"Excellent . . . . Dr. Cone has opened the door to a universal theology."  -The Christian Century

God of the Oppressed, first published in 1975, remains a landmark in the development of Black Theology—the first effort to present a systematic theology drawing fully on the resources of African-American religion and culture. Responding to the criticism that his previous books drew too heavily on Euro-American definitions of theology, James Cone went back to his experience of the Black church in Bearden, Arkansas, the tradition of the Spirituals and Black folklore, and the Black history of struggle and survival, to construct a new approach to the gospel.

In his reflections on God, Jesus, suffering, and liberation, Cone relates the gospel message to the experience of the Black community. But a wider theme of the book is the role that social and historical context plays in framing the questions we address to God, as well as the mode of the answers provided. This fiftieth anniversary edition includes a foreword by Anthony Reddie, reflecting on the historical and global significance of this work and its message today. 

James H. Cone, who died in 2018, was Bill and Judith Moyers Distinguished Professor of Systematic Theology at Union Theological Seminary, NYC. Widely regarded as the father of Black liberation theology, he was the author of many books, including Black Theology & Black Power, and a modern classic, The Cross and the Lynching Tree, winner of the 2018 Grawemeyer Award in Religion.

Anthony G. Reddie is Professor of Black Theology and Director of the Centre for Black Theology at Oxford University. He is the author of Introducing James H. Cone: A Personal Exploration.

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