James H. Cone's 'God of the Oppressed': An Exploration of Liberation Theology

Yolanda Canty: Great resource for my class regarding ministry.

United States on Jul 12, 2023

Jay: Dr. Cones taught me that black theology is as relevant as any others. I was unaware of the generational effects that European influence had on the topic.

God of the oppressed is distinctive in displaying the God of the Bible as the One who is not the god of Theologians amd the powerful, but the of all, starting with the oppressed.

United States on May 06, 2023

Don S.: James Cone's book was an eye opener - stretched by theological worldview about black theology

Canada on Jan 27, 2021

Dee: This book needs no introduction. Every one should read this book especially in the social climate that we have found ourselves in the last few years.

Canada on Jan 14, 2021

Tyler Halstead: Cone is brilliant. I agree with much of what he says, not all, yet regardless of whether someone agrees with his perspective, this book is worth reading. He develops ideas well, draws on the context of the Black church impressively, and offers an eloquent and insightful critique of the dominant White theology offered in most of Christian America.
Unfortunately, whoever published this into kindle format did an atrocious job. Countless typos, usually several on every page, varying font sizes, no consistency in the formatting, and at points appears to be missing content altogether. I almost gave up on this book at multiple points, simply for the difficulty in reading it with all the formatting problems. I really hope they are able to fix these issues and offer an updated and corrected version for those of us who have already purchased it. Until then, I would say if you're considering this to decide if the worthwhile content is worth putting up with all the annoying formatting issues and typos with it. Or just go buy the paperback version of this book.

United States on May 16, 2019

SJ Cowan: Cone's first two books, 'Black Theology and Black Power' (1969) and 'A Black Theology of Liberation' (1970), outline the philosophical necessity and practical framework of the Black Theology's doctrine. In his third strictly theological work, 'God of the Oppressed', he constructs a systematic theology using African-American religion and tradition as its basis; in it, his aim is two-fold: to respond to the dismissal of Black Theology by white theologians, and to explain the rationale of viewing God as the Liberator despite the centuries of oppression in the US. His thesis is that one's social and historical contexts determine the questions and answers that one can ask and receive from God. To illustrate this social conditioning, he contrasts the way white and black theologies have typically imagined God.

Here is a very very brief summary of the book:
Cone's first agenda is to address the problem of universality and particularity in Christian theology. He begins by stressing that theology is always contextual and intrinsically related to human experience, and argues that Christian theology must always prophetically address the socio-political conditions and involve...

United States on Aug 25, 2013

Kindle Customer: James Cone develops a perspective on Black Theology in God of the Oppressed, by looking directly through the lens of Liberation Theology. He formulates an argument against the oppression of the poor by virtue of "divine love or divine power," which is heavily influenced by the Bible. The question of God's presence in the face of racism, oppression, depravity of social and economic power and the perpetual suffering experienced by many blacks throughout the Diaspora is raised. If the Christian God is truly the one who liberated Israel from the Egyptians, if this is the same Jesus who had compassion for the poor and the marginalized in the world, then we need to know why God does not act to eliminate the suffering, especially amongst black people. Some might be willing to deny God's benevolence and God's sovereignty, but Cone declares that to do this would deny an essential element of black faith. "It is a violation of black faith to weaken either divine love or divine power;" therefore, there must be an alternative. This is consistent with a view of God as the Creator who loves and cares for that which God created.

The bible is of primary importance to James Cone's...

United States on Mar 16, 2007