Reclaiming The Radical Revolutionary: Celebrating The Ten Year Anniversary Of Obery Hendricks’ The Politics Of Jesus

In 2006 conservative politicians and the Republican party in general had a seemly strong and aggressive grip on what it meant to be Christian. In short, to be Christian and a devotee of the faith, one had to be a fundamentalist and/or a conservative. When the media wanted a “Christian representative” to speak on an issue, they usually would get someone who brought a conservative political ideology masking as the language of the faith.

As more and more pundits, politicians, preachers and prophets promoted and proclaimed this type of Christianity, many began to believe that being Christian meant that one had to be overly judgmental, hypocritical, unloving, and have a faith that was out of touch with reality. Moreover, by framing the faith conservatively, many believed that Christianity was the sole property of conservatives as they would remind us every time one of those firebrand prophets reign down anathemas that blamed societal ills on black and brown people, women, gays, “illegals” or poor people. However, one book not only challenged that embedded narrative, but it also began to change the rhetoric and language of the faith.

This book asked though questions about the faith. Who was Jesus and how did this radical revolutionary become a mild manner “savior” for the status quo? The book also asked tough questions about people who professed this faith. How can one who claim to follow Jesus as Lord and Savior not show any concern for the poor and needy? The book also asked though questions about our politicians. How faithful to the vision and mission of Jesus are the many politicians who claim to be Christian? Indeed, this book called for all of us to reexamine our own faith walks by asking our own set of tough questions.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the publication of the Politics of Jesus: Rediscovering the True Revolutionary Nature of Jesus’ Teachings and How They Have Been Corrupted (POJ) by Obery Hendricks, former president of Payne Theological Seminary, and now at Columbia University. Hendricks is one of the most widely known and widely read African American biblical scholars in the United States. At its publication it was hailed by Michael Dyson as “an instant classic.” Cornel West called it “a grand prophetic book.” Jim Wallis called it a “must read.” The Center for American Progress hosted a 90 minute C-SPAN discussion on it and numerous forums with POJ as the focus have been held in a variety of institutions and settings. POJ has become the most widely read and perhaps the most influential books of Bible scholarship by an African American academic biblical scholar in decades.

Many pastors and church leaders teach POJ in their churches. College and universities churches, colleges and universities, divinity schools from the Ivy League on down have added it to their libraries and professors have made it required reading. The book is even taught in some high schools. Ministers and academics across the nation have attested to its influence on their work, their political worldview and their overall understanding of the ministry of Jesus. Ten years after its publication its readership and its influence continues to grow.

To commemorate and celebrate the ten year anniversary of the book, panelists of activists, academics, scholars, and pastors will convene a roundtable to discuss the influential nature of this work at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Religion (AAR). Participants will discuss the book’s significance, impact, and contributions to both church and academy.

Panel Participants:

Andre E. Johnson, University of Memphis, Presiding

Eboni Marshall Turman, Yale University

Jesse Jackson, Operation Push, Chicago, IL

Nyasha Junior, Temple University

Gary Dorrien, Columbia University, Union Theological Seminary

Keri Day, Brite Divinity School

Michael Eric Dyson, Georgetown University

Obery Hendricks, Columbia University, Responding

Date and Time:

Saturday – 1:00 PM-3:30 PM

Convention Center-Stars at Night 4 (3rd Level)

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Reclaiming the Radical Revolutionary: Celebrating the Ten Year Anniversary of Obery Hendricks’ The Politics of Jesus