The Talking Book: African Americans and the BibleA striking narrative of the Bible’s central role in African-American history from the early days of slavery to the present The Talking Book casts the Bible as the central character in a vivid portrait of black America, tracing the origins of African-American culture from slavery’s secluded forest prayer meetings to the bright lights and bold style of today’s hip-hop artists. The Bible has profoundly influenced African Americans throughout history. From a variety of perspectives this wide-ranging book is the first to explore the Bible’s role in the triumph of the black experience. Using the Bible as a foundation, African Americans shared religious beliefs, created their own music, and shaped the ultimate key to their freedom—literacy. Allen Callahan highlights the intersection of biblical images with African-American music, politics, religion, art, and literature. The author tells a moving story of a biblically informed African-American culture, identifying four major biblical images—Exile, Exodus, Ethiopia, and Emmanuel. He brings these themes to life in a unique African-American history that grows from the harsh experience of slavery into a rich culture that endures as one of the most important forces of twenty-first-century America. |
From inside the book
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... Moses . God had blessed him with an angel to go with him , but that I could see nothing of that kind in these days . ” According to Woolfolk's testimony , Martin replied , " I read in my Bible where God says if we will worship Him we ...
... Moses in the Old Testa- ment and Paul in the New, the Bible sanctions slavery. The Bible's founda- tional narrative, however, is an account of the divine deliverance of slaves and the divine destruction of their masters. The Bible's ...
... Moses Roper reported in his autobiography that the slaves on his master's plantation , “ thinking him [ the master ] a very bad example of what a professing Chris- tian ought to be , would not join the connexion he belonged to ...
... Moses Dickson, Dickson and eleven other men from several southern states met in Saint Louis in 1846 to form the Twelve Knights of Tabor, an underground organization dedicated to the overthrow of American slavery. A decade of conspiracy ...
... Moses was a soldier, / In the army of the Lord,” and in another, When Moses and his soldiers from Egypt land did flee, His enemies behind him, and in front of him the sea, God raised the water like a wall, and opened up the way, And the ...
Contents
1 | |
21 | |
41 | |
49 | |
5 Exodus | 83 |
6 Ethiopia | 138 |
7 Emmanuel | 185 |
Postscript | 240 |
Notes | 247 |
Subject Index | 275 |
Scripture Index | 284 |