The Desecration of Black Life and The Silence of American Evangelicals

Dr. Celucien Joseph American Christianity, American Evangelicalism, Uncategorized , , ,

The Desecration of Black Life and The Silence of American Evangelicals

(*As an Evangelical Christian and thinker, my target audience is American Evangelical Christians and Leaders. I must admit I do not subscribe to some of the ideological apparatuses associated with American Evangelicalism–particularly in reference to Evangelical views on social and political issues: immigration, race, war, public policy, foreign policy, economy, etc. I find some of these views unbiblical, and theologically dangerous and unhealthy to the Christian witness in the public sphere, missional evangelism, the Lordship of Christ, and to human flourishing and the common good.)

As a Christian minister, scholar, and theologian, writing about the humanity and dignity of black people in the era of violence and death towards black folk in America is an uneasy task to do.

I keep asking myself these puzzling questions: why the American evangelicals are silent about this vital issue? Why have the influential Evangelical leaders kept their mouth shut about defending the dignity and humanity of black people?

I do not believe their silence is an indication of their disbelief about the equality of all people or races; rather, their coldness about death and violence toward black people in America is a blunt denial of the biblical worldview about the sanctity of life and the doctrine of humanity grounded in the doctrine of God. American Evangelicals suffer a terrific existential crisis of biblical authority and faithfulness to the Word of God. Because of its silence, the disaster of American Evangelicalism lies in the fact that it (indirectly) supports the dehumanization of black people. In Jeremiah 22:3, God has ordered his people not to be silent regarding the plight and dehumanization of the oppressed, but to be socially engaged in the transformation of their culture and the practice of justice:  “Thus says the Lord: Do justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor him who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place.”

Evangelical theological reflection about the presence of evil in our midst is more than an intellectual discourse. It should accompany radical social activism sourced in a revolutionary theology of love, justice, and peace, and a biblical ethics of relationality and social transformation. After all, the Christian is called to resist evil in the world and practice justice. American evangelicalism has failed black people and black Christians in America because of its weak theological ethics and inadequate theology of humanity and theology of God. The predicament and inhumanity of the Evangelical world lies in the fact that somewhere it has (indirectly) killed a man–that is a black person, a black christian.

I suppose we black Evangelical Christians and thinkers should force our White Evangelical Christians and thinkers to ask honestly: what is the relevance of American Evangelicalism  and its missionary message to Black America and to the non-believer? or to put it another way, what is value of the Evangelical affirmation of the authority of Scripture in matters of life (practice) and faith (theology)? American Evangelicalism has constructed a conservative moral worldview, seemingly informed by divine revelation and scriptural authority and fidelity, is not “thick” enough to embrace and defend all lives and particularly, the dignity and humanity of black folk in America. The decline of American Evangelical ethics and moral theology in the public sphere is also premised in American evangelical tribalism and moral partiality.

I’m afraid that American Evangelicals are losing/have already lost the cultural and political war–the concern of their relevancy in the tragic time of despair, fear, alienation, and black death. Sometimes, I just wish my evangelical brothers and sisters would join the chorus to denounce these social sins, fight for the weak, and defend all lives.Modern American Evangelicalism must confront the meaning of black existence, and that black being as human nature is originated in the Imago Dei and shaped in divine likeness.

The people of God is called by God to be an active community in opposition to human oppression and suffering, social injustice, violence, and war, and an active force against  hate, anti-human love, and anti-human rights. May Christ radically reorient our thinking and make us more sensitive to the lived-experiences and lived-worlds of our black brothers and sisters in America–to the glorious praise of the Triune and Eternal God!

 

Rhetoric of Suffering, Hope, and Redemption

Dr. Celucien Joseph Uncategorized , , , ,

People actually read what I write. Interesting!

Well, it is good to know that my article “The Rhetoric of Suffering, Hope, and Redemption in Masters of the Dew: A Rhetorical and Politico-Theological Analysis of Manuel as Peasant-messiah and Redeemer Theology Today (October 2013) 70: 323-350, is listed among the most read-articles in the prestigious journal, Theology Today.

Ranking: 2015 SJR (SCImago Journal Rank) Score: 0.113 | 180/381 Religious Studies (Scopus®) | Indexed in 2015 Arts and Humanities Citation Index

http://ttj.sagepub.com/reports/most-read

*This same article is available on my academia page for free of charge as a PDF document.

