fdes_817's review
4.0
I personally found this short volume as particularly well argued and organized. I do have two initial hesitations about the book. The first is his treatment of God in the penultimate chapter. I see why William R. Jones (in Is God a White Racist?) finds his conception of God as contradictory. However, I think W. Jones is again superimposing some of his own objections to traditional theism on a theological argument that doesn't have those concerns in mind. So I wish Major Jones had spent more time fleshing out his concept of God. The second, in his argument for black personhood I think his words could easily be ripped out of context (both historical context and within his own writing) to justify a form quietism, though that is obviously not his message. I guess it is unfair to critique him for potentially bad readings, but it is something I worry about as humans are prone to lazy readings.
However, those hesitations aside I think Jones offers a fascinating theological expression that might nuance the entire movement of black liberation theology (Anthony Bradley's critique of rooting identity in persecution could not possibly bear on Jones' theology as he seeks to form a positive identity rooted in hope). Jones sets up the historical situation with the preceding failures on the part of both black and white Christians and then outlines the ways in which current (read late 60s early 70s) theological and socio-political theories fail to overcome and/or address those issues. Then he spends his final two chapters delineating more clearly his theological ideas regarding God and hope (he spends a considerable amount of time in chapters 5-7 working through a political theology/ethics, but I feel his main aim is critique and it is difficult to discern if he is landing on his own position amidst it all). The final chapter is, I think, an incredibly insightful reflection on the nature of hope and I felt the crescendo of the entire work (ideal for a final chapter). He also have interesting thoughts on violence that I think are worth exploring. All-in-all a great book.
However, those hesitations aside I think Jones offers a fascinating theological expression that might nuance the entire movement of black liberation theology (Anthony Bradley's critique of rooting identity in persecution could not possibly bear on Jones' theology as he seeks to form a positive identity rooted in hope). Jones sets up the historical situation with the preceding failures on the part of both black and white Christians and then outlines the ways in which current (read late 60s early 70s) theological and socio-political theories fail to overcome and/or address those issues. Then he spends his final two chapters delineating more clearly his theological ideas regarding God and hope (he spends a considerable amount of time in chapters 5-7 working through a political theology/ethics, but I feel his main aim is critique and it is difficult to discern if he is landing on his own position amidst it all). The final chapter is, I think, an incredibly insightful reflection on the nature of hope and I felt the crescendo of the entire work (ideal for a final chapter). He also have interesting thoughts on violence that I think are worth exploring. All-in-all a great book.
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