Stone and Duke have in their book How to Think Theologically express their belief that all Christians are theologians. Anthony B. Robinson in What's Theology Got to Do with It?: Convictions, Vitality, and the Church seem so agree, so does James H. Evans Jr. in We Have Been Believers: An African American Systematic Theology . Several points of convergence and divergence will, however, arise within the works of Evans and Robison when the four perspectives of deliberative theology by Stone and Duke are applied. These perspectives are scripture, tradition, reason, and experience. These perspectives are among the foundations of deliberative theology and theological tools that Stone and Duke elaborate on in their book. Evans and Robison in their works hold the opinion that the modern church has lost focus on the first perspective; scripture. Evans considers the African American church to have focused more on tradition, reason, and experience at the expense of scripture. This has made scriptural theology abstract and alien to common practice in the church. Robison also considers the modern church to have gradually moved away from scripture-based theology and focused more on an elaborate form of Christian tradition. Therefore, Evans and Robison, through two different paths seek to exhort the church to go back to the foundation of scripture as the basis for theology and through this theology, create a foundation for both the faith and the church.
James H. Evans Jr. Background and Perspective
Dr. James Evans Jr. is a former president of the Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School where he still teaches Systematic theology. He is also an African American Baptist minister. This personal information is critical towards understanding who Evans is, as a Christian, a minister and a man since this is a major bearing factor towards his perspectives of looking at Christianity. His main focus in his book We Have Been Believers: An African American Systematic Theology reflects the aforementioned traits. The words systematic theology and Africa American are reflected in the title. Hence his concept of deliberative theology will be among other things informed by these prerequisites. The opinions made will be those of an older African American Baptist scholar. When he talks about theology, it must be understood from the perspective of systematic theology. This is an area of theology that engenders the systematic breaking down of the doctrines of the Christian faith. Among the important units therein include Christian dogma, Christian ethics, apologetics, and philosophy from a religious dimension.
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Anthony B. Robinson Background and Perspective
Anthony B. Robinson defines himself as a “Northwesterner” by birth and at heart. He is a white ordained minister with the United Church of Christ (UCC). The UCC has a Puritan background as it can be indirectly linked to the Puritan immigrants from Britain. Robison is a scholar, but his studies are not limited to theological studies only. According to his website, Robison holds a Master’s Degree in Cultural and Intellectual History from the University of Oregon. From the perspective of theology, he attained a Master of Divinity from New York's Union Seminary. Other than these, he possesses an over three-decade experience as an ordained minister with the UCC. For the purposes of comparison and contrast with Evans, it might also be important to state that Robison is white.
We Have Been Believers: An African American Systematic Theology
Overview of Basic Concepts As Compared with The Same Concepts by Robison
The instant book is not designed for the consumption of the simple mind as it might easily be considered as a work of heresy. Evans is so liberal about his approach to God, the Bible, revelation, and eschatology that his book would have earned him a good burning at the stake had it been done in the 17th century. However, Evans would perhaps just have equated the burning at the stake with the lynching during Jim Crow America. This is the approach that Evans takes in the entirety of the book. In every chapter, the Logos in the bible is combined with African American folklore to give theology a perspective that would be agreeable and acceptable to the African American Church. The Black Christian is in many ways as much a Christian as any other Christian. Evans, however, gives this Christian a further definition based on background. In the introduction part of the book, he speaks of the hardships that the Black American has had to endure for the slave ship to the plantation, and through the Jim Crow era. He argues that it was in the middle of this crisis that Christianity was introduced to the Black American, more often than not by the perpetrators of the persecutions. Therefore, these calamities and crisis became part of how the Black Christian viewed religion. From an analytical perspective, Evans can be said to be making an indirect reference to Stone and Duke’s concept of theology.
