African Americans and the Bible: Sacred Texts and Social Textures - Tapa blanda

"Finally we have a resource that dismantles the sacred cows of modern biblical criticism and shows them for the intellectual idols that they are. Wimbush has brought together voices from diverse fields that correctly take African American biblical hermeneutics from the margin to the exegetical center. The field of biblical studies should closely reexamine itself in light of African Americans and the Bible. The implications for other ethnic groups are immense."-Thomas B. Slater, The University of Georgia "African Americans and the Bible is a provocative and challenging work whose impact on Biblical studies promises to be universally transformative. By demonstrating how powerfully the African American reading context changes and enlivens the written word, this exciting collection strikes out against the scholarly preference for presenting the Bible as an ancient artifact whose meaning dies with the authors who penned it. In the probing hands of these authors, the Bible reclaims its power as a living force for liberation whose past witness continually transforms, redefines, and reshapes the present. A broad and rich accomplishment."-Brian K. Blount, Princeton Theological Seminary "A broad-ranging exploration of the ways the African American group and the Bible have interacted in history and '(re)created' each other; it provides a thorough, multifaceted examination of this process in terms of cultural anthropology. It also hints at new critical parameters, like marronage, through which socio-cultural formation can be approached and assessed. A magnificent and inspiring collection, set in a lively perspective."-Genevieve E. Fabre, University of Paris "This rich collection places African American biblical interpretation squarely in the center of biblical interpretation. It is a landmark hermeneutical work that should help to set the focus in biblical scholarship for years to come. Vincent Wimbush's challenge, not to begin with sacred texts, but with 'worlds, ' is a brilliant contribution to the ongoing paradigm shift in biblical studies. Required reading for anyone engaged in biblical, cultural, and theological studies."-Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza, Harvard Divinity School "A major accomplishment An excellent collection of socio-cultural essays; particularly strong on how story shapes identity." The Living Church, April 1 "This wide-ranging collection reflects on how the Bible is interpreted in African American communities and how it has shaped the African American religious experience." Interpretation, July 2001

Perhaps no other group of people has been as much formed by biblical texts and tropes as African Americans. From literature and the arts to popular culture and everyday life, the Bible courses through Black society and culture, like the Mississippi through the American heartland. The focus of this book is on the complex interaction between the people known as African Americans and that complex of rhetorics, visions, and ideologies known as the Bible. It is about a particular socio-cultural formation but also about the dynamics that obtain in the interrelation between any group of people and sacred texts in general.