiority. Black theologians, on the other hand, have countered seeking a more liberating view of black humanity by making the case that the God of the Bible ultimately intervenes in contexts of human oppression not for their perpetuation but rather for their destruction. In this sense, Singleton pushes the reader to the conclusion that although the treatments of revelation between white and black theologians have been as different as their lived histories, the object of revelation has been the same - the humanity of black people Thus, Singleton puts forth the bold argument that the racial struggle in America has not only been an historical struggle for determining the humanity of black people but a theological struggle for determining the humanity of black people as well. But far from remaining objective, Singleton takes the liberating path for black humanity and presses his way through the pages of this work seeking a new paradigm for revelation that no longer places God at the intersection of the white-black encounter as a condoner of racism or as a disinterested observer in the racial struggle but rather as an eternal light whose very nature is seen in the continuing quest for human liberation.

"How two forms of song helped sustain slaves and their children in the midst of tribulation. With a new introduction by Cheryl Townsend Gilkes"--

When the beliefs of Barack Obama's former pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, assumed the spotlight during the 2008 presidential campaign, the influence of black liberation theology became hotly debated not just within theological circles but across cultural lines. How many of today's African-American congregations-and how many Americans in general-have been shaped by its view of blacks as perpetual victims of white oppression? In this interdisciplinary, biblical critique of the black experience in America, Anthony Bradley introduces audiences to black liberation theology and its spiritual and social impact. He starts with James Cone's proposition that the "victim" mind-set is inherent within black consciousness. Bradley then explores how such biblical misinterpretation has historically hindered black churches in addressing the diverse issues of their communities and prevented adherents from experiencing the freedoms of the gospel. Yet Liberating Black Theology does more than consider the ramifications of this belief system; it suggests an alternate approach to the black experience that can truly liberate all Christ-followers.

In this creative contribution to the doctrine of revelation, Clark seeks to develop and articulate an understanding of God's self-disclosure located in the participation of the ecclesial community in the trinitarian life of God. Clark takes as his point of departure Karl Barth's doctrine of the Word of God. Barth has impressed upon theology that revelation is primarily an event in which God establishes relationship with humanity in an act of his sovereign freedom. But what is the role of human participation in this revelatory event? It is here that Barth's account is less than satisfactory, and this shortcoming points to the principal theme of the book. Addressing this theme, Clark engages with the work of Michael Polanyi, whose philosophy provides a potent resource for the task. One profoundly innovative aspect of Polanyi's work is his theory of tacit knowledge, which demonstrates how articulate knowledge (conceptual understanding) arises out of knowledge established through practical and intrinsically imaginative participation in particular practices or "life-ways." Although we depend upon such knowledge, we can articulate it only in part. We know more than we can tell. This insight has profound implications for the doctrine of revelation. It suggests that knowledge of God is necessarily bound up with the various practices of the church in which Christians are imaginatively engaged and through which God makes himself known. It also suggests that such knowledge cannot be fully articulated. Clark does not deny the possibility or the importance of doctrinal formulation, but he does issue a reminder that theological statements are only possible because God gives himself to be known in the life and practices of the church. This substantial work provides important and original proposals for rearticulating the doctrine of revelation.

Since first Thomas Aquinas defined theology as revelation, or the rational elucidation of revealed truth, the idea of revelation has played a fundamental role in the history of western theology. This book provides a new and detailed investigation of the concept, examining its nature, sources, and limitations in all five of the major scriptural religions of the world: Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism. The first part of the book discusses the nature of theology, and expounds the comparative method as the most useful and appropriate for the modern age. Part Two focuses on the nature of religion and its early historical manifestations, whilst the third part of the book goes on to consider the idea of revelation as found in the great canonical traditions of the religions of the world. Part Four develops the distinctively Christian idea of revelation as divine self-expression in history. The final part of the book discusses how far the idea of revelation must be revised or adapted in the light of modern historical and scientific thought, and proposes a new and positive theology of revelation for the future. The book includes discussions of the work of most major theologians and scholars in the study of religion - Aquinas, Tillich, Barth, Temple, Frazer, and Evans Pritchard - and should be of interest to many scholars and students of comparative religion and theology, and anthropologists.

The final book of the Bible, Revelation prophesies the ultimate judgement of mankind in a series of allegorical visions, grisly images and numerological predictions. According to these, empires will fall, the "Beast" will be destroyed and Christ will rule a new Jerusalem. With an introduction by Will Self.

This book was originally planned as the 'ecclesiological' third part of Schillebeeckx Jesus trilogy. It indeed concludes his thinking about the relevance of the living Jesus through history, but with a different approach than originally intended. By the end of the 20th century, many believers have left the unworldly 'super-naturalistic' preconciliar church behind. Those who leave the church, often leave a church that claims to be the direct mediator of God's will. However, the church is not a flawless gift from heaven. It is the vulnerable work of human beings which tries to find accurate ways to comply to the heart of the gospel message. In a time that is characterized by polarization in the church, Schillebeeckx does not forget to look at the unprecedented and authentic flourishing of the gospel. This book therefore contains the testimony of a theologian who tried, during the course of his life, to describe what God can mean for people today.

"The introduction to this edition by Cornel West was originally published in Dwight N. Hopkins, ed., Black Faith and Public Talk: Critical Essays on James H. Cone's Black Theology & Black Power (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1999; reprinted 2007 by Baylor University Press)."