The slave looked at theology through the eyes of a slave and a persecuted black American thus developing into a Christian with a varied concept of the faith. This concept is deeply entrenched in the faith of the Black Christian and, therefore, the theology taught to them must take cognizance of the same. This is as opposed to Robison’s concept of the Christian which also informs his approach to theology. Robison is a mainstream white Baptist minister who takes on a majority look upon religion. With due respects to Rev. Robison, the majority tend to believe that they are the only ones. When a white American speaks about Americans, the chances are that the individual is referring to fellow white Americans. Similarly, Robison addresses the faith from a general perspective taking for granted the fact that the entire church is the same, except for the limited differences such as denomination.
The first chapter of the book regards revelation and defines the content of God’s revelation to be all about liberation. Evans argues that the bible stories that Black people read most relate to the freeing of the Canaanite slaves from Egypt and the death of Christ to free mankind from sin. Revelation is, therefore, taken from the perspective of slavery and liberation. It is this perspective that is then applied to the concept of Black Theology. Freedom means different things to different people. For an evangelist who is preaching to non-believers, freedom means freedom from sin while to a minister who visits the home of a sick congregant, freedom means freedom from sickness or even impending death. It is from the same perspective that Evans approaches the subject of revelation as most revelations in the Bible addresses the subject of eventual freedom. Evans, however, looks at the subject from the perspective of the black people who need freedom from oppression just as the sick need freedom from sickness. This is opposed to Robison who takes a different approach to revelations which he indicates to be the path for the church to have a better understanding of God. According to Robison, the church is already free but needs to have a closer and more intimate relationship with God which revelation can enable.
The second chapter titled the Bible closely relates to the first as it expounds scripture from a slavery perspective. The verses of the bible that are outlined, canvassed, and analyzed are those that bring out the dimension of Africans being taken into slavery, fighting for their liberty, and also fighting for equal rights. This also includes the analysis and perspective of Christian champions of the Black cause such as Dr. Martin Luther King. For Robison, however, the bible is the source of theology and a better understanding of God. This will enable the current church to transform into the ideal church that God intended. Evans seeks to have the spiritual applied to the practice through scripture while Robison wants the church to get more spiritual and align with scripture.
The third Chapter is about God himself, whom Evans defines as the ungiven God of the oppressed who is revealed in the bible. God has been defined by different people in different ways based on their circumstances. Indeed, God himself, when asked by Moses whom he was, replied that he was whom he was. Evans takes this perspective to define God as the God of the slave who has been carried away from Africa into a foreign land where he is tortured and killed with impunity. He relates to God as the God of the Blacks who faced lynching during the Jim Crow era and the God of the Blacks who would be shot at, beaten, and maimed as they marched in the 20th century. Robison may not have envisaged a God of Blacks, but he talks about a God who relates to all people. The personalized God can, therefore, be seen as being as much a God of the whites, Latinos, and Orientals as he is of the Blacks. On the concept of God, therefore, Evans and Robison have a passive consensus.
This brings the fourth chapter that is about Jesus Christ whom Evans defines as the zenith of God’s Self-Revelation. Jesus is also described as the mediator between the Black man and God and also the liberator. Jesus is not just a man, but also a black man who is able to identify with the plight of the black Christians and argue his cause with the God the father. This Black man and his uniqueness as a Christian are then described and analyzed at length in chapter five. Chapters four and five are limited to the black Christian and are so specific about blackness that they fall out of the church as canvassed by Robison who looks at the church, which is the body of Christ as a singular entity. Robison’s Christ is universal and doesn’t take sides.
Chapter six combines God, his word, and the black Christian to show how they relate. This brings out the concept of Black Theology. It presents a carefully woven combination of scripture and Black American tradition to create the building stones of the Black Faith. Finally, Evans arrives at a collision course with Robison. As Robison lays the foundation for his book, What's Theology Got to Do with It? Convictions, Vitality, and the Church, the subject of church relevance comes into focus. Robison argues that as the ministers sought to create a faith that was more relevant to the society, they increasingly left the path of faith and built a Christianity that was devoid of Christ. This analysis has an uncanny congruence with the church that Evans describes as having come from a combination of the black elements. Evans is seeking to justify this church, based on what the African Americans have been through but Robison might consider it as an excuse for moving away from the true faith. Robison would, therefore, call upon Evans to tone down on the folktales and focus more on the word of God.
