Prophetic Rage: A Postcolonial Theology of Liberation

by Johnny Bernard Hill

Publisher:

Eerdmans

, 2013

Overview

In this book Johnny Bernard Hill argues that prophetic rage, or righteous anger, is a necessary response to our present culture of imperialism and nihilism. The most powerful way to resist meaninglessness, he says, is refusing to accept the realities of structural injustice, such as poverty, escalating militarism, genocide, and housing discrimination.

Hill’s Prophetic Rage is interdisciplinary, integrating art, music, and literature with theology. It is constructive, passionate, and provocative. Hill weaves through a myriad of creative and prophetic voices of protest—from Jesus to W. E. B. DuBois, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and President Barack Obama—as well as multiple approaches, including liberation theology and black religion, to reflect theologically on the nature of liberation, justice, and hope on contemporary culture.

Key Features

• Explores a myriad of creative and prophetic voices of protest
• Argues that prophetic rage is a necessary response to our present culture of imperialism and nihilism
• Reflects theologically on the nature of liberation, justice, and hope on contemporary culture

Contents

• Black Religion and Nihilism
• Empire and Black Suffering
• Resistance, Rage, and Revolution
• Profits versus Prophets
• Dark Waters
• No Ways Tired
• Building the World House

Top Highlights

“Prophetic Rage is a manifesto of liberation, hope, and reconciliation. It is the cry of millions from around the world, both Christian and non-Christian, representing all races and ethnicities, genders, sexual orientations, and faiths, yearning to be free, to be whole, to flourish. Inspired by the long and creative legacy of prophetic Christianity, Prophetic Rage is the call for renewal and transformation in the quest to resist empire and establish alternative spheres of peace, justice, reconciliation, hope, and redemption in the world.” (Page 2)

“Modern theology’s preoccupation with rationalism and personal autonomy, in distancing theory and praxis, continues to be one of the most imposing barriers to transformative and prophetic Christian witness in the world.” (Page 14)

“his core theological argument that the very nature of the Christian narrative is liberation of the poor and oppressed” (Page 24)

“There is no soul salvation without social and political liberation from systems of power and domination that crush the soul and spirit. The meaning of the cross is seen in the capacity for Jesus Christ to both identify with black suffering and abandonment (as seen in the Markan passage ‘My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?’ [15:34]), and champion the cause of freedom and liberation. Jesus Christ is the fulfillment and promise of freedom and embodies a message of eschatological hope, not only for the future but also in the present.” (Page 32)

“What does postmodernity mean for those who suffer? And what should be the Christian response (or that of anyone else)? Approaching this question or not approaching the question is already troubling for a culture determined to police out the recognition of any form of suffering from mind, body, and spirit.” (Page 12)

Endorsements

This book is a powerful and prophetic expression of the new generation of freedom fighters. . . . Don’t miss it!

—Cornel West, professor of philosophy and Christian practice, Union Theological Seminary

Prophetic Rage is, quite simply, THE book in black theology for which many of us have been waiting. In this eminently readable work Johnny Hill accomplishes what so many have given a nod to but not substantively dealt with in the field of theology—constructing a theology that not only takes seriously the suffering of black people but uses the creativity of their own tradition to do so.

—Stephen G. Ray Jr., Neal F. and Ila A. Fisher Professor of Theology, Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary

Lays the foundation for a postcolonial liberation theology and prophetic rage against such continuing forms of injustice as racism, poverty, militarism, violence, nihilism, materialism, imperialism, mass incarceration, and more. Seminarians, clergy, and laypersons concerned about justice will find this book to be a most useful guide for their social thought and action.

—Peter J. Paris, emeritus professor of Christian ethics, Princeton Theological Seminary

Product Details

• Title: Prophetic Rage: A Postcolonial Theology of Liberation
• Author: Johnny Bernard Hill
• Series: Prophetic Christianity
• Publisher: Eerdmans
• Print Publication Date: 2013
• Logos Release Date: 2014
• Pages: 189
• Era: era:Contemporary
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subjects: Liberation theology; Postcolonial theology
• ISBNs: 9780802869777, 0802869777
• Resource ID: LLS:PROPHETICRAGE
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2023-01-31T18:25:50Z

About Johnny Bernard Hill

A graduate of Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary (Ph.D.) in Evanston, Ill., Dr. Hill also earned degrees from Duke Divinity School (M.Div.; Th.M.), and the Bachelor in Sociology from Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA. A deep interest in the work of social justice and reconciliation has led Dr. Hill to participate in many projects aimed at fostering more intercultural and inter-religious conversation, community renewal and reform, and multicultural awareness. In addition to teaching, his work has included assisting and serving as acting director of the African American Student Affairs Program at Chicago’s Northwestern University, developing multicultural programs that promote academic excellence and community. He has worked with numerous community organizations in the Chicago area on issues of housing reform and gang violence. And over the years, he has participated in several international mission trips to Haiti, Mexico, Kenya, and Honduras, where he said he ” first learned the language of reconciliation and experienced first-hand the global situations that now compel seminaries to become more sensitized and aggressive in preparing men and women for ministries in multicultural communities.” Dr. Hill has also served the church. An ordained American Baptist, from 2003 until 2006 he was an assistant pastor at Second Baptist Church, an urban congregation in the heart of Evanston, outside Chicago. He has also served churches in Durham, N.C., and Philadelphia. In addition, he serves on the Justice and Advocacy Commission of the National Council of Churches, USA, where he is involved with ecumenical and peace initiatives. As a a professor of theology at Louisville Seminary since 2006, Dr. Hill hopes to help students seek to know God through others and in the context of community. “I am thrilled to be come a part of this commitment. We understand more about God when we are in relationship with ‘the other,’ particularly those who are different. It is through understanding and embracing that difference that we can begin to understand and embrace the fullness of who God is.” His recent publications include: The Theology of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Desmond Mpilo Tutu (Palgrave MacMillan, 2007) in the series on black Religion/womanist Thought/Social Justice and Multidimensional Ministry to Today’s Black Family (Judson Press, 2007). He is co-chair of the consultation for the Theology of Martin Luther King Jr. with the American Academy of Religion and co-founded the Foundation for Reconciliation and Dialogue (www.reconciliation-now.com) with renowned theologian J. Deotis Roberts, who currently serves as president.