A Word from Bob: You’re reading Part 3 of a blog mini-series on One America; Two Experiences. I’ve taken my thoughts from chapter 10 of my book Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction. You can read Part 1 here: Racial Reconciliation: Understanding 2 Vastly Different Views of America. Read Part 2 here: The God of the Promised Land.
Who We Are in Christ
To move beyond the suffering, believing slaves began with the biblical narrative of who God is. As vital as this was, it could have remained impersonal. As we’ve seen, it certainly did not. Why? What was the “secret” to the African American ability to relate who God is to their lives?
They clung to biblical narratives of who they were in relationship to God and His drama of deliverance.
Christian slaves used scriptural imagery to counteract the shaming imagery of enslavement.
It is as if they said:
“We may be slaves of men, but so were God’s chosen people. In fact, God’s people have always been enslaved by God’s enemies and God has always had compassion on His enslaved people.”
Joining God’s Larger Story: Transmitting Our Faith Stories
Having
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