The Powerful Politics of Humility: A Quare Reflection on James Cone's God of the Oppressed

In his preface to the 1997 edition of God of The Oppressed, James Cone reflects on his 1975 publication, saying: “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.  Specifically highlighting the work of Kelly Brown Douglas in Sexuality and the Black Church: A Womanist Perspective and its implicit and explicit challenges to Black Theology, this paper then refocuses 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.  This paper contends that Cone’s way of critically reflecting on his own work models a politically powerful form of humility that remains an effective technology available to those who are oppressed in quests for liberation.