The Talking Book: African Americans and the Bible - Hardcover

Callahan, Allen Dwight

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0300109369 ISBN 13: 9780300109368

Publisher: Yale University Press, 2006

Synopsis

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.

About this title

About the Author:

Allen Dwight Callahan is director of the Instituto Martin Luther King, Jr. in Salvador, Brazil.

Review:

“This searing interpretation of ongoing conversations between African Americans and the Bible probes the deepest theological and ethical questions of an amazing company of saints and sages, artists and authors, prophets and preachers. Without question, Callahan’s brilliant analysis has established a new benchmark for the study of African American religion and biblical hermeneutics.”—Cheryl J. Sanders, Howard University  (Cheryl J. Sanders)

“This is a landmark book. I am not aware of any book in print that draws so many telling conclusions about African Americans and the Bible.”—Mark A. Noll, University of Notre Dame   (Mark A. Noll)

"We have waited a long time for this text, but it has been well worth it. Callahan does a masterful job of unpacking the various ways in which biblical texts and images have served as vital resources for the expression of African American thought and life. Anyone interested in the ways in which African Americans have used the 'sacred book' to explore and explain the various dimensions and nuances of life in the United States, will find this book a powerful resource. This book represents Callahan at his best. I highly recommend it."—Anthony B. Pinn, Rice University  
 
 
  
(Anthony B. Pinn)

"A powerful and evocative telling of the dynamic interpretation of the Bible in the African American community, a story that will jolt any reader into a fresh understanding and appreciation of Scripture."—Harvey Cox, author of When Jesus Came to Harvard  (Harvey Cox)

"In a single volume, the author takes his readers on a quest to find the heart of African-American imagination about and fascination with the Bible, from slavery to the present."—Abraham Smith, Southern Methodist University
 

 
(Abraham Smith)

"A fascinating excursion through many genres of African-American culture, as varied as spirituals and hip hop, sermons and the visual arts."—Leslie Callahan, University of Pennsylvania

 
(Leslie Callahan)

About this edition

• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0300109369
• ISBN 13: 9780300109368
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 304