African-American Christian spirituality \u2015 especially in relation to the Holy Spirit \u2015 cannot be understood without understanding the phenomenon of \u201cspirit possession\u201d that was predominant in native African religion before the slave trade brought blacks to North America, a leading scholar said here recently.<\/p>\n
\u201cChristians have not discounted the reality of spirits but theologically evaluated them as evil or, at best, impediments to full conversion\u2026\u201d said the Rev. James Noel, speaking at the annual T.V. Moore Lectures sponsored by San Francisco Theological Seminary. Noel is professor of American religion and African-American spirituality at the seminary.<\/p>\n