AN APPROACH TO THE DOCTRINE OF GOD AND IMPLICATIONS FOR LIBERATION by Michael “M. A.” Bell Bachelor of Science, Wiley College, 1972 Master of Divinity, Howard University, 1976 Master of Arts, University of Texas, 1981 A Doctoral Dissertation submitted to the faculty of Interdenominational Theological Center in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Ministry 1985 ABSTRACT The purpose of this project is quadrilateral: (1) to critically engage the doctrine of God as preached in Blackamerican pulpits and as perceived by those who frequent the pews of the Black Church, (2) to identify, report, and address the dissonance emanating from the Black Church’s social activistic rhetoric and course of action and the disliberating theological posture assumed by the Black Church, (3) to raise questions and fuel debate within the indigenous (Black) church relevant to the liberating currency of its present theological position, (4) to propose a viable liberating alternative in primer form, to be utilized in a continuing education program designed for parish clergy0 It should be clear from the outset that this paper is intended as a prolegomenon. Because of the dearth of materials by Black or other Third World authors on some of the topics addressed herein, hermeneutical materials from “outside the camp” are employed when relevant. In fact, much of the conceptual backdrop for this study is drawn from contemporary European theologies. This is not to suggest that any new theological direction for the Black Church must necessarily be manacled to paradigms espoused 11 by White theologians. It does suggest, however, that truth is not racialistic. Those thinicers whose works have helped to contour the ideological and theological bent of this study have done so only by way of influence. Data for this project were obtained from questionnaires, library research, and interviews. The questionnaires, simple random samples, were used to barometer the idea of God presently held by a selected sampling of preacher- pastors across denominational lines. Respondents for the questionnaires were selected at random from nine states, Texas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Tennessee, Maryland, South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, plus the District o±~ Columbia. Interviews were held with preacher- pastors in small group encounters and with lay-persons on a one—to-one basis. Library research was instrumental in properly cataloguing, documenting, and articulating the information relevant to this work. The accumulated data were recorded, reported, analyzed, and interpreted. This paper combines historical and descriptive research. Chapter One introduces the problem which prompted this study, plumbing its nature and scope. A list of terms appear at the end of the chapter to add to the cohesiveness of the theme discussed. Chapter Two gives a brief review of the beginnings of the Black Church and the origins of its theological perspective. The latter part of the chapter reviews the idea of ~od among premodern and modern Blacks. 11]~ Benjamin May’s volume, The Negro’s God, is pertinent to the identification and definition of the problem to which Chapter One points. Chapter Three organizes, analyzes, interprets, reports, and reviews the findings of the simple random sample. Chapter Four engages the paper’s threshold question: Is classjcaj. theism disliberatjve? The findings support the paper’s hypothesis that a dilemma of dissonance under mines the Black Church’s social conscience. This chapter identifies the pervasiveness of the problem and demonstrates that the discrepancies are indeed real and disliberating. Chapter Five examines historical alternative to classi cal theism culminatjn~ with the Nation of Islam. These alternatives are documented to underscore the scope of the dissonance problem. Chapter Six proposes a liberative doctrine of God. In the effort to formulate a liberating theism, an approach is proposed which weds relevant aspects of Charles Hartshorne’s critique of historic orthodoxy’s doctrine of God with Walter Bru.eggemann’s anthropology, as impacted by various liberation theologies. This study concludes with a primer designed for use in continuing education programs tailored for parish clergy. iv DEDICATION This project is dedicated to three remarkable persons without whose love, direction, and counsel I would not have had the heart to reach beyond the level of the everyday. They are Mrs. Louise “Aunt Lou” Johnson, Mr. C. J. “Gran daddy” Houston, and Dr. Reva P. Houston Bell. Though Aunt Lou and Grandaddy are deceased, their spirits challenge me at every corner and crossroad. My mother, Reva P., has been and is still a parent and a friend. Through the low places and the hill country of my walk she has never forsakened me. When my foot slipped, she was there to caution and to care. Her confidence and support have never wavered. