James H. Cone

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"James Cone" redirects here. For the politician from Texas, see James Cone (politician).

The Reverend
James H. Cone
Cone in 2009
Born
James Hal Cone

(1938-08-05)August 5, 1938
Fordyce, Arkansas, U.S.
DiedApril 28, 2018(2018-04-28) (aged 79)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Spouses
  • Rose H. Cone (m. 1958; div. c. 1978)
  • Sondra Gibson
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1979; died 1983)​
Awards
Methodist)
ChurchAfrican Methodist Episcopal Church
Academic background
Education
ThesisThe Doctrine of Man in the Theology of Karl Barth[1] (1965)
Influences
Academic work
Discipline
Philander Smith College
  • Adrian College
  • Union Theological Seminary
    • Doctoral studentsJacquelyn Grant[5]
    Notable students
    Notable worksA Black Theology of Liberation (1970)
    Notable ideas
    Black liberation theology
    Influenced
    Part of a series on
    Christian socialism
    Political concepts
    People
    Major writings
    Organizations
    Related

    James Hal Cone (August 5, 1938 – April 28, 2018) was an American

    theologian. He is best known for his advocacy of black theology and black liberation theology. His 1969 book Black Theology and Black Power provided a new way to comprehensively define the distinctiveness of theology in the black church.[17] His message was that Black Power, defined as black people asserting the humanity that white supremacy denied, was the gospel in America. Jesus
    came to liberate the oppressed, advocating the same thing as Black Power. He argued that white American churches preached a gospel based on white supremacy, antithetical to the gospel of Jesus.

    Cone's work was influential from the time of the book's publication and his work remains so today. His work has been both used and critiqued inside and outside the African-American theological community. He was the Charles Augustus Briggs Distinguished Professor of Systematic Theology at Columbia University-affiliated Union Theological Seminary until his death.[18]

    Life and career

    Cone was born on August 5, 1938, in

    Philander Smith College in 1958, where he was mentored by James and Alice Boyack. In his 2018 memoir Said I Wasn't Gonna Tell Nobody, Cone wrote that they were the first whites he met who respected his humanity. Although he had decided against parish ministry, their advice led him to obtain a Bachelor of Divinity degree from Garrett–Evangelical Theological Seminary in 1961, and Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy degrees from their joint program with Northwestern University
    in 1963 and 1965, respectively. He was shocked to learn that most northern whites would not treat him with respect like the Boyacks. Yet he was excited to learn of unfamiliar theologians, controversies, and biblical study methodologies. At the urging of and with support from the white theologian William Hordern at Garrett he applied and gained acceptance into the doctoral program in theology.

    He taught theology and religion at Philander Smith College,

    Union Theological Seminary in New York City, where he was awarded the distinguished Charles A. Briggs Chair in systematic theology in 1977. In 2018, he was elected as a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.[20]

    Cone and his wife, Rose Hampton, married in 1958 and divorced in 1977. They had two sons, Micheal and Charles. In 1979, Cone married Sondra Gibson, who died in 1983. They raised two daughters, Krystal and Robynn. He died on April 28, 2018.[21][22][23]

    Theology

    Hermeneutics

    Cone wrote, "Exodus, prophets and Jesus—these three—defined the meaning of liberation in black theology."

    African Americans, and the theological questions he brings from his own life. He incorporates the powerful role of the black church in his life, as well as racism experienced by African Americans. For Cone, the theologians he studied in graduate school did not provide meaningful answers to his questions. This disparity became more apparent when he was teaching theology at Philander Smith College in Little Rock, Arkansas. Cone writes, "What could Karl Barth possibly mean for black students who had come from the cotton fields of Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi, seeking to change the structure of their lives in a society that had defined black as non-being?"[25]

    Cone's theology also received significant inspiration from a frustration with the black struggle for civil rights; he felt that black Christians in North America should not follow the "white Church", on the grounds that it was a willing part of the system that had oppressed black people. Accordingly, his theology was heavily influenced by

    Black Power movement. Martin Luther King Jr. was also an important influence; Cone describes King as a liberation theologian before the phrase existed.[26] Cone wrote, "I was on a mission to transform self-loathing Negro Christians into black-loving revolutionary disciples of the Black Christ." Nevertheless, "The black church, despite its failures, gives black people a sense of worth."[27]

    Methodology

    His methodology for answering the questions raised by the African-American experience is a return to

    Marxist analysis and the sociology of knowledge.[28]

    Contextual theology

    Cone's thought, along with Paul Tillich, stresses the idea that theology is not universal, but tied to specific historical contexts; he thus critiques the Western tradition of abstract theologizing by examining its social context. Cone formulates a theology of liberation from within the context of the black experience of oppression, interpreting the central kernel of the Gospels as Jesus' identification with the poor and oppressed, the resurrection as the ultimate act of liberation.[29][page needed]

