The Talking Book: African Americans and the Bible

By Allen Dwight Callahan

Book Overview

"A marvelous exploration of how the Bible has shaped African-American religion and culture" (Daniel J. Harrington, America), from the early days of slavery to the present "This is a landmark book. I... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0300109369
• ISBN13: 9780300109368
• Release Date: October 2006
• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.3" x 1.0" x 6.3"

Customer Reviews

How African Americans adopted and interpreted Christianity

How African Americans adopted and interpreted Christianity In The Talking Book, Professor Callahan presents the early African American view of Christianity as it was adopted and practiced in the early days of slavery. Many of these concepts, he writes, have shaped the faith and mindset of many descendants of those slaves up to this day. He present the material in four sections, each with a Biblical theme. Exile - an examination of the visions of Ezekiel and the similarity of the African American slaves' exile from their home continent with that of the Jews captivity in Babylon. Exodus - As the Israelites escaped Egypt is there or was there ever a promised land for the slaves? Was an exodus even possible? There were multiple failed attempts to return to Africa, to the nation of Liberia, but these never worked out. There is no going `home'. Ethiopia - here, the author addresses the pan-African movement, the resistance against colonialism in Ethiopia and the common bond that African Americans share with all persons of African ancestry. Emmanuel - finally there is a look at the view of Christ, not as a king in heaven but as a co-sufferer here on Earth. The commonality of the beating and execution of Jesus and the mistreatment of the enslaved Africans is poignant. This book is very thought-provoking and rife with historical, literary and musical references. I did find it a bit hard to read, as it is so full of anecdotes it feels disjointed and the text doesn't `flow' well and pour out a story. But the richness of the references makes it worth the effort. The more than twenty pages of notes makes it an excellent reference too.

Insightful Diagnosis

Callahan has thoroughly researched and insightfully diagnosed the African American use of the Bible in literature. His most startling interpretation states that some have overemphasized the African American use of the Exodus Motif. I would agree that other motifs are also central, especially the suffering Jesus, but I would also say that the Exodus motif is central to the African American Christian sense of self throughout history. In fact, it might be best to unite both motifs: the suffering Jesus as the means of African American Exodus from the land of slavery to the Promised Land. That issue withstanding, "The Talking Book" is a searing and probing study of how African Americans have used the Bible to move beyond the suffering to a place of healing hope. Reviewer: Bob Kellemen, Ph.D., is author of Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction .

A must-read

Callahan offers an extensive analysis of how African Americans have appropriated biblical symbols and tropes. He moves fluidly in his reading of African American interpretations of the bible in various forms from the Negro Spiritual to contemporary Hip Hop. The Talking Book is both descriptive in its historical precision and prescriptive in its final Pan-African "call to arms." If you are at all interested in the literary, musical, art, or religious history of the United States, read it. There is nothing else out there of its kind.