#40: God is a Black Woman (with Christena Cleveland)
“The only metaphor for God that can hold space for that much pain is an image of God who has inherited all that pain, who has carried it. When you think of God as a powerful, middle-class white man—this is not someone who goes to work every day and is beaten down by their colleagues. This is not someone who is incarcerated simply because of their skin.”
Dr. Christena Cleveland is the Director of the Center for Justice + Renewal, and a social psychologist, public theologian, author and professor. Christena joined me on the show to discuss her exploration of the social location of God and concepts of the divine. She helped me understand the damage that the vision of God as a powerful white man has done to people of colour for centuries, and how we can repurpose metaphors to enable us to enter into forgiveness and compassion.
Resources:
christenacleveland.com
justiceandrenewal.org
Disunity in Christ: Uncovering the Hidden Forces that Keep Us Apart, by Christena Cleveland
patreon.com/cscleve - Christena’s Patreon
Support the show at patreon.com/jonathanpuddle
I mentioned British hip-hop artist Roots Manuva. The song I had been listening to on repeat was Don’t Breathe Out.
