Reading While Black: African American Biblical Interpretation as an Exercise in Hope

Reading While Black belongs to a growing body of literature that engages in the critical processes of deconstructing a Eurocentric Christianity tied to colonization. This literature aims to reflect the diverse experiences and histories of Christians worldwide. Through decentering from the West and whiteness, decolonial theology rethinks the interaction between religious tradition and political space, opening up a dialogue about doctrinal commitments between colonizers and the colonized. Concomitant with the emergence of decolonial theology was the rise of liberation theologies. Liberation theologies emphasize political freedom for marginalized groups, and this can be in terms of class, gender, race, or other social categories. Accordingly, there are various strands of liberation theology, such as Latin American liberation theology, Black liberation theology, and womanist/feminist liberation theology,

A shared aspect of decoloniality and liberation is the wedding of theory and praxis, so decolonial theology and liberation theologies develop in conversation with one another. Decoloniality’s focus on power, subjectivity, and resistance provides a unifying theme around which disparate liberation theologies converge. Meanwhile, liberation theologies provide decolonial theology with the various modes of social analysis required to deconstruct Western/Eurocentric worldviews and their operation in religious belief and practice. Reading While Black, then, emerges out of these paradigms of decoloniality and liberation; McCaulley highlights the subjectivity of early Black Christians and locates early Black Christianity in an era prior to colonialism and modernity. Moreover, he constructs the characters and interprets the words of God, Jesus, Paul, Luke, and other biblical figures to emphasize their commitment to the marginalized and guide contemporary social practice.

While McCaulley is influenced by decolonial and liberation theologies and considers emerging trends—such as womanist biblical interpretation and problematization of the biblical text—he is critical of the way that their focus on social location and political liberation seems to eclipse the conversionist and holy aspects of the gospel of Jesus as well as the normative and authoritative role of the Bible as God’s everlasting word. Thus, he follows the example of Black biblical scholars who emphasize Black presence and Black agency in early Christianity and biblical interpretation, but he also connects this presence and agency to the power of the cross and the reconciliation of God and humanity through Jesus. In response to emerging critiques, especially from Black progressives and womanist interpreters, that there is a problem with the Bible itself, McCaulley looks to the Black ecclesial tradition that emerged with the founding of the largest Black denominations—namely the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the Black Baptist Church, and the Church of God in Christ—between the late 18th and late 19th centuries. Reading While Black draws inspiration from these early interpreters, many of whom were enslaved, and applies their approach to contemporary issues and questions that specifically concern Black people. McCaulley aims to open dialogue that allows the broader Christian community to glean the true gospel of Jesus and God’s character as liberator.