Social psychologist and pastor Anyabwile offers a challenging and provocative assessment of African American Christian theology from its beginnings to the present. Arguing that modern representations have digressed from their origins, he traces a weakening of doctrinal direction from one generation to the next---and concludes with an unflinching look at contemporary figures.
Thabiti M. Anyabwile is senior pastor at First Baptist Church of Grand Cayman in the Cayman Islands. He has a strong professional and educational background in community psychology, with special interest in the history and development of the African American church.
Average Rating: 3 out of 5 stars(3 out of 5 stars)
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3 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Anthony Coleman (Knightdale, NC), September 02, 2008
“The Decline of African American Theology” the author Thabiti Anyabwile has taken on is a challenging and difficult subject to be able to make a such broad stroke on any one culture or group of people to conclude that there is a decline in its theology. This is why I purchased the book because it peaked my interest to see if the author could do a responsible job in proving his thesis in this book. While I must commend the author for the research on the history of the African American theology, I believe that this is were the book falls short of supporting the title of the book. The people in whom he chooses to prove his point is limited to a small number of people and thought on the theology of African Americans. I believe this is the danger in our society when we take only a small segment of history, people and thought to speak for the whole of a people or a nation.
Truly, it has been my experience in the African American church that the theology that I have been taught was biblical and doctrinally sound. Bishop TD Jakes, Creflo Dollar, or James Cone does not speak for every African American Christian and the rich biblically sound experience that makes up the African American Christian experience.
Therefore, I believe the author falls short of extending the thought that the African American churches has experienced any greater decline in its theology than the overall view of Christianity in the 21 century has experienced a decline in theology. When we make such a scathing report, it does not help the plight of every Christian to stay true to the biblical theology of Christianity, this work helps continue some of the negative stereotypes of the world to a specific segment of people.
Although, I might not agree with the author and his conclusion on this subject I believe that the material and research was well done.
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