In The Cross and the Lynching Tree, how does James Cone show how a person’s place in society can shape their theological outlook? Focus on one or two particular examples.

Use these 2 examples:

1. Practical application of transcendance: because God is present on the cross he is present with those lynched; Jesus was lynched as a historical description and a lived experience
2. The cross reinterprets the lynching tree and vice versa

Notes to help

4/20

Ida B Wells: “I need to bear witness to whats going on”

Anti-lynching advocate, publisher, activist

Theological reflections: Christianity practiced by whites is fraudulent because they either supported or remained silent on posing issues

What makes this not Christian? How can a Christian nation allow this when the ‘golden rule’ is its foundation; the moral aspect cannot be compromised in order for Xnity to remain legitimate

Jesus was the first Lynchee: the same cross that Jesus hang from gives solace to black people and lynching because they feel that God understands their suffering

155-158: Transcendance

Critiquing white Christianity as being so focused on eschatology when we need to be focused on transcendence (beyond everything that is earthly) and imminence (in the midst of everything in this world) ; both sides are important but white Xnity has gone all the way with transcendence as a way of ignoring what’s actually happened, Cone thinks transcendance is important but it most work alongside immenince

There’s an element of salvation in this life that is possible

There can be no reversal if there is no understanding of what’s happening in real time

158-160

Practical application of transcendance: because God is present on the cross he is present with those lynched; Jesus was lynched as a historical description and a lived experience

161-162

The lunching tree frees the cross from the false pieties of well meaning Christian’s

We can see it as the oppressive tool when compared to lynching and it takes away the cleaned up version of the cross and makes it real

The lynching tree also needs the cross to point to the direction of hope

On its own terrible suffering is just that but in the case of the cross the reversal of values that a terrible thing that happened may not be the case, it’s just the human way and their is more to that

The cross reinterprets the lynching tree and vice versa

Reveals the true nature of people