James Cone’s work is digging deep into my spirit, much like the Spirit’s work through Romans 5-8 right now. With Lent on us this week, it’s a good time for deep self-examination.
Cone addresses black theology and the issues of “love” and “justice.” They belong together.
“Black theology, then, asks not whether love is an essential element of the Christian interpretation of God, but whether the love of God itself can be properly understood without focusing equally on the biblical view of God’s righteousness… What could love possibly mean in a racist society except the righteous condemnation of everything racist? Most theological treatments of God’s love fail to place the proper emphasis on God’s wrath, suggesting that love is completely self-giving without any demand for obedience. Bonhoeffer called this ‘cheap grace’… (from A Black Theology of Liberation)
Apprentice 2 Jesus 