A HISTORICAL EVALUATION OF JAMAICA BAPTISTS: A SPIRITUALITY OF RESISTANCE

Resistance has been intrinsically woven into the origin and development of the Jamaica Baptist Union (JBU). Historically, the spirit of resistance and certain doctrinal beliefs has had an ironic relationship among Baptists throughout Europe and North America. However, something unique emerged when t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Black theology : an international journal 2008-04, Vol.6 (3), p.366-392
Main Author: Lawes, Marvia
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Baptist Churches
Historical theology
History-Caribbean
Jamaica Baptist Union
Native Baptists
Religion
Religious history
Resistance
Spirituality
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Summary:Resistance has been intrinsically woven into the origin and development of the Jamaica Baptist Union (JBU). Historically, the spirit of resistance and certain doctrinal beliefs has had an ironic relationship among Baptists throughout Europe and North America. However, something unique emerged when these beliefs met with African religious beliefs in America, Western Africa and in Jamaica. After the beginning of Baptist work on the island by George Liele in the mid-eighteenth century, these doctrines and beliefs converged in the early Jamaican Baptists to fashion the Spirituality of Resistance that became a part of Jamaican Baptist life and identity. They developed the reputation of having had within their membership and among their leadership some of the most aggressive opponents to the institution of slavery and agitators for improved social conditions during the immediate post-emancipation era in Jamaica. In this article, I conduct a historical and theological evaluation of their Spirituality of Resistance using sociological, historical, and theological resources with a view to ascertaining its usefulness for the early Jamaicans, its continued presence within the Jamaica Baptist Union, and what implications this might have for the future.
ISSN:1476-9948
1743-1670
DOI:10.1558/blth2008v6i3.366