    As part of his theological analysis, Cone argues for God's own identification with "blackness":

    The black theologian must reject any conception of God which stifles black self-determination by picturing God as a God of all peoples. Either God is identified with the oppressed to the point that their experience becomes God's experience, or God is a God of racism. ... The blackness of God means that God has made the oppressed condition God's own condition. This is the essence of the biblical revelation. By electing Israelite slaves as the people of God and by becoming the Oppressed One in Jesus Christ, the human race is made to understand that God is known where human beings experience humiliation and suffering. ... Liberation is not an afterthought, but the very essence of divine activity.[30]

    Despite his associations with the Black Power movement, however, Cone was not entirely focused on ethnicity: "Being black in America has little to do with skin color. Being black means that your heart, your soul, your mind, and your body are where the dispossessed are."[31]

    In 1977, Cone wrote, with a still more universal vision:

    I think the time has come for black theologians and black church people to move beyond a mere reaction to white racism in America and begin to extend our vision of a new socially constructed humanity in the whole inhabited world ... For humanity is whole, and cannot be isolated into racial and national groups.[32]

    In his 1998 essay "White Theology Revisited", however, he retains his earlier strong critique of the white church and white man for ignoring or failing to address the problem of race.[33]

    Early influences

    Cone credits his parents as being his most important early influences.[24][page needed] His father had only a sixth-grade education but filed a lawsuit against the Bearden, Arkansas, school board despite threats on his life. White professors of religion and philosophy, James and Alice Boyack at Philander Smith College aided his belief in his own potential and deepened his interest in theodicy and black suffering. He found a mentor, advisor and influential teacher in Garrett scholar William E. Hordern. Professor Philip Watson motivated him to intensive remedial study of English composition. Classmate Lester B. Scherer was a great help in this. Scherer volunteered to edit manuscripts of Cone's early books while Cone's wife Rose typed them, yet Cone complained that neither understood him.[34] Cone wrote his doctoral thesis on Karl Barth. A 1965 breakfast meeting with Benjamin Mays, president of Morehouse College in Atlanta, convinced him that teaching and scholarship were his true calling. The sociologist C. Eric Lincoln found publishers for his early books (Black Theology and Black Power and A Black Theology of Liberation) which sought to deconstruct mainstream Protestant theologians such as Barth, Niebuhr and Tillich while seeking to draw on the figures of the black church such as Richard Allen (founder in 1816 of the AME Church), black abolitionists ministers Henry Highland Garnet, Daniel Payne, and Henry McNeil Turner ("God is a Negro") and Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, James Baldwin, and other figures of the black power and black arts movement.[24][page needed]

    Criticism

    Womanist critique

    Delores Williams, have critiqued Cone for both male-centered language and for not including the experiences of black women in his sources. Williams, in 1993, acknowledged in a footnote in her book Sisters in the Wilderness, that Cone has modified exclusive language for the reprinting of his works and acknowledged the issues with the previous language. However, she argues that he still does not use the experiences of African-American women in his method, and therefore still needs to deal with the sexism of his work.[35]

    Other scholarly critiques

    Other critiques of Cone's theological positions have focused on the need to rely more heavily on sources reflecting black experience in general, on Cone's lack of emphasis on reconciliation within the context of liberation, and on his ideas of God and theodicy.[36] Charles H. Long and other founding members of the Society for the Study of Black Religion were critics of Cone's work. Long rejected black theology, contending that theology itself was a western invention alien to the black experience. Others objected to his endorsement of Black Power, lack of interest in reconciliation and concern with scoring academic points.[37]

    Political commentary and controversy

    Aspects of Cone's theology and words for some people have been the subject of controversy in the political context of the

    better source needed
    ]

    Some scholars of black theology noted that controversial quotes by Wright may not necessarily represent black theology.[39] Cone responded to these alleged controversial comments by noting that he was generally writing about historic white churches and denominations that did nothing to oppose slavery and segregation rather than any white individual.[40]

    Hoover Institute fellow Stanley Kurtz, in a political commentary in National Review
    , wrote:

    Cone defines it as "complete emancipation of black people from white oppression by whatever means black people deem necessary." For Cone, the deeply racist structure of American society leaves blacks with no alternative but radical transformation or social withdrawal. So-called Christianity, as commonly practiced in the United States, is actually the racist Antichrist. "Theologically," Cone affirms, "Malcolm X was not far wrong when he called the white man 'the devil.'" The false Christianity of the white-devil oppressor must be replaced by an authentic Christianity fully identified with the poor and oppressed.[41]

    Educator

    After receiving his doctorate, Cone taught theology and religion at Philander Smith College and Adrian College. At the urging of his mentor, C. Eric Lincoln, Union Theological Seminary in New York City hired him as assistant professor in 1969. He remained there until his death in 2018; he eventually had an endowed full professorship. Cone made significant contributions to theological education in America.

