The Christian Imagination: Theology and the Origins of Race
May 2010 · Yale University Press
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About this ebook
Why has Christianity, a religion premised upon neighborly love, failed in its attempts to heal social divisions? In this ambitious and wide-ranging work, Willie James Jennings delves deep into the late medieval soil in which the modern Christian imagination grew, to reveal how Christianity's highly refined process of socialization has inadvertently created and maintained segregated societies. A probing study of the cultural fragmentation-social, spatial, and racial-that took root in the Western mind, this book shows how Christianity has consistently forged Christian nations rather than encouraging genuine communion between disparate groups and individuals. Weaving together the stories of Zurara, the royal chronicler of Prince Henry, the Jesuit theologian Jose de Acosta, the famed Anglican Bishop John William Colenso, and the former slave writer Olaudah Equiano, Jennings narrates a tale of loss, forgetfulness, and missed opportunities for the transformation of Christian communities. Touching on issues of slavery, geography, Native American history, Jewish-Christian relations, literacy, and translation, he brilliantly exposes how the loss of land and the supersessionist ideas behind the Christian missionary movement are both deeply implicated in the invention of race. Using his bold, creative, and courageous critique to imagine a truly cosmopolitan citizenship that transcends geopolitical, nationalist, ethnic, and racial boundaries, Jennings charts, with great vision, new ways of imagining ourselves, our communities, and the landscapes we inhabit.
Ratings and reviews
3.7
3 reviews
Christopher Baker
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May 11, 2021
Jennings builds an dense and incredibly compelling narrative for the formation of racism and identity inside the marriage of colonial European economy and Christianity. This work required my full attention and I had to re-listen to several parts because it seemed like very sentence was vital, but required a bit of digestion. My favorite part was the number of names and or primary sources Jennings used that I was not previously familiar with. It shows the breadth of history and the detail that exploration of the human existence requires when exploring our our past, identify our present, and grapple with our future selves.
EvilHates Truth
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April 22, 2021
Wh l t e l s re al i t e s look that up!
About the author
Willie James Jennings is Associate Professor of Theology and Black Church Studies at Duke Divinity School, where he previously served as academic dean. He lives in Durham, NC.
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