A Black Theology of Liberation was a rare book of its kind and when it came
out in 1970, James Cone immediately became a household name for his
philosophies and views expressed in the book took America by storm. For the
first time, the concepts of black power and black domination were given a
stronger meaning and significance as Cone declared that Gospel or Holy
Scriptures needed to be read with a new perspective so that blacks could
relate to it. In a high controversial book, Cone declared that Christ was
black too: "The 'raceless' American Christ has a light skin, wavy brown
hair, and sometimes - wonder of wonders - blue eyes. For whites to find him
with big lips and kinky hair is as offensive as it was for the Pharisees to
find him partying with tax collectors. But whether whites want to hear it
or not, Christ is black... with all of the features which are so detestable
This was indeed a new concept and one that whites couldn't relate to since
it changed the way they had perceived Gospel and Christ's messages. Cone
maintains that man needs to re-examine the religious books and Holy
Scriptures because it needs to be more in tune with the experiences of
black men. The oppression and injustices that blacks faced in America had
turned them against everything that had a white stamp on it. For the same
reason, they turned against white' examination of Gospel too with Cone
revolutionizing the way Bible was studied. Cone advocated the use of a new
method of studying the Gospel that would present Christ as a symbol of
liberation from all kind of oppression and injustice. Cone felt that racism
was not limited to the way whites treated blacks but extended to every
realm of life including theology: "racism... is found not only in American
society and its churches but particularly in the discipline in theology,
James Cone changed the way America viewed God and in fact came forth with a
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