Prophetic Rage

by Johnny Bernard Hill

Overview

In this book Johnny Bernard Hill argues that prophetic rage, or righteous anger, is a necessary response to our present culture of imperialism and nihilism. The most powerful way to resist meaninglessness, he says, is refusing to accept the realities of structural injustice, such as poverty, escalating militarism, genocide, and housing discrimination.

Hill’s Prophetic Rage is interdisciplinary, integrating art, music, and literature with theology. It is constructive, passionate, and provocative. Hill weaves through a myriad of creative and prophetic voices of protest -- from Jesus to W. E. B. DuBois, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and President Barack Obama -- as well as multiple approaches, including liberation theology and black religion, to reflect theologically on the nature of liberation, justice, and hope on contemporary culture.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781467439008
Publisher:	Eerdmans, William B. Publishing Company
Publication date:	12/19/2013
Series:	Prophetic Christianity (PC)
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	192
File size:	511 KB

About the Author

Johnny Bernard Hill is associate professor of philosophy and religion at Claflin University, Orangeburg, South Carolina. A dynamic voice for justice, reconciliation, and human rights in America, he is also the author of The First Black President: Barack Obama, Race, Politics, and the American Dream.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction 1

1 Black Religion and Nihilism 17

2 Empire and Black Suffering 42

3 Resistance, Rage, and Revolution 69

4 Profits versus Prophets 82

5 Dark Waters 114

6 No Ways Tired 134

7 Building the World House 150

Bibliography 166

Index 170

Editorial Reviews

10/07/2013
The title of this ambitious text from Hill (The First Black President), an associate professor of philosophy and religion at Claflin University, suggests that the book might contextualize current trends in social justice and theology. Instead, it capitalizes on the 50th anniversary of the watershed March on Washington and the re-election of President Barack Obama as opportunity for reflection on how theologians and Christians consider—or fail to consider—notions of empire and nihilism. Hill grew up in the South on the edge of a plantation, which suggests that his working-class roots might be fueling his rage, but the anger to which the title alludes is not made clear. Prophetic rage as Hill defines it has to do with “right remembering” of a brutal past and how its legacy continues in the present. Hill repeats parts of his personal story in almost preacherlike fashion throughout the book. He also offers brief calls to action to help the black community and others who are marginalized. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

Religious Studies Review
"Succeeds in emphasizing the need to rethink African American theologies of liberation in light of the reality of empire."

Cornel West
— Union Theological Seminary
"This book is a powerful and prophetic expression of the new generation of freedom fighters. . . . Don't miss it!"

Stephen G. Ray Jr.
— Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary
"Prophetic Rage is, quite simply, THE book in black theology for which many of us have been waiting. In this eminently readable work Johnny Hill accomplishes what so many have given a nod to but not substantively dealt with in the field of theology — constructing a theology that not only takes seriously the suffering of black people but uses the creativity of their own tradition to do so."

Peter J. Paris— Princeton Theological Seminary
"Lays the foundation for a postcolonial liberation theology and prophetic rage against such continuing forms of injustice as racism, poverty, militarism, violence, nihilism, materialism, imperialism, mass incarceration, and more. Seminarians, clergy, and laypersons concerned about justice will find this book to be a most useful guide for their social thought and action."

Publishers Weekly
"This ambitious text from Hill . . . capitalizes on the 50th anniversary of the watershed March on Washington and the reelection of president Barack Obama as opportunity for reflection on how theologians and Christians consider — or fail to consider — notions of empire and nihilism."

Theology Today
"A self-identified black theologian of liberation, Hill deepens the academic discipline of black theology and provides a model for how the broader academy can construct a theological statement relative to the contemporary world."

From the Publisher