 

Finding God in the Wasteland: God is the God of life and the God of hope:

Dr. Celucien Joseph Uncategorized , , , ,
Finding God in the Wasteland: God is the God of life and the God of hope
“Thus would God have us walk through the valley of death and find ourselves, our voyage at an end, at the sunlit crossroads of life; so would God have us travel nightmarish highways of rain and gloom and murder only to pull into a carefree village at sunrise in our exhausted car with its four flat tires; so would God have us fight for life in battlefields of blood and entrails, and harvest life from fields of bone and ashes. There in the wasteland where you had not thought to find life, you will suddenly find the signs of God’s renewal, blooming and flowering and bursting forth from the dry earth with great energy, God’s energy. In the driest month, you will find on the branches’ tips new shoots of life. Under the rock in the desert will sprout a flower, a delicate bud of the new life.”–Jean-Bertrand Aristide, “In The Parish of the Poor,” p. 64.
* I make a sharp distinction between what I phrase the three existential Aristides–one single person who embodies a divided and troubling soul–who perform as a politician, literary genius or a rhetorician, and Aristide the theologian. I’m more interested in the “Theological Aristide” and the “Literary Aristide” for the sake of the current research’s emphasis I’m conducting on Jean-Bertrand Aristide the Theologian-President. I suppose there are/will be possible consequences –such as scholarly misapprehension and intellectual misjudgment-about my preferential option for the two Aristides, which may betray my scholarship as an intellectual historian, and a confessional christian theologian.
On the other hand, it does not mean I have overlooked/will overlook the shortcomings of Aristide the politician and the pitfalls of Aristide the theologian who has fallen from grace. While the practical life of a theologian may sometimes betray his theology, his theology should never be divorced  from his personal life. This is exactly the problem with American evangelicalism today: the betrayal of a transformed christian life, which could be construed as the very predicament of doing genuine theological praxis and relational theology in both spheres: public and private.
To get a good understanding of my ideological choice, I direct your attention to an essay I published on Aristide two years ago: “Toward a Politico-Theology of Relationality: Justice as Solidarity and the Poor in Aristide’s Theological Imagination,” Toronto School of Theology 30: 2 (December 2014): 269-300.

The American Flag is Not Christian, and Christianity is not America, but It is okay to celebrate the Flag!

Dr. Celucien Joseph American Nationalism, Christian Nationalism, Uncategorized , , ,

The American Flag is Not Christian, and Christianity is not America, but It is okay to celebrate the Flag!

To my Christian brothers and sisters: Do not undermine the patriotic zeal of those of us Americans who celebrate July 4th, America’s independence from imperial Britain. Do not say on this day true liberty and independence is from Christ. We know that already, and believe Jesus Christ provides everlasting freedom and joy for the soul! There is nothing more precious to live in Christ, for Christ, and with Christ. Nonetheless, there is always a context for everything. Spiritual freedom is not physical freedom. Physical freedom or mental freedom is certainly not spiritual freedom. Give to God what is God’s; give to Caesar what is Caesar’s!

Those of us whose countries have been colonized, neo-colonized, demonized, and dehumanized by both colonial and imperial forces know the real meaning of freedom and the reason to celebrate freedom and independence. Those of us whose ancestors have been enslaved also understand what it means to be free and have a voice today!

What we need to make clear is not to confuse (or mix up) the American flag with the cross of Christ. They are not the same. American nationality is not a substitute for Christian identity.The American Flag is not Christian, and Christianity is not America! Yet, it is okay to celebrate the flag and honor those who have given their lives in sacrifice for the sake of freedom and the common good.

Happy Independence Day!

Flag

My Commitment to Biblical Faithfulness and Care for the People of God

Dr. Celucien Joseph Biblical Theology, God, The poor, Uncategorized ,
Progressively, I’m seeing myself rekindling my formative interest for biblical studies and Christian theology, my first academic love. Nonetheless, I can not do theology nor biblical studies the way I was taught and trained in seminary. ( I must acknowledge that I received a good liberal arts education, and a good theological and biblically-centered education at The Baptist College of Florida [B.A. Theology], The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary [Advanced Masters of Divinity in Biblical and Theological Studies], and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary [Th.M. New Testament]). Such theological discourse partially undermines the social concerns, the lived-worlds and the lived-experiences of the poor, the marginalized, and the oppressed communities. As a Christian minister, my commitment to biblical faithfulness, my understanding of the God of the Bible, and my deep concerns for the holistic welfare of the underrepresented families, the poor, and the disfranchised communities and their dignity have shaped both my theological method and biblical exegesis.
Theology should be used as a tool to radically transform culture, lead to social change, and the radical regeneration of the individual and the collective self. Theology should also be at the service of the marginalized groups and the masses; it should also empower the poor and marginalized communities to find their hope in God their Savior and Liberator.
True theology always leads to both doxology (the worship of the triune God) and praxis.
Christian ministry rooted in authentic biblical theology is about serving, loving, and caring for people.