    Mosque No. 7 and the Nation of Islam.[13]
    He delivered countless lectures at other universities and conferences.

    Works

    See also

    References

    Footnotes

    1. ^ J. H. Cone 1965.
    2. ^ Kalu 2006.
    3. ^ Haney, Mark (May 3, 2018). "Former Adrian College Professor, Author Remembered". Lenconnect.com. Adrian, Michigan: GateHouse Media. Archived from the original on November 18, 2018. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
    4. ^ Begg 2007, p. 323.
    5. ^ Roberts 2004, p. 424.
    6. ^ Pinn & Cannon 2014, p. 11.
    7. ^ a b McAlister 2018, p. 125.
    8. ^ Begg 2007, pp. 319, 321.
    9. ^ "Dr. Cain Hope Felder". Washington: Destiny – Pride. July 2011. Archived from the original on December 13, 2019. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
    10. ^ Hendricks 2006, p. xi.
    11. ^ Kirylo & Boyd 2017, p. xx.
    12. ^ Moore 2013, p. 7.
    13. ^ a b "KING Talks: KING Talks Ep8 | Rev. Conrad Tillard". kingmovement.libsyn.com.
    14. ^ Begg 2007, p. 321.
    15. ^ Steinfels, Peter (October 29, 1989). "Conference on Black Theology Unites Scholars and Pastors". The New York Times. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
    16. ^ Alberts, Hana R. (April 28, 2008). "Rev. Wright Reclaims the Spotlight". Forbes. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
    17. ^ Wilmore 1999, p. 234.
    18. ^ "James H. Cone". New York: Union Theological Seminary. Archived from the original on September 30, 2011. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
    19. ^ Burgess & Brennan 2010, p. 38; Burrow 1993, p. 61.
    20. ^ "Dr. James H. Cone Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences". Sojourners. April 20, 2018. Retrieved April 28, 2018.
    21. ^ "In Memoriam: Dr. James Hal Cone". New York: Union Theological Seminary. April 28, 2018. Retrieved April 28, 2018.
    22. ^ Vultaggio, Maria (April 28, 2018). "Who Was James Come? Founder of Black Liberation Theology Dies". Newsweek. Retrieved April 28, 2018.
    23. ^ "James H. Cone, Founder of Black Liberation Theology Dies at 79". NPR. April 28, 2018. Retrieved April 28, 2018.
    24. ^ a b c J. H. Cone 2018.
    25. ^ J. H. Cone 1997, p. 3.
    26. ^ Burrow 1994, pp. 13–16.
    27. ^ J. H. Cone 2018, p. 94.
    28. ^ Burrow 1994; cf. P. Williams 1996.
    29. ^ Antonio 1999.
    30. ^ J. H. Cone 2010, p. 67.
    31. ^ Cone, James H. Black Theology and Black Power. p. 151. Cited in Schwarz 2005, p. 473.
    32. ^ Ferm, Deane William (May 9, 1979). "The Road Ahead in Theology – Revisited". The Christian Century. Chicago. p. 524. Retrieved March 10, 2019 – via Religion Online.
    33. ^ J. H. Cone 1999, pp. 130–137.
    34. ^ J. H. Cone 2018, p. 70.
    35. ^ D. S. Williams 1993, p. 269.
    36. ^ Singleton 2002, p. 92 (citing especially C. W. Cone 1975; D. S. Williams 1993; Roberts 1971; Jones 1998).
    37. ^ J. H. Cone 2018, p. 86.
    38. YouTube
      .
    39. ^ "Diversified religion: Barack Obama's former pastor's remarks spur consideration". Archived from the original on August 6, 2005. Retrieved July 4, 2009.
    40. S2CID 216512351
      .
    41. ^ Kurtz, Stanley (May 19, 2008). "'Context,' You Say? A Guide to the Radical Theology of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright". National Review. Archived from the original on March 23, 2009. Retrieved March 10, 2019 – via MyWire.
    42. ^ J. H. Cone 2018, pp. 117–124.

    Sources

    External links

    Wikiquote has quotations related to James H. Cone.
    Wikimedia Commons has media related to James H. Cone.
    Awards
    Preceded by
    Grawemeyer Award
    in Religion
    2018     		Succeeded by
    Robert P. Jones
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