Home Away from Home:The Caribbean Diasporan Church in the Black Atlantic Tradition Book

Acknowledgments     xi
Introduction     1
My Cultural History     1
The Caribbean Diaspora: A Theological Perspective     5
The Book's Method     10
The Chapters of the Book     12
The Caribbean Diasporan Experience in Black Theological Discourse: A Neglected Sibling     15
The Neglect     15
The State and Need for Caribbean Diasporan Theological Scholarship     23
Theorizing the Caribbean Diasporan Identity: Identifying Ourselves     29
Cultural Identity: An Agent of Culture     30
Culture     31
Relational Dialogicalism     33
Diversity     34
The Cosmopolitan Identity: An Intellectual Tool     35
Transformational     36
Transatlantic     38
A Counter-cultural Critical Theory     39
Forging an Identity for the Caribbean Diaspora: Knowing Ourselves     42
Defining the Term Caribamerican Identity     43
The Sources of Caribamerican Identity     44
The Pre-existing Source     45
The Organic Source     46
The Features     48
Diasporan Kinship     48
Encountering Racism     52
The Moral and Historical Elements     54
The Common Good     55
Common History and Heritage     57
Standing on Our Own Two Feet: Theological Foundations of the Caribbean Diasporan Church     60
The Case for the Dialectical Religious Traditions     60
Describing the Tradition: Eurocentric Religious Heritage     64
Describing the Tradition: The Afrocentric Heritage     69
The Importance of the Dialectical Religious Tradition to Caribbean Diasporan Theological Discourse     72
Theologizing Diaspora: The Theological Heritage of the Caribbean Diasporan Church     76
Theological Heritage     78
Emancipatory Theology     80
Freedom     81
Protest     83
Community     85
The Doctrinal Foundation     88
The Incarnation of Jesus Christ     88
The Event of Pentecost     91
Conclusion     94
Pilgrims from the Sun: The Quest for Survival     95
Context     97
A Pilgrim People: Interpreting the Caribbean Diasporan Church Beginnings     100
The Search for a Better Life     100
The Search for Respect     102
The Search for Community      103
Individual Affiliation     103
Congregational Affiliation     106
Conclusion     108
Missionaries in the Caribbean Diaspora: Doing God's Work in a New Land     109
Mission: A Perspective from the Caribbean Diaspora     110
Inclusive     111
Contextual     112
The Missionary Tradition     113
The Sending of Missionaries     113
A Case of Responding to the Call to Mission     115
The Motivation for Mission     117
The Practice of Mission     118
Appointment to the Caribbean Migrants     118
Appointment in the United Kingdom     119
Appointment in the United States     120
One Mission but a Different Method     121
The Call to Mission     122
A Personal Call     122
The Communal Call     124
Conclusion     126
A Voice in the Diaspora: Seeking the Welfare of the "City" Resident Homeland     127
A Theological Framework     127
Confronting "Sin in the Camp": A Theological Critique of White Supremacy     129
Initiating a Caribbean Diasporan Christian Intellectual Tradition     131
What is the Caribbean Diasporan Christian Intellectual Tradition?     132
Liberating the Mind     133
Correcting Anti-intellectualism     133
Affirming the Black Mind     134
An Autonomous Church     138
Defining Autonomy     138
The Nature of Autonomy     141
A Public Organization     141
Ecclesiastical Self-government     144
Conclusion     147
The Distinctives of the Caribbean Diasporan Church     149
Community of Learning     150
Alternative Community of Faith     154
Agent of Transformation     155
Alliances     156
New Self-awareness     157
Changing Landscape     158
Grounding Transformation     158
Home     159
Conclusion     163
Conclusion     165
From Whence Have We Come?     165
Where Do We Go From Here?     166
Including Women     167
One among Many     168
Taking on Today's Goliath     170
Notes     172
Select Bibliography     219