The end of God-talk : an African American humanist theology

In this groundbreaking study, Anthony B. Pinn challenges the long held assumption that African American theology is solely theist, arguing that this assumption has stunted African American theological discourse and excluded a rapidly growing segment of the African American population - non-theists. Rejecting the assumption of theism as the African American orientation, Pinn poses a crucial question: What is a non-theistic theology? The End of God-Talk outlines the first systematic African American non-theistic theology. Pinn offers a new center for theological inquiry, grounded in a more scientific notion of the human than the imago Dei ideas that dominates African American theistic theologies. He proposes a turn to Henry David Thoreau, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, and Alice Walker in order to effect a sense of ethical conduct consistent with African American non-theistic humanism. The End of God-Talk ends with an exploration of the religious significance of ordinary spaces and activities as settings for humanist theological engagement. Through a turn to embodied human life as the proper arena and content of theologizing, Pinn opens up a new theological path with important implications for ongoing work in African American religious studies. Rejecting the assumption of theism as the African American orientation, and in response to a central question—What is the look of a nontheistic theology?—Pinn provides the first systematic African American nontheistic theology. It expands the range of theological resources to include more of the mundane materials generally overlooked in African American theology. Through an appreciation of a complex sense of community that extends beyond a simple location of the like-minded, The End of God-Talk offers a new center for theological inquiry and ties this to a sense of the human much more scientifically grounded than the imago Dei ideas that dominate African American theistic theologies. Pinn explores the importance of symmetry as a new marker of meaning, one that rejects traditional notions of salvation—even those posed by the more materially grounded liberation theologies. Furthermore, Pinn proposes a turn to Thoreau, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, and Alice Walker as a way of forging a sense of ethical conduct consistent with African American nontheistic humanism. The book ends with an exploration of the religious significance of ordinary spaces and activities as the locations for humanist theological engagement. Through a turn to embodied human life as the proper arena for and content of theologizing, Pinn's book opens a new theological path with important implications for ongoing work in African American religious studies The author challenges the assumption that African American theology is solely theist, arguing that this assumption has stunted African American theological discourse and excluded a growing non-theist segment of the African American population. He outlines the African American non-theistic theology and offers a new center for theological inquiry, grounded in a more scientific notion of the human. He proposes a turn to Henry David Thoreau, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, and Alice Walker in order to effect a sense of ethical conduct consistent with African American non-theistic humanism. He also explores the religious significance of ordinary spaces and activities as settings for humanist theological engagement Cover 1 Contents 8 Acknowledgments 10 Note on Terminology 12 Introduction 16 Chapter One: The Ordinary as Theological Source Material 22 Chapter Two: Community as Centering Category 40 Chapter Three: The Humanist Human: Self, Subject, Subjectivity 57 Chapter Four: On Theologizing Symmetry 77 Chapter Five: African American Humanist Ethics 103 Chapter Six: Humanist Celebration as the Ritualizing of Life 129 Conclusion: Theologizing at the End of God -Talk 152 Notes 168 Bibliography 200 Index 208 A 208 B 208 C 209 D 210 E 210 F 211 G 211 H 211 I 211 J 212 K 212 L 212 M 212 N 212 O 213 P 213 Q 213 R 213 S 214 T 215 U 215 V 215 W 215 Y 216 Z 216 In This Study, Anthony B. Pinn Challenges The Long Held Assumption That African American Theology Is Solely Theist Arguing That This Assumption Has Excluded A Rapidly Growing Segment Of The African American Population - Non-theists. The Ordinary As Theological Source Material -- Community As Centering Category -- The Humanist Human: Self, Subject, Subjectivity -- On Theologizing Symmetry -- African American Humanist Ethics -- Humanist Celebration And The Ritualizing Of Life -- Conclusion: Theologizing At The End Of God-talk. Anthony B. Pinn. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 187-194) And Index.