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Urban Apologetics: Restoring Black Dignity with the Gospel

Urban Apologetics: Restoring Black Dignity with the Gospel

  • Downloads：3118
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-04-28 14:31:13
  • Update Date：2025-09-07
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Eric Mason
  • ISBN：0310100941
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle

Reviews

Tim Simpson ，

Timely resource。 Strong， biblical， practical primer for those doing ministry in the black community。 Seminary level expertise w/ a pastoral tone and focus。 Every Christian should read this book。

Chrys Jones ，

Excellent resource for those who are engaging the black community or black cults。 It's a tool that will be vital for the future。 Excellent resource for those who are engaging the black community or black cults。 It's a tool that will be vital for the future。 。。。more

Timothy Holmes ，

Just hands down needs to be in everybody’s library。 A great resource for defending your faith in some of the more tense debates in the black and urban communities。 Eric Mason does a great job curating this collection and providing a theological argument for why these conversations are important and then providing clear articulation of the problems and how to have the conversation。My main issue with this book is the feminism chapter leaned too hard on complimentarian theology。 Specifically for th Just hands down needs to be in everybody’s library。 A great resource for defending your faith in some of the more tense debates in the black and urban communities。 Eric Mason does a great job curating this collection and providing a theological argument for why these conversations are important and then providing clear articulation of the problems and how to have the conversation。My main issue with this book is the feminism chapter leaned too hard on complimentarian theology。 Specifically for this chapter， that argument made the overall argument against extreme feminism weaker。 I don’t think these types of books should be written with the desire to protect your denomination’s theology， especially when you are admitting you are still working out some of these truths。 It wasn’t the place for those points。Nonetheless， a great book。 。。。more

Phillip Fox ，

Informative， Engaging， and Fits All Contexts！This work by Eric Mason， and All the Contributors Vince Bantu， Adam Coleman， Jerome Gay Jr。， Tiffany Gill， Doug Logan Jr。， Sarita T。 Lyons， Eric Mason， Zion McGregor， Damon Richardson， Brandon Washington， Blake Wilson means a lot to me。 This work transcends just the "Black Urban Context" and will translate well to my ministry with my Native American People！ All of the arguments that are heard within the "black" Church and Culture， are the same exact a Informative， Engaging， and Fits All Contexts！This work by Eric Mason， and All the Contributors Vince Bantu， Adam Coleman， Jerome Gay Jr。， Tiffany Gill， Doug Logan Jr。， Sarita T。 Lyons， Eric Mason， Zion McGregor， Damon Richardson， Brandon Washington， Blake Wilson means a lot to me。 This work transcends just the "Black Urban Context" and will translate well to my ministry with my Native American People！ All of the arguments that are heard within the "black" Church and Culture， are the same exact arguments I hear in Indian Country in both Rural and Urban Tribal Communities againstChristianity and the true Gospelof Jesus！ I have been telling many of my fellow Native Christian Leaders about this work and how close it fits within our context as Native Ministers of the Gospel！ I am blessed to have read this Amazing Work！ 。。。more

Stephen Matlock ，

What is necessary for someone to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ to salvation？ Some would say it is only the sovereign action of God。 Some would say it is the persuasive witness of a follower of Jesus， someone who shows what a life of following Christ looks like。 Others might say it is the cogent argument constructing a logical arrangement of facts， principles， and reasonable conclusions。 But one thing it usually takes， even with all these actions， is the presence of someone to connect to a per What is necessary for someone to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ to salvation？ Some would say it is only the sovereign action of God。 Some would say it is the persuasive witness of a follower of Jesus， someone who shows what a life of following Christ looks like。 Others might say it is the cogent argument constructing a logical arrangement of facts， principles， and reasonable conclusions。 But one thing it usually takes， even with all these actions， is the presence of someone to connect to a person in a manner and with language that is familiar and understandable so that a trust relationship at the personal level can lead to a trust relationship at a spiritual level with the God who made the universe。 That is the starting point for this book on Christian apologetics， edited by Dr。 Eric Mason， who draws from his own experiences as a faithful， educated， and trained Christian leader。 Also included among the writers are theologians， pastors， teachers， professors， and other professionals who are serious about their faith as well as the implications of their faith in their lived expressions。 And yet this is not a standard book of Christian apologetics written for the broad audience of American Christians in Evangelical churches。 Instead， this book is unashamedly Black and Christian and unwaveringly focused on the controversies that are heard on the streets and in the barbershops and with friends playing hoops or families at a barbecue， because this is a book designed for the urban experience。 Here you will find questions about Black identity cults and teachings， arguments from atheists， appeals to mysticism and religions， denials of the historic faith of Jesus and the rejection of Christianity as the “white man’s religion”—and reasonable beliefs that can both push back on the arguments and lead to a saving faith in Jesus。 There are firm， reasonable， confident refutations of these distractions， along with solid teaching about the true elements of the faith， expressed uniquely as views of Black Christians speaking to their own neighbors and communities and families。 The book opens with the answer to the most basic of questions: What is Urban Apologetics， and why is it needed？ Dr。 Mason provides several essays here， along with Jerome Gay， Jr。， Tiffany Gill， and Zion McGregor。 Then there are deep discussions about Black religious and ethnic identity groups， with offerings from Damon Richardson on the Nation of Islam （NOI）， a discussion of Kemeticism by Vince Bantu， Black women and Black feminism by Sarita T。 Lyons， Black atheism by Adam Coleman， again interspersed with essays by Dr。 Mason。 The book concludes with an apologia for apologetics with the tools and understanding necessary to speak truth confidently and accurately， with articles by Doug Logan on Outreach， Biblical literacy by Blake Wilson， and the conclusion of the book regarding the serious nature of apologetics by Dr。 Mason。 This is a solid book and a solid resource for any Christian， but it is focused on the needs of the Black Christian in today’s America。 This is a masterpiece of research and analysis from professionals who deal with these issues in their jobs， their lives， and their cities。 Urban Apologetics is an instant classic， akin to earlier works of apologia， but focus on the needs of those who live in the city where the questions might differ but the needs are still the same: is there a God who sees me， loves me， wants me， and will take me into his family？NOTE: I received a pre-release version of the book for my honest review and have also purchased a copy。 I have not been paid for my thoughts and receive no benefit from sharing them。 。。。more

