Looks at the history of Black theology, discusses its relationship to white and liberation theology, and identifies new directions for Black churches to take in the eighties.

The cross and the lynching tree are the two most emotionally charged symbols in the history of the African American community. In this powerful new work, theologian James H. Cone explores these symbols and their interconnection in the history and souls of black folk

In his reflections on God, Jesus, suffering, and liberation, James H. Cone relates the gospel message to the experience of the black community. But a wider theme of the book is the role that social and historical context plays in framing the questions we address to God as well as the mode of the answers provided.

Cone explores two classic aspects of African-American culture--the spirituals and the blues. He tells the captivating story of how slaves and the children of slaves used this music to affirm their essential humanity in the face of oppression. The blues are shown to be a "this-worldly" expression of cultural and political rebellion. The spirituals tell about the "attempt to carve out a significant existence in a very trying situation".

James Cone cuts through the superficial assessments of King and Malcolm as polar opposites to reveal two men whose visions were complementary and moving towards convergence.

With the publication of his two early works, Black Theology & Black Power (1969) and A Black Theology of Liberation (1970), James Cone emerged as one of the most theological voices in North America. These books, which offered a searing indictment of white theology and society, introduced a radical reappraisal of the Christian message for our time. Joining the spirit of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr., Cone radically reappraised Christianity from the perspective of the oppressed black community in North America. Forty years later, Cone's work retains its original power, enhanced now by his reflections on the evolution of his own thinking and of black theology.

"American religious thought at its best."--Michael Eric Dyson, author of I May Not Get There with You: The True Martin Luther King, Jr.
From the birth of Black Theology to James Cone's seminal work on the theology of Martin Luther King, Jr., and the philosophy of Malcolm X, to the importance of the environmental movement, Risks of Faith presents the best and breadth of Black Theology.
"James Hal Cone has almost singlehandedly re-shaped western theological thought to make it racially inclusive by demythologizing the conventional myths and shibboleths which kept it a white spiritual and philosophical preserve for centuries."--C. Eric Lincoln, William Rand Kenan Professor of Religion and Culture (Emeritus), Duke University
"This volume of new and classic texts offers a wide-ranging introduction to the esteemed theologian's work."--Emerge
"Risks of Faith shows that Cone is as much a prophet after thirty years as he was in the beginning."--Delores S. Williams, author of Black Theology in a New Key
"Risks of Faith will be a revelation to those unaware that Black Religion reflects the finest modern manifestation of Jesus' teachings."--Derrick Bell, author of Gospel Choirs

In the face of centuries of institutional and interpersonal racism, in the light of the signals they receive from society, and given the choices they must make about what they want from life and how to go about getting it - how can Black men in America realize their full potential?
Black Man Emerging is a moving psychological and social portrait that reflects their personal views on the struggle of Black men against oppression and for self-determination. Using numerous case histories and biographical sketches of Black men who have failed and those who have prevailed, the authors describe strategies for responding to racism and entrenched power - underscoring the healing capacity of religion, family, Black consciousness movements, mentorships, educational programs, paid employment, and other positive forces. They also explore the concept of identity as it applies to being Black and male and the influence of Black men on American culture.

First published in 1979, this is the classic sourcebook for the emergence of Black Thelogy in the United States. Born out of the Civil Rights Movement and the emerging demand for Black Power, Black Theology has tried for 25 years to relate the gospel to the African-American experience of oppression and struggle for liberation. This revised volume contains a new introduction, many additional essays, and a revised bibliography .

Firmly rooted in the black church tradition, James H. Cone relates the formative features of his faith journey, from his childhood experience in Bearden, Arkansas, and his father's steadfast resistance to racism, through racial discrimination in graduate school, to his controversial articulation of a faith that seeks to break the shackles of racial oppression.

Newly updated and expanded, this classic work is a product of the Civil Rights and Black Power movements in America during the 1960's. Black Theology & Black Power is James H. Cone's initial attempt to identify liberation as the heart of the Christian gospel, and blackness as the primary mode of God's presence. As he explains in an introduction written for this edition, "I wanted to speak on behalf of the voiceless black masses in the name of Jesus whose gospel I believed had been greatly distorted by the preaching and theology of white churches."