African American Theology

I found many parallels between this article and "How Shall They Hear." As Proctor wrote, the essence of preaching is using the Bible as a pathway to evoke spiritual awakening and understanding. I think the style of preaching outlined in this article is some of the most effective. Today, I think that Jesus' humanity is emphasized more than ever. By understanding that Jesus took on human form and experience all the temptations and trials that we earthly beings go through, allows believers to relate to Jesus in a deeper way. This was certainly the intention of preaching in way which connects the divine with the mundane.

This article opened my eyes to sermons as an artform and to its intricacies. There are so many parallels between the form of this sermon and the way that Jesus preached. Jesus also spoke using double entendre so that "through seeing, they may not see; through hearing, they may not understand (Luke 8:10)." So that the message would be received by those who were open to receive it with a joyful heart, and not out of malice. Also, Jesus spoke in terms of the audience he was addressing. Jesus' use of parables is an example of this. He uses parables which contain typical scenes of His time which His audiences would recognize and comprehend.

What impressed me the most in this article is the genius and passion which it took to convey the message of redeeming grace and freedom to the preacher's fellow African-American slaves. Each word was chosen carefully and balanced so that the message would be understood correctly and would not be seen as a threat to informants. Asking "how they shall hear," is truely an important question to ask.