George P。 ，

Apologetics is the reasoned defense of the Christian faith。 The term comes from the Greek word for a legal argument， apologia。 That word appears in 1 Peter 3:15， a classic proof text for apologetics: “Always be prepared to give an answer [apologia] to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have。”Apologetics is a contextual discipline。 In other words， it answers questions nonbelievers ask， and those questions vary。 In Urban Apologetics， Eric Mason and 11 other authors offe Apologetics is the reasoned defense of the Christian faith。 The term comes from the Greek word for a legal argument， apologia。 That word appears in 1 Peter 3:15， a classic proof text for apologetics: “Always be prepared to give an answer [apologia] to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have。”Apologetics is a contextual discipline。 In other words， it answers questions nonbelievers ask， and those questions vary。 In Urban Apologetics， Eric Mason and 11 other authors offer a “defense of the Christian faith against Black objections，” as well as a demonstration of “how Christianity meets the unique needs and answers the unique questions of Black people。”Specifically， Urban Apologetics answers the challenges posed to Christianity by “the Black Consciousness Community” or “consciousness community。” Because of the long centuries of slavery， segregation， and racism endured by Black people in America， the consciousness community views Christianity as a “white man’s religion” that is fundamentally inimical to the interests of Black people。 Consequently， the urgent task of urban apologetics is “restoring Black dignity with the gospel，” as the book’s subtitle puts it。As editor， Mason divides the book’s treatment of urban apologetics into three parts:Part 1 describes “the context for urban apologetics。” It focuses on how American racism has often “whitewashed” the experience of Black people， resulting in a distorted self-image。Part 2 examines how “religious and ethnic identity groups” respond to this whitewashing with false gospels。 Succeeding chapters examine the Nation of Islam， Hebrew Israelites， Kemeticism， womanism， Black masculinity movements， and Black atheism。Part 3 then outlines “tools for urban apologetics，” including worldview analysis， personal evangelism， biblical literacy， and spiritual warfare。Urban Apologetics is well-researched， clearly written， and gospel-centered。 The authors are subject-matter experts who affirm orthodox biblical theology and creatively and pointedly engage issues in the Black community。 I recommend it as a resource to Black Christians ministering in urban environments。 They are the book’s intended readers。However， I also recommend the book to white ministers such as myself who work in suburban environments。 Part 2’s discussion of religious and ethnic identity groups in the Black community provides an excellent introduction to groups， such as the Nation of Islam， that often make the news。 Part 3 outlines helpful apologetic tools for all Christians， Black or white。Part 1 is the most important section of the book for white ministers to read， in my opinion。 Over the past year， Americans have engaged in intense， often heated， discussions about issues related to race and ethnicity。 These discussions often break down along the lines of race， with Black and white Americans talking past one another。 The five chapters in Part 1 helped me better understand the unique history and challenges that have shaped Black America， as well as the crucial mission of the Black church in that community。I hope better understanding will lead to greater empathy with and support for Black brothers and sisters in America。 The unity of the Body of Christ requires this， for， as Paul wrote， “If one part suffers， every part suffers with it” （1 Corinthians 12:26）。 Restoring Black dignity should be a concern for white Christians， too。Book ReviewedEric Mason， ed。， Urban Apologetics: Restoring Black Dignity with the Gospel （Grand Rapids， MI: Zondervan， 2021）。P。S。 If you liked my review， please click “Helpful” on my Amazon review page。P。P。S。 I wrote this review for InfluenceMagazine。com。 It is posted here by permission。 。。。more