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS One writer has confided that “we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses.” Another writer has recorded that at a crucial moment in Jesus’ biography “ there appeared an angel from heaven, strengthening him. “ Though these writers wielded their pens in different contexts, the images of “a great cloud of witnesses” and “a strengthening angel” are consonant with my experiences. While the contexts these images are couched in may be as dissimilar as chalk and cheese, in an existential sense these insights go together like red, black, and green. Throughout my studies I have been encircled by “a great cloud of witnesses” cheering and urging me to press forward. The exhortations of these “witnesses” have been complemented by the assistance of various “strengthening angels.” Both, the serried cloud of witnesses and the strengthening angels appeared at crucial moments in my biography. Their help made the journey less cumbersome, and it is those persons I wish to thank. To Dr. George Thomas who never frowned regardless of the unseemly hours I phone for counsel and the number of impromptu visits to his office for direction, and who opened his pulpit to me that I might preach. I appreciate and respect his love for Africa and all of Africa’s off spring. To Dr. Edward Wheeler for his thoughts and insights. To Dr. Telly Miller for pushing me beyond mediocrity. To Rev. Jacquelyn Grant, the chairperson of my doctoral committee, for her willingness to chair this effort in spite of an already overloaded calendar of obligations. To Ramona E. Jackson, my sister, for typing this work. To Mary Louise Bell for reading, editing, and lending a big hand toward the completion of this work. To Tracy Madden for her editorial assistance. To Dr. Leon Wright for showing me a nobler way. To three friends, Revs. Joe Foster, Stephen Nash, and Roger Wayne Jackson, whose openness prompted me to take a hazard. To John Bell, my father, for showing me that there are more than three sides to a coin. To Dr. Reva P. Houston Bell for reading and critiquing this paper. To Rev. Frank Wilson, a friend in deed. To Trina Madden for breaking the monotony. To my children for being themselves. To the Cosmic Ultimate, who calls us to be Christs in the global village. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT DEDICATION ACKNO WLEDGEV1ENTS PREFACE vii Chapter I. INTRODUCTION: THE NATURE AND SCOPE OF THE PROBLEM The Problem The Need For A Solution The Task of the Theologian The Identification And Definition of Terms II. HISTORICAL: THE THEOLOGICAL UNDERPINNINGS OF THE BLACK CHURCH 18 A Divided House Segregated Church, Integrated Theology The Idea of God in the Pre modern and Modern Black Church III. RESEARCH: THE IDEA OF GOD IN THE FO STMO DERN BLACK CHU RCH 32 Background of the Study Description of the Study Sample Review of Research Findings and Interpretations IV. ANALYSIS: IS CLASSICAL THEISM DISLIBERATING Historic Orthodoxy: Formative Influences The Attributes of Orthodoxy’s God: A Critique Orthodoxy’s Christ: Some Conclusions. V V. ALTERNATIVES: TOWARD A NEW BEGINNING 63 Historical Alternatives A Liberating Theism Conclusions VI. PRIMER 89 VII. NOTES 110 VIII. BIBLIOGRAPHY 123 vi PREFACE The purpose of this project is quadrilateral: (1) to critically engage the doctrine of God. as preached in Black- american pulpits and as perceived by those who frequent the pews of the Black Church, (2) to identify, report, and address the dissonance emanating from the Black Church’s social activistic rhetoric and course of action and the disliberating theological posture assumed by the Black Church, (3) to raise questions and fuel debate within the indigenous (Black) church relevant to the liberating currency of its present theological position, (4) to propose a viable liberating alternative in primer form, to be utilized in a continuing education program designed for parish clergy. vii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION: THE NATURE AND SCOPE OF THE PRO BLEM The Problem This dissertation is born of suspicion. I had com pleted my seminary studies at Howard University’s School of Religion with most of my theology intact and unscathed by a seemingly endless parade of theological perspectives. But, four years after seminary, I became suspicious of the theology I had come to call my own. Justo Gonzalez and Catherine Gonzalez have rightly said that “most of us began with a theological naivete. We believed not only that what the Bible said was true, but also that the Bible actually said what our mentors and the traditions before them told us that it said. Then, through a series of episodes, we became conscious of the structures of oppression around and above us, and tried to do something about them.” The dissonance inherent in the Black praxis of the dominant culture’s brandO of Christianity, European theological orthodoxy, became more and more apparent to me as I engaged those to whom I ministered at the visceral level. Historic orthodoxy as a redemptive and liberative perspec tive was like a narrow bed with too short covers.