عنوان

Through a Tinted Lens: A Series of Seminars Addressing the Influence of Africa on Church History

Number

TL53976

.Language of Text, Soundtrack etc

انگلیسی

Title Proper

Through a Tinted Lens: A Series of Seminars Addressing the Influence of Africa on Church History

General Material Designation

[Thesis]

First Statement of Responsibility

McCrae, Brandon I.

Subsequent Statement of Responsibility

Rice, Joshua

Name of Publisher, Distributor, etc.

South University

Date of Publication, Distribution, etc.

2020

Text of Note

257 p.

Dissertation or thesis details and type of degree

D.Min.

Body granting the degree

South University

Text preceding or following the note

2020

Text of Note

The former slave owner's misinterpretation of the Scriptures as a means of control and chastisement has fueled a cultural quandary for many Blacks of the Christian faith today. Coupled with the mainline denominational response to the political plight of the Blacks, Christianity has seemingly turned a cold shoulder to the Black community. To reclaim a sense of cultural pride, many Blacks have turned to Afrocentrism. Exploiting the African's innate yearning for spirituality, heretical cults have capitalized on this trend. Drawing from experiential similarities between African slavery and biblical Egyptian slavery, these groups teach that Blacks are the true children of Israel. This notion has distorted the orthodox teaching, faithful exegesis, and cultural context of the Bible. With the proper knowledge of church history, an accurate presence of African culture becomes evident. This discovery creates a foundational apologetic to combat the urban myth that Christianity is simply a Caucasian conviction. Situated at the Southern perimeter of Georgia, the football town of Valdosta provides the context for this study. The epitome of White American Evangelicalism, Valdosta shares a deep history of racial prejudice. Despite these odds, the Black church has been a focal point within this community for decades. Considering this context, the theological approach to this study seeks to follow Christ's admonition in Acts 1:8, to begin with the proclaimer's cultural proximity by limiting the focus to Valdosta's Black Church clergy and leadership. The goal of this study is to educate Black Church clergy and leadership about their cultural heritage relative to church history. By identifying Africans within both the Scriptures and early church, this course will redirect the Black leaders to the foundational roots of Christianity, as seen through their African ancestors' contributions. The researcher will conduct the study in four two-hour seminars. A volunteer group of professional and bi-vocational clergy will serve as the pilot group for this project. The researcher will administer to each participant a pre-and post-survey. The post-survey results will determine the overall effectiveness of this study. This survey will also determine whether offering similar seminars to other communities is justified.

Subject Term

African American studies

Subject Term

Religion

Subject Term

Religious education

Subject Term

Religious history

McCrae, Brandon I.

Rice, Joshua

South University

Electronic name

p

[Thesis]

276903

a

Y