The birth of the blues and the birth of biblical law in parallel: A dialogue with James Cone’s theology of the cross

Abstract

This article seeks to learn from James Cone’s theology of the cross as articulated in his book, The Cross and the Lynching Tree, by bringing Cone’s theology into conversation with the theology and ethics of the book of Deuteronomy. It proceeds by first discerning the ways in which the birth of the blues may in some ways parallel the birth of biblical law. Blues and jazz music were birthed in the agonizing suffering of the black community during the era of lynching, expressing both the grief and the resilience and hope of African Americans. Perhaps with some similarity, biblical law is a divine–human response to ancient Israel’s experience of enslavement and genocide in Egypt. This law is an ancient invitation into authentic community. Next, the article discerns core themes in Cone’s theology of the cross, namely solidarity with the oppressed, redemptive suffering, and victory over oppression. Cone unfolds these themes by seeking to understand the cross through the experience of the torturous suffering of blacks in the South. The article then finds these same themes in the theology and ethics of Deuteronomy through an examination of the social law, feasting texts, covenant texts, and laws concerning slavery in this book. We learn from Cone that the horrific barbarity of white supremacy in a culture of lynching is a vital corrective lens through which to see and understand the cross of Christ for US Christians. Indeed, Deuteronomy forces us to conclude that a theology of the cross that ignores dynamics of oppression and liberation is theologically myopic. The argument, by extension, is that the suffering of blacks in the United States is also a fresh and vital lens through which to view and understand biblical law.