A Theology of the Spirits

Anthony Reddie has said that while Black Theology has always spent a great deal of time and effort on Jesus, there has been “comparatively little on the Holy Spirit.” Recognizing this reality, one hope of this paper is to invigorate and contribute to a conversation on the Spirit in Black Theology. After a brief examination of the intriguing work of Jawanza Eric Clark, who challenges taken-for-granted views of original sin and Christocentrism, the paper will explore understandings of spirit(s) within select religions of Africa and the African diaspora. The study will build from these pieces with a consideration of possibilities for constructive pneumatologies within contemporary Black Theology. The paper’s interest in the Holy Spirit is concerned primarily with the relationship between divine power and presence and human potential and responsibility, and especially in creative formulations of this dynamic that call for human action toward social justice, wholeness, and positive transformation.