Being Baptized: Race
Willie Jennings
TO understand race, one needs to look at the emergence of the concept that occurred when Europeans begin to have contact with Africa, Asia, and the Americas via travel.
The Emergence of the Racial Condition. The market and the church were allies in the conquest of the new world. Race became a way of defining the suitableness of a person to convert and to have leadership qualities.
The Immersion of Christianity into Racial Existence. The concept of land ownership and the introduction of new languages radically changed the new lands. There was huge cultural and societal upheaval as virtually everything was disrupted and goodness because associated with skin color.
The Church and Baroque Baptism.
- The baptism of homogeneity must be turned to a baptism of the multitude
- The waters of baptism must be released from their containment
- Renunciation bound to baptism is a way of life