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Reflection On Delores Williams

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Reflection Paper #5 In the sixth chapter of his book, Delores Williams talks about the three areas in which womanist theology can dialogue with black liberation theology, namely theological method, certain areas of Christian doctrine, and ethics. What Williams really does throughout the chapter is that she first explains the point of view of some black liberation theologians, such as James Cone, James Deotis Roberts and Cecil Cone, regarding certain subjects; then she uses a womanist approach to contrast such views. Williams starts off by describing how in the story of the Exodus, there is no indication that God is against non-Jewish slavery. She therefore challenges James Cone’s use of the Exodus as a liberating text that can be used by African-Americans …show more content…

I think that she is very effective in explaining her thoughts. I liked how she explained womanist theology by comparing it to black liberation theology. By doing this, she was able to underline and emphasize black liberation theology’s flaws, and she is capable of showing how womanist theology is more complete under certain aspects. I believe that this approach, does not only focus on black women, but it makes points that are very valuable for all people. The two parts that I liked most are the ones regarding the Exodus and redemption. I totally agree with Williams when she explains how the siding of black liberation theology with the Israelites and use of the Exodus in general as a liberating text is not very moral. In fact, the Exodus contains messages of violence, oppression, submission, and even death of innocent people. Therefore, it is kind of contradiction using it for a liberating cause against oppression. I also really like how Williams states that human people are not meant to suffer in order to gain salvation and redemption. In other words, black people should not be told that it is fine for them to suffer now and that by suffering they would play the same role of Jesus on the cross and thus obtain redemption. It is also wrong to believe of God’s kingdom as something obtained in the afterlife only. Indeed, such a statement would lead people to believe that they can suffer now since they will be next to God once

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