Dr.Joseph and social outreach in Port-Margot, Haiti (December 2015)

 

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Dr. Joseph praying during prayer walk and door- to- door evangelism: Port-Margot, Haiti Mission Trip (March 2016)

On the value of Black African view of man….

Dr. Celucien Joseph African Religion, Human solidarity, Humanism, Uncategorized , , ,
(An excerpt from my working chapter on Africana doctrine of humanity and Africana theological anthropology. This is a draft.)
 
On the value of Black African view of man….
 
It is assumed that traditional African perspective on man (humanity) stresses the value of community rather the individual, as it is commonly practiced in Western societies. Traditional African doctrine of humanity is more promising, dignifying, and liberating. The role and destiny of the individual is essentially determined within the framework of the community or kingship, and the individual’s active participation in the life of the community. That does not mean that the African people do not see any merit in the individual, nor do they undermine the worth and implications of individual choices or preferences; however, it does mean that the African people prioritize communal choices over individual preferences. The individual exists as a corporate entity.
 
The notion of “social man” or “corporate individual” (even “collective solidarity”) affirms that the individual knows his or her functions in and responsibilities to the community. It is only in this manner can he or she be deemed a genuine being in the African stance of corporate humanity. While one is born human (humanness), one has to become (evolutionary theory) a person (personhood) in the context of communal life and communal engagement. Being a human is a biological category; being a person is not. The person is the product of the community. Hence, African anthropology–both from a social and philosophical perspective— promotes the notion of radical dependence and radical interdependence since human beings are radically interdependent and dependent.
 
It is also assumed that traditional African philosophical ethics and humanism ought to be praised, as compared to those of the Western ethico-philosophical traditions. For example, in the African worldview and cosmology, all principles of morality and ethics are to be sought within the context of preserving human life and its power or force (See Laurenti Magesa, African Religion).
 
Traditional African view of man and moral philosophy promote an ethics of relationality and interpenetration, and make a clarion call upon us to the imperative and practice of sociability, bonding, and collective solidarity in the modern world.
 
 
 
 

Soyinka on Religion

Dr. Celucien Joseph Uncategorized , ,

I’m pleased to announce my newly-published article on Wole Soyinka

“‘Shipwreck of Faith: The Religious Vision and Ideas of Wole Soyinka” (Toronto School of Theology, 2016)

Abstract

“This article investigates the religious vision and ideas of Wole Soyinka in selected non-fiction writings. While African spirituality is deployed as a literary trope in Soyinka’s creative works and dramatic masterpieces such as Death and the King’s Horseman and A Dance of the Forests, scholars have given scarce attention to his engagement with religion in his non-fiction productions. To highlight that engagement, first, this article proposes the notions of radical skepticism and religious inclusivism as symbolic markers to describe Soyinka’s perspective on religion and his shipwreck of faith. His witness of religious violence and fanaticism in his home country of Nigeria and the host countries outside of his native land had shaped his religious experience and altered his religious vision. To call Wole Soyinka a radical agnostic and religious inclusivist in the humanist tradition is to confront the uneasiness and ambivalence of religion that had marked both his adolescent and adult life. Second, it argues that Soyinka’s abandonment of his Anglican faith, the “imported religion” of his childhood and Nigerian parents, was a consequence of his re-evaluation of the merits and liberalism of his ancestral faith: the Yoruba religious tradition and spirituality. Third, it contends that Soyinka rejected the Christian faith because of a theological crisis he encountered both as a teenager in Ake (his hometown) and as a student at the University College in Ibadan. The article resituates Soyinka’s religious sensibility not in the tradition of the Abrahamic religions but within the religious world view and cultural framework of African indigenous faiths and spirituality. Finally, it presents Wole Soyinka as a religious critic and radical theistic humanist.”

