Abstract
Black Theology is a systematic interpretation of the meaning and significance of the Christian Faith for the worshipping, witnessing, and proclaiming Black Christian community. It seeks to analyze the condition of the Black man in the light of God’s revelation in Jesus Christ. Its purpose is one of creating a new understanding of the dignity of Black men and women as children of God. Black Theology is Christian Theology precisely because it utilizes God’s revelation in Jesus Christ as its point of departure and also as a norm for the interpretation of the meaning and significance of human existence. Black Theology is a theology of, by, and for black people which has come out of their experience in America. It is a way of looking at God, the life and the teaching of Jesus Christ, self, and the world in the light of the Black Experience. Black theology emerged as a reaction against the so-called classical theologies which have been unable to realistically and authentically relate to the theological implications of the black experience; it is a reaction to the refusual of white theologians to come to grips with the theology of the disadvantaged, the disenfranchised and of the oppressed. Black theology, in essence, affirms the centrality of the Scriptures. In
this affirmation it calls for reinterpretation of the Scriptures, whereby they can be seen not only as supporting the struggles for justice, freedom, and human dignity in times past, but also as a norm for the same endeavors in times present and for all times to come.