The Spirit of Resistance: Dwight N. Hopkins's Trinitarian Framework

Abstract

This article explores the potential of Dwight N. Hopkins's theology, specifically his trinitarian framework as discussed in Down, Up, and Over: Slave Religion and Black Theology. In this work, Hopkins's development of the third aspect of God, the "Spirit of Total Liberation in Us," offers a concept of God's presence and activity within humanity. The thesis of the article is that in refining the frameworks of divine power and presence, Hopkins provides theological categories that creatively and helpfully place greater emphasis on human acts of resistance against moral evil and suffering. Drawing especially on Hopkins's notion of God as the "Spirit of Total Liberation in Us," I intend to begin to develop a theology of resistance. Human acts of resistance against oppression and dehumanization may often depend on divine presence and simultaneously further evoke the Spirit of God.