Finally, chapter seven deals with the expected outcomes which among other things deal with the subject of Black eschatology. One of the primary essences of Christianity is what happens after death with the Great Apostle Paul at one time stating that without the resurrection, the faith is meaningless. Evans takes a lot of time canvassing this subject since the reward of the Christian faith is mainly premised on eschatology, the end of the world, life after death, and the coming of Christ. It is worthy of notice that in taking good time to canvass in eschatology as a subject, Evans is in agreement with Robison who also, in his book takes quite some time on eschatology. Their reasons for doing the same, are, however, different. Evans focuses on eschatology since therein lies a hope of better times for African Americans who have known adversity and a lot of bitterness in this world. The black man would better associate with a heavenly future filled with freedom than a land that flows with milk and honey. Robison focuses on eschatology in an attempt to enlighten the church that there is more to the faith than just life on earth. The church should not use the earth to water down the faith too much since there is much more to Christianity that lies beyond just this earth. Evans and Robison agree that Eschatology is important but not on why it is important.
Statement of the Problem
Dr. Evans
A careful perusal of the instant book by Dr. Evans brings to mind 2 Timothy 3:5-7. This scripture defines future and every popular church about which Saint Paul warns his interlocutor and spiritual son Timothy. This is a church that will have a form of godliness but will refuse the power vested in God. This church will, according to the scripture have a massive following but as per the Authorized Version: For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts. Dr. Evans does not exactly say that the modern Black Church as he calls it has become the church described by Paul. But if a reader listens then questions the worlds of Evans, it is easy to come to this conclusion. Evans argues that the black church has become more or less a cultural performance with its leadership being transformed into social and cultural leaders. They are no longer shepherd who are leading the flock but rather prefects who accompany the flock on their journey, provide some form of superintendence but not guidance. The church, together with its leadership has been gradually drifting away from the word and kingdom of God. The leadership seems focused on keeping the church together and growing in numbers. The leaders also ensure that the congregation grows in commitment to the specific denomination. This has been done at the expense of commitment to God, the word of God and the kingdom of God. The church is, therefore, more of a good thing, not a godly thing. Christianity has become a positive culture for the black community but never what God intended to be.
Rev. Robison
A careful reading of Robison’s book and analysis using deliberative theology bring to mind the Book of Prophet Isaiah 55:2. "Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And delight yourself in abundance. The modern church is extremely busy holding multiple services every week, seminars, schools and other church activity. What it is eating, however, is not the real bread that is the word of God but rather the concepts of men. These concepts of men have been developed through the understanding of the human personalities of the church leadership and followership. The modern church as we know it is built upon personalities. Many evangelical churches carry the names of the individuals who started. The congregation then aligns itself with the personality that is agreeable to them. This brings to the mind the early church where Peter and Paul seemed to have established two Christian sects; Christian gentiles felt more comfortable in Paul's sect while Jewish Christians felt comfortable in Peter's sect. Unfortunately, the modern church has focused so much on current affairs that it has completely forgotten about theology. It is thus no longer founded on the word of God and may not even reasonably be called the church. The modern church is, therefore, in Robison’s words extremely unhealthy and in desperate need of theology.
How the Problem Came About
Dr. Evans
According to the book, the problem as defined above came about because of a sharp divide between black church leaders and black theologians. The former has the congregations and acts as the keepers and owners of the congregation. The latter has the written word as studied and expanded into black theology. This divide has come about due to the suspicions that have come about between the two groups of black Christian leaders. It is clear to see that the issue of race features prominently herein. This, according to Evans is because black Christianity is exponentially different from any other form of Christianity. The hardships that were visited upon the African American during the horrors of the slave trade, the pain of slavery, the lynching of the Jim Crow era and the discrimination that came after resulted in a Christianity that has passion, feeling, and expressiveness. This is how the Black Church is. The theological scholar, however, stuck to the straight and narrow route of universal theology. The black theologian is, therefore, wary of the black minister who is running an extremely specialized church that seems to be tailor-made for the African American. Black theology became abstract while the black church became free of theology and eventually almost free of God.
