The Powerful Politics of Humility: Looking Back on James Cone’s God of The Oppressed

In his preface to the 1997 edition of God of The Oppressed, James Cone looks back and writes of his 1975 publication: “It still represents my basic theological perspective—that the God of biblical faith and black religion is partial toward the weak” (Cone, 1997).  However, he acknowledges in no uncertain terms that the perspectives of feminist, gay, womanist, Native American, and South African theologians, in particular, have transformed the content, form, and approach of his work.  This paper focuses on the significance of Cone’s critical reflection on and reconsideration of his own work – with an emphasis on the ways Cone’s perspectives on gender and sexuality evolved.  Through this paper contends that Cone’s way of looking back models a politically powerful form of humility that remains one of the most effective technologies available to those who are oppressed in quests for liberation.