Black Suffering Issues - Term Paper Example

?Black Suffering “We cannot speak of the death of Jesus until we speak of the real death of people” Gustavo Gutierrez Brief Overview The concept of evil and suffering has been probed several times by religious scholars and researchers over the years. However, the issue of suffering among blacks have been largely ignored / avoided for a long period of time, thus completely disregarding the concept. The emergence of black theology, and the simultaneous changes in the political liberation of the blacks, however, paved way for much deeper probing into the theological significance of a range of issues such as the liberation motif, justice, evil and suffering among blacks. The idea of a "suffering God" was put forward by some black theologians who coined the term by re-reading the Bible and comparing it against the backdrop of the hardships, oppression and struggles faced by them (Badham, 1998). In order to interpret the biblical significance of 'liberation' and justice; the black theologians referred to the exodus, and the messages of the prophets. The Gospel story of life, death and resurrection of Jesus was used as a biblical foundation to interpret love, suffering, hope, liberation and justice with regard to the struggle for freedom of the blacks. However, it was the actual suffering of the blacks in various countries across the globe that brought to the fore, a drastic change in the interpretations and reflections of Jesus Christ on the cross (West, Glaude, 2003). The issue of black suffering and black theology The African-American Christians have, historically maintained two fundamental tenets – that of God being the most powerful and kind being, and the existence of evil and suffering. These concepts have been popular throughout the history of black religion, i.e. ever since the beginning of black slavery to the creation of black churches, and continues to thrive, even today in the post-liberation, and post-institutionalized world. The black theology is which developed as a result of the civil rights movement, led to the awakening of a new consciousness among the black Christians, whereby a new sense of dignity and social awareness were realized. It is not only concerned with resolving issues related to culture, but also with the harsh realities experienced by the Blacks in America. However, despite the differences, it does not intend to question the idea of God, but instead connect the ideology conveyed by him, that of the existence of evil and suffering (West, Glaude, 2003). The black theologians primarily emphasize the experiences of blacks as a central aspect of their theological norms. It is argued that the theological interpretations must commence with issues faced by the blacks and thus, ascertain the relevance of such issues to the religious teachings. Conventionally, there exists a paradox within black theology, where the black believers never blame the God for the sufferings and hardships suffered by the blacks during their racial oppression. On the contrary, the black churches have always preached a gospel justifying and re-emphasizing the sufferings of the black race and its contribution in building a morally strong and positive character. Also, the black suffering has been linked to various positive traits among the blacks such as the development of a strong moral leadership among blacks; as well as the fostering of religious humility which is the ultimate goal (West, Glaude, 2003). As mentioned in God of the Oppressed: “The cross of Jesus reveals the extent of God's involvement in the suffering of the weak. God is not merely sympathetic with the social pain of the poor but becomes totally identified with them in their agony and pain. The pain of the oppressed is God's pain, for God takes their suffering as God's own, thereby freeing them from its ultimate control of their lives. . . . God in Christ became the Suffering Servant and thus took the humiliation and suffering of the oppressed into God's own history. This divine event that happened on the cross liberated the oppressed to fight against suffering while not being determined by it” (in Cone, 1975, Pp. 175). Jesus is primarily viewed as the ultimate example of suffering and oppression, and the same is linked with the suffering and oppression of the blacks, thus giving a message of social liberation. The faith in Christianity among the blacks is identified with the pain and suffering endured by Jesus, and comparing it with the appalling atrocities endured by the blacks. The theological interpretations of black Christians thus are deeply and firmly embedded with the suffering of Christ, as depicted by his crucifixion. The ultimate suffering of Christ on the cross is highly compared to the sufferings endured by the blacks. However, the message is used to convey hope of a new life, and that of humanity and compassion for all of human kind. Although this concept of suffering and pain among black Christians has been refuted by several scholars, and thus rejecting the reality of God’s existence in the process. According to Pinn (1999) there is no similarity between the Christian doctrine of suffering and the suffering of the blacks, and argued that it is in fact a fundamental fallacy. He further states that the suffering of blacks can never be regarded as fruitful or redemptive for blacks, as propagated in Christianity. This is because according to him, the concept of redemptive suffering is associated with quietism in humanity, which implies that God endorses suffering and pain in human beings, alleviate the acts of the oppressors, and basically fails to raise issues related to accountability of their wrong doings. He further argues that the concept of suffering in itself is highly demonic in nature. He thus proposed to dismiss the concept of suffering among blacks, and proposes a new black theology, which supports and endorses liberation, a strong moral humanism, thus expressing the existence of God. He states that suffering of any kind is harmful to humanity and any God who endorses such an aspect is a harmful deity (Pinn, 1999). Black theologists argue and insist that the biblical depiction of God as one who supports and stands by the oppressed and the poor, further reinforces the belief that God supports the oppressed, and hence he supports blacks. Some also argue that the concept of God as interpreted from the bible, applies to blacks alone, as large part of the preaching focus on the hardships and sufferings of the poor and oppressed people, and reinforces the belief that God supports those who are poor. The blacks being the most oppressed and poverty ridden community throughout most of American history, itself serves as a proof of God’s support to and compassion for the blacks (Sindima, 2008). Most of the black theologists believe and state that it is only for and of the blacks and thus is highly ethnocentric in nature. However, yet others refute such a belief on the grounds that blackness is merely a skin color, while the experiences - that of oppression and suffering are more of a symbol of what Jesus stood for. Thus many argue that in terms of suffering and oppression, Jesus is more ‘black’ and a slave, a concept which once again reinstates the fact that God is of and with the oppressed. The fact that Jesus was tortured, abused, humiliated and crucified, exemplifies the sufferings of the blacks thus, reinforcing the belief that God is synonymous with evil and suffering (Levison & Levison, 1992). Virtually all of the religious preaching in Christianity were re-stated and based primarily around the issue of evil and suffering of the blacks, in black theology. The biblical preaching were not viewed independently, devoid of any human suffering but was rather compared and associated with the pain, oppression and suffering of the blacks. Hence, the depiction and image of God in black theology is highly symbolic of the same, which highlight the struggle of blacks and their liberation. References: Badham, R. A., (1998). Introduction to Christian theology: Contemporary North American perspectives, Westminster John Knox Press, Pp. 206-207 Cone, J. H., (1975). God of the Oppressed, Seabury Press, Pp. 175 Levison, P. P., Levison, J. R., (1992). Jesus in global contexts, Westminster John Knox Press, Pp. 115-116 Pinn, A. B., (1999). Why Lord?: Suffering and evil in black theology, Continnuum International Publishing. Pp. 80-82 Sindima, H. J., (2008). The gospel according to the marginalized, Peter-Lang Press, Pp. 159-160 West, C., Glaude, E. S., (2003). African American religious thought: An anthology, Westminster John Knox Press, Pp. 852-854 Read More