 

Keywords:Yoruba religion, religious fanaticism, religious inclusivism, African humanism, African spirituality

http://www.utpjournals.press/doi/10.3138/tjt.3845

 

 

 

 

Let’s Talk about Port-au-Prince’s Gun Culture Problem!

Dr. Celucien Joseph Gun Culture, Uncategorized, Violence ,

Port-au-Prince (Note: I said Port-au-Prince not Haiti) has a serious gun culture problem similar to the gun crisis in Southside of Chicago, Los Angeles, Louisiana, Philadelphia, Miami, New York City, Memphis, Oakland, Detroit, New Orleans, Baltimore, etc.However, this culture of violence in Haiti’s capital city is linked to the country’s high level of unemployment, the country’s backward political process, and the disregard for law and order. The gangstarization of the country’s Police forces just like in the United States also contributes to this predicament.

Interestingly, many gangsta politicians and the gangsta bourgeois-elite minority in the country make a grand economic profit out of the non-regulating gun ownership and the kidnapping activity in the capital city. What makes it worst is that many Haitian public intellectuals and cultural critics remain silent about this pivotal issue. An Ayiti tout moun se chef!

If we are serious about radically transforming our civil and political societies, we need to be engaging in critical self-reflection and bring to surface (in meaningful conversations) our internal forces and Haitian-made woes that are destroying us and deferring future emanticipating possibilities.

3 cautionary statements for and about PhD holders:

Dr. Celucien Joseph Academia, PhD, Uncategorized , , , , ,

3 cautionary statements about PhD holders:

1. A PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) in any academic discipline does not make one a scholar.

2. A PhD does not give one authority to write on a non-specialized field or non-specialized discipline of study or even for any individual (the PhD holder) to pretend that he/she is a specialist and an expert in every academic field of learning.

3. A PhD does not make one a thinker or wiser.

* Knowledge is not equivalent to wisdom.
* Knowledge without wisdom is meaningless.
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* The Doctorate degree should not make anyone arrogant or aloof; rather, it should humble you and make you want to know more and compel you to use your skills and credentials for the best interest of others…toward the common good.

 

What is Africa to Me? When Chinua Achebe is Wrong!

Dr. Celucien Joseph African Literature, African Religion, African Traditional Religion, Uncategorized , , , , , ,

What is Africa to Me? When Chinua Achebe is Wrong!

In my current research for a book chapter, I’m investigating Chinua Achebe’s interpretation of African traditional humanism and African traditional religion (s). In reading his important work,  “The Education of a British-Protected Child,” Achebe articulates an  important statement about African pre-colonial past and achievement, and Black Existence and Dignity:

“I do not see that it is necessary for any people to prove to another that they build cathedrals or pyramids before they can be entitled to peace and safety. Flowing from that, it is not necessary for black people to invent a great fictitious pas in order to justify their human existence and dignity today. What they must do is recover what belongs to them–their story– and tell it themselves.”–Chinua Achebe, “The Education of a British-Protected Child”

Africad

Generally, I agree with the general intent of Chinua’s powerful statement above. Accordingly, I do not have to tell a racist that my ancestors had built great civilizations in precolonial Africa to prove my humanity as a black person. To put this simply, “I created therefore I am.” Chinua would reject this premise in the Cartesian logic.

Hence, we must separate black personhood and black achievement. They belong to two different categories or spheres. In the same line of thought, black dignity should not be dependent on racial achievement or heritage. In other words, Black lives matter regardless of the education, social standing, and wealth of black people. Black personhood is linked categorically and naturally to black existence, and that black dignity is premised on black existence. Black existence Is!

On the other hand, Chinua’s declaration has compelled me to reconsider a few more things. There are many problems with his articulated position. First, what if the process of recovering what rightfully belongs to them (the African people or the black Diaspora) involves the telling of their historical (pre-colonial) past–Isn’t that a belonging?–and the defense or vindication of their past achievements. Secondly, what if the process of recovering what rightfully belongs to them also entails their claim of entitlement of their historical accomplishments in global history?

Telling the collective story of a people could be construed as an attempt to teach and reteach others about what has been forgotten or intentionally ignored by others–such as the contributions of the people in question to universal civilizations and modernity.

For example, why should any black person be ashamed to affirm that W.E. B. Du Bois was the first African American of Haitian descent to receive a PhD from Harvard University? And the same Du Bois is a founding father of modern sociology? If our past is great and awesome, why not celebrating and making it known to the world?