Would You like to Read a Systematic Theology Written by a Nineteenth Century Ex-Slave and Pastor

I just heard the news that Lexham Press (Logos/Faithlife) will be releasing  Plain Theology for Plain People by Charles Octavius Boothe, who was ex-slave and founding pastor of a number of churches.

According to Lexham Press:

Boothe was born into slavery in 1845 in Mobile County, Alabama. Despite the oppressive circumstances he was born into, he was afforded a number of opportunities to educate himself from a young age. He took these opportunities to study Scripture and was baptized in 1866. In post-emancipation America, he was a leader in the development of black education. He believed education to be a stabilizing force in society and an educated black population would disrupt the white narrative of inferiority.

His passion for education and his Christian faith led him to author a systematic theology for a largely uneducated black audience. Published in 1890, Plain Theology for Plain People was an effort to equip “plain folks” with a practical theology. Almost certainly the only theological work published by a black author at this time, Boothe brought the heights of academic theology to his congregants, so that they might be filled with good things.

Boothe brings the entirety of his academic influences to bear on his systematic theology but does so with simplicity in mind. “The doctrines of our holy religion need to be studied in order according to some definite system; but simplicity should prevail, simplicity of arrangement and simplicity of language,” he wrote. Boothe also used Scripture to inform his work, showing that the Bible and theology go hand-in-hand, especially for those who are unfamiliar with both.

It will be published with a preface by Walter Strickland (SEBTS).

Pre-order here!