Until the university severed its ties
with the denomination in 1914, Vanderbilt Divinity School was under the
Methodist Episcopal Church, South. In 1958, James Lawson- raised in the African
Methodist Episcopal Zion tradition- is attending Vanderbilt Divinity School and
using Wesley's example of nonviolent response to mobs opposed to his teaching
(Dickerson, 313). How, 140 years after Wesley condemns the enslavement
and dehumanization of black people in his Thoughts Upon Slavery, are entire
universities being founded by a Methodist tradition that existed simply because
of its preference for continuing slavery? How, 184 years after the same
condemnation, is Lawson being expelled from an institution founded on Methodism?
What breakdowns allowed theologies originating from one tradition stray so far
from one another (MECS and AMEZ)? What were MECS members saying of Wesley’s words
on the matter?
No comments:
Post a Comment