Rev. Robison
Rev. Robison, a clergyman with decades of experience as indicated above points the finger for the instant problem squarely to himself and his colleagues the preacher. He indicates that along the way, the leadership lost focus on scripture and developed a form of Christianity that was not founded on God and his word. An analytical approach to studying the modern Christian minister as defined by Robison brings to mind 2 Timothy 4:3. The apostle Paul talks about a kind of Christian who would come later that would look for teachers who will tell them exactly what they want to hear. This defines the modern Christian. The modern minister did not want to become irrelevant and be left without a laity to teach. It, therefore, adjusted to the needs of the laity and fashioned the teaching based on what the congregation wanted to hear. With reference to the four perspectives of Stone and Duke which are scripture, tradition, reason, and experience, the church did not want to hear about scripture. This might be because scripture is quite rigid about who a Christian ought to be. Instead, they wanted relevance which could be found in traditions as they adjust from time to time, reason as it can be debated with, and experiences as they are practical. The shepherd, therefore, followed the sheep and they collectively lost the path.
Suggested Solution
Dr. Evans
With Dr. Evans placing blame on both parties, he also places the obligation to arrive at a solution on both parties. The Church leaders are admonished to understand that the Church is about God and not about them. If they seek to lead a church that does not have God in it, then they are moving away from the basic prerequisite of the church. The eventual organization that they will have conjured up cannot be considered as part of Christianity. For them to come up with a real church, they need to have a proper understanding of theology as premised on scripture. They, therefore, need to study theology then seek to apply it to the situation in the black church. This will result in a church that is both black but also founded on Christianity. The black theologian also has a major part to play. If this is looked at through the eyes of Stone and Duke, black theologians as they are referred to by Evans have the understanding of scripture, whether logos or rhema. They, however, lack the understanding of black tradition, reason, and experience. This means they cannot take a moral high ground and seek to dictate to the ministers about how the black church should be like. Instead, they should seek to develop a black theology. Once again, if Stone and Duke's perspective is applied to these words, the black theologians need to take the scripture, then apply to it black tradition, reason, and experience to come up with a perspective of theology that is relevant and agreeable to the Black Church.
Rev. Robison
A deliberative analysis of the solution offered by Rev. Robison shows that it relates to the words of the great Prophet Jeremiah in Chapter 6 and verse 16 of his book. He states: Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein. Robison argues that the church as it is now is unhealthy and lost. The solution is to turn back and find where it lost its path. It should then walk back to where this path was lost and seek to take the right path. According to Robison, the right path is the path of theology. The theology that Robison gives as the solution to the problem in the church is not the applied type but rather systematic theology. Through theological teachings, the church will move from what it is now, which Robison calls open-set and into what it ought to be which he calls bounded-set.
Conclusion
From an analytical perspective, Evans’ writing can be seemed to be passively based on the tenets taught by Stone and Duke regarding taking a practical approach to theology, which makes every Christian to be a theologian in their own right. It, however, also differs exponentially with the approach taken by Robison in his works. Robison accepts theology based almost purely on the written scripture except for the few dogmatic approaches based on his being both a Protestant and a Baptist. For the sake of the instant essay, therefore, it will be seen that both Evans and Robison have inculcated the teaching of Stone and Duke in their understanding of theology. However, Evans can be considered as liberal theologian while Robison is the conservative one. The definitions of God, the faith, scripture, revelation eschatology, and the Christ as by Evans differs exponentially from the definitions of Robison. Robison looks at this issues from a very general perspective based on scriptural study and theological theories. On the other hand, Evans applies ‘blackness' into all his analysis of everything being looked at With African American eyes. However, and most importantly, when the two very different perspectives are applied to the plight of the modern church, they seem to arrive at the same conclusion. This conclusion is that the modern church is hollow and stands in desperate need of theology.
