God of the Oppressed

by James H. Cone

SUFFERING IN THE BLACK RELIGIOUS TRADITION In contrast to the spectator approach of the Western theological tradition, the black religious perspective on suffering was created in the context of the human struggle against slavery and segregation. Whether we speak of the spirituals or the blues, the prayers and sermons of black preachers or the folkloric tales of Br'er Rabbit and High John the Conqueror, black reflections about suffering have not been removed from life but involved in life, that is, the struggle to affirm humanity despite the dehumanizing conditions of slavery and segregation. Therefore, to understand the dynamic movement of black thought in relation to black suffering as black people attempted to make sense out of black life, it is necessary to keep in mind the social and political existence from which black thinking emerged. Black religious thought represents the theological response of an African people to their situation of servitude in North America.