Get Ready to Be Rejected!

Rejection is natural to human Life and Experience.

1. Got rejected to the PhD program at Princeton University, Northwestern University, and University of Chicago; interestingly, I persevered and went on to earn three Masters degrees and two PhDs.
2. After I earned my PhD at #UT Dallas, during my first year as a PhD holder, I applied to over 50 academic positions, including both assistant professorships and postdoctoral fellowships; I didn’t get any of those positions. The good people at #IRSC – Indian River State College believed in me and gave me a job. Currently, I’m an Associate Professor there.
3. My first book proposal got rejected by at least five publishers before it found a home; second book proposal by at least three publishers before it was published; and third book proposal by at least four presses before it came out. Since then, I have published eight academic books in some good presses.
4. My first academic essay on the role of religion in the Haitian Revolution was rejected by my favorite academic Journal; a second essay on the religious philosophy of Price-Mars was first rejected by another favorite academic Journal; another essay on Jean-Bertrand Aristide was rejected by two journals. Since I’ve gotten my PhD, I’ve published more than a three-dozen peer-reviewed articles.
5. I’ve been rejected numerous times by people I call friends and those whom I truly loved, and even by pretty girls I really liked in High School and College; finally, one whom I really loved dumped me, hurt me badly, and left me behind for another boy 🙂

***The point of this post is not to lose heart and be discouraged after a rejection or many rejections, but to learn from them and improve yourself. A rejection is not a failure, nor does it say anything about your worth or that you are incapable of performing the task. Sometimes, rejections are good for your mental stability, psychological and emotional growth, and ultimately your success and welfare in this journey we call life.

Breaking News, Folks!!!

Finally, the good people at Fortress Academic sent me the proofs for my forthcoming book on Haiti’s first democratically-elected president and liberation theologian Jean-Bertrand Aristide. The book is entitled “Aristide: A Theological and Political Introduction” (Fortress Academic, 2023). The book is pp. 346 + index.

The proofs and the index are due to the publisher in two weeks. I am so thrilled about the publication of this important work.

Can’t wait to see the book cover 🙂

“The First Human Group and the First Theology about God”

The first human group in human history is the first recipient of divine revelation, and it is to these human beings, not any religious system, God first revealed himself as Loving-Creator & Sustainer of the world. In other words, this first human group articulated the first theology about God. What we know about God (the knowledge of God) has its source in the theology of the first people of the world. We must also remember that the first people of the world were not Jews (Judaism), Christians (Christianity), nor Muslims (Islam). This is the first question about God Christian theology must respond to in the twenty-first millennium in order to get a proper understanding of God’s movements in the world and active engagements with his human creation.

The first theology about God by the first human group was a revealed theology that created a community of human proximity and a people whose vision of God did not embrace the logic of colonialism and human exploitation. The first (revealed) theology about God is (was) the theology of divine love and divine proximity because God’s first revelation to the first human beings was “love” and “presence.” God is love and loves human beings. God is present and near his creation.