Emancipation Still Comin'

By Kortright Davis

Book Overview

The Caribbean, awash with sun and water, is a meeting place of many races, religions, and cultures. There North and South, Latin and Anglo, native Carib, African black, French and English white races and cultures meet. In a religious melting pot, Protestant and Catholic Christian, Afro-Caribbean, Hindu, and secularist faiths, intertwine, cross-pollinate, and go their ways, separate yet together, in the divine milieu. Such a place has a rich and revealing story to tell: of history, nature, and humanity; of the understanding of freedom; of the meaning and scope of theology itself. The key in Caribbean society, with its experiences of slavery, colonialism, neocolonialism, and structural dependence, is emancipation: the pursuit, proclamation, and practice of human freedom. Emancipation is the key to Caribbean theology as well. This is the focal point of Kortright Davis's work. He introduces the complex tapestry of this unique society: its social and cultural pluralism, its particular strengths and weaknesses: poverty, dependence, alienation, and divisiveness. Davis explores many aspects of Caribbean religion and spirituality, especially the complexities of carnival and its uniquely African soul. He notes too a theological dependency, and posits again a unique, Caribbean emancipatory theology to establish a theological ""self-reliance."" In emancipatory theology, as in Latin American liberation theology, the source for praxis and reflection is faith linked to historical experience. And the Caribbean experience, of continual struggle for identity, distinguishes and yet unites Caribbean Christians with Christians everywhere.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 159244749X
• ISBN13: 9781592447497
• Release Date: March 2008
• Publisher: Wipf & Stock Publishers
• Length: 176 Pages
• Weight: 0.57 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 6.1" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

Crisp, engaging prose and fascinating subject matter

"Emancipation Still Comin'" is a fascinating exploration of the role of theology, particularly theories of liberation theology, in Caribbean socioeconomic development. A weighty subject indeed; and while a lesser talent may have been tempted to intimidate readers with bombast and didacticism, the Antiguan-born author captivates his audience with seasoned prose, borrowing liberally from popular Caribbean colloquialisms. He persuasively delivers the central theme of "Emancipation": that religion, among the most powerful tools of subjugation employed by colonial masters, also contains the seeds for social and economic liberation of the oppressed. Already considered essential reading for the Caribbean progressive, "Emancipation" belongs in the global pantheon of theological literature. It is a masterpiece.