The Pushing and Shoving of Justice; Black Eschatology
“Ethics and eschatology are related in Black Theology. This is the basis of black hope. This is the bridge between the now and the not yet, the promised and the fulfilled.” — J. Detois Roberts
As our group has read Black Liberation Theology this month, we are continually reminded of the importance of now. So much of Christian theology can be tied to what is not yet, but some day will be. But this is not always hopeful in an oppressed community.
Eschatology is concerned with the end, the ultimate destiny. What will happen to us at the end? Black Liberation theologians like Roberts and Cone believe this question is irrelevant if not tied to what is happening to us right now. An eschatology of not yet can be seen as the oppressors theology; escapism to get through this life. Roberts says, “Heaven as a reward at some unforeseeable future time brings little hope to the hungry and mistreated black person. Hell-future makes little impression upon blacks living in hell-present […]”
Black theology asserts that God suffers with because God is the suffering slave (Roberts, 2005). Eternal life with God does not begin when we die, but right now. This is why we ought to refuse the ideology that the future of our souls matters more than the present reality of our bodies. Both Roberts and Cone point out that while it may seem that their theology rejects the future hope of Christianity, this is not true. If a Christian truly believes in eternal life and takes seriously the implications, this will redirect them to be profoundly dissatisfied with the present world, therefore impacting our direct involvement in seeking justice. And what is more hopeful than tenaciously seeking the wellbeing of our neighbors?
This theology also insists on the communal aspect of eschatology. When we acknowledge that adequate eschatology must align with present reality, we are spurred on to allow our lives to be impacted now. Salvation and hope of future eternal life for only oneself is not sufficient or complete theology. Cone argues that, “[….] God’s action can be for me only insofar as I choose to belong to the community of God. One’s selfhood is bound up with the community to which one belongs” (1986). This reality directly relates our eschatology to our fight for justice.
