The genesis of liberation : biblical interpretation in the antebellum narratives of the enslaved / Emerson B. Powery, Rodney S. Sadler Jr.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Powery, Emerson B., author.

Sadler, Rodney Steven, 1967- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Bible--Black interpretations--History.

Bible.

African Americans--Religion--History.

African Americans.

Liberty--Biblical teaching.

Liberty.

African Americans--Religion.

Black interpretations of sacred works.

History.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

xvii, 182 pages ; 23 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Louisville, Kentucky : Westminster John Knox Press, [2016]

Summary:

Considering that the Bible was used to justify and perpetuate African American enslavement, why would it be given such authority? In this fascinating volume, Powery and Sadler explore how the Bible became a source of liberation for enslaved African Americans by analyzing its function in pre-Civil War freedom narratives. They explain the various ways in which enslaved African Americans interpreted the Bible and used it as a source for hope, empowerment, and literacy. The authors show that through their own engagement with the biblical text, enslaved African Americans found a liberating word. The Genesis of Liberation recovers the early history of black biblical interpretation and will help to expand understandings of African American hermeneutics.

Contents:

The genesis of liberation: the function of the Bible in the freedom narrative

The Bible & the freedom narrative

The Sabbath & the freedom narrative

The origins of whiteness and the black (biblical) imagination

Reading 'Paul' with the formerly enslaved: emancipation from the "master's minister"

Summary and hermeneutical implications

Jesus Christ in the freedom narrative.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

ISBN:

9780664230531

0664230539

OCLC:

919104662