Preaching with Sacred Fire: An Anthology of African American Sermons, 1650 to the Present - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 039305831X ISBN 13: 9780393058314

Publisher: W W Norton & Co Inc, 2010

Synopsis

The collection provides new insights into the underpinnings of the black fight for emancipation and the rise and growth of the Civil Rights and Black Power movements. Sermons from the first decade of the twenty-first century point toward the future of African American preaching. Biographies of the preachers put their work in the cultural and homiletic context of their periods The preachers of these sermons are men and women from a range of faiths, ancestries, and educational backgrounds. They draw on a vast and luminous landscape of poetic language, using metaphor, rhythm, and imagery to communicate with their congregations. What they all have in common is hope, resilience, and sacred fire. "Even during the most difficult and oppressive times," Simmons and Thomas write in the preface, "the delivery, creativity, charisma, expressivity, fervor, forcefulness, passion, persuasiveness, poise, power, rhetoric, spirit, style, and vision of black preaching gave and gives hope to a community under siege. This magnificent work beautifully renders the complexity, spiritual richness, and strength of African American life.

About this title

Review:

Starred Review. On the desk, at the bedside, or at the pulpit, this is an indispensable collection for the religious or nonreligious alike. . . . Simmons and Thomas present enough material here for years of study and reflection.

This remarkable anthology brings readers close to the flames of this hope-inspiring religious rhetoric. These sermons warm the heart and ignite deep reflection about the true meaning of freedom.--Brad R. Braxton, former Senior Pastor, The Riverside Church of New York

About the Author:

Martha Simmons is the editor of Preaching on the Brink and 9.11.01: African American Leaders Respond to an American Tragedy. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia.

About this edition

• Publisher: W W Norton & Co Inc
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 039305831X
• ISBN 13: 9780393058314
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 960
• Editor: Simmons Martha, Thomas Frank A.