Reading While Black
by Esau McCaulley
One of the most foundational truths of life is that all of us live, that is act and respond, based on our experiences from past and current circumstances. This mindset also shows up in how we read and reading the Bible is no exception. When we read the Bible, we tend to throw our cultural lenses on the words that stick out to us. For example, white Americans tend to read the Scriptures through personal piety, individualism, and see God as (mostly) savior; erasing sin and assurance in heaven. But black Americans tend to read the Scriptures through acceptance, community, and seeing God as (mostly) liberator; freeing from cultural and spiritual bondage.
Reading While Black is a book that centers the reading of the Bible in the black experience as a personal and scholarly testament to the power and hope of Black biblical interpretation. In particular, McCaulley highlights how reading the Bible through black interpretation is invaluable for connecting a rich faith history to addressing the polarizing and urgent concerns of our time. In this book, you will get an understanding of how Scripture speaks to topics often overlooked by white interpreters, such as ethnicity, protests, policing, and slavery.