Kirjahaku

Frederick Douglass: A Precursor of Liberation Theology deals with the evolution of Frederick Douglass's philosophical and theological development. This book is another paradigm that expands the debate and places Douglass's thought in a more appropriate context, namely anticipating liberation theology. Since no consensus exists about Douglass's philosophical and theological development, Reginald F. Davis attempts to settle a dispute in Douglass studies that revolves around his religious odyssey and in particular the character and cause of his philosophical and theological development. The dispute among scholars is concerned with where to locate Douglass on the theological spectrum. Some scholars identify Douglass as having moved away from traditional forms of Christian millennialism, which elevates not the human agent but an omnipotent God who apocalyptically intervenes in human affairs and history. Still others interpret Douglass as having moved outside the circle of theism to enlightenment humanism. There is also an unsettled debate about the cause of Douglass's theological shift. One view attributes Douglass's shift to a psychological factor of rejection by White Churchmen over his support for radical policies like abolitionism. Another perspective attributes Douglass's shift to enlightenment principles of natural law and rationality. Davis utilizes selected categories from liberation theology to provide a more accurate exegesis of Douglass's study to encourage a new angle of interpretation of Douglass's philosophical and theological evolution.

Faith is not enough to transform our present reality. It is not enough to believe in a God who can do anything but fail. To transform our reality, we must join faith with action. Enough talk of the problems of society and the world. Until we decide to become involved participants in the transformation of the world around us, our faith is nothing more than a tale that is told signifying nothing. We are more powerful than we realize. The transformation of the world around us is attainable more than we think. If humans can achieve going to the moon, an effort that was unthinkable centuries ago, we can transform the socio-economic political situation today. God used all kinds of people who had flaws, defects, and deficiencies to transform the world, and we are no different than they are. Despite their weaknesses, they had a TNT faith (the standard measure of strength of bomb and other explosives) that exploded with accomplishments when they put it into action. Our faith has within it the TNT but it is not exploding with accomplishments because we lack the action that causes it to detonate. This work is a battle cry of faith to remind the faith community to get up and transform the world around them. To do this we must have faith in God; grow in faith; understand the Kingdom of God is not talk but power; put faith in action; demonstrate a bold faith; wed politics and faith together; and remain faithful until Christ returns.