Argumentative Essay
those in authority may oppress vulnerable and needy people in society by being overworked and given lower wages to ensure that those in power accumulate a lot of wealth for themselves. Unfortunate people only want ways of surviving, and therefore, they can take any job or harassment as long as they get their basic needs at the end of the day. In the works of James Cone and Delores Williams shows how the white people exploited black women and men since they were vulnerable and lacked authority. The work shows how blacks got subjected to slavery, homelessness, reduced wages, and their wives got forced to be surrogate mothers. This argumentative essay will discuss the theological concept of salvation that responds to the historical process of primitive accumulation.
The theoretical concept of salvation from the works of James Cone and Delores Williams is that God brings hardships to His people not to destroy them but to strengthen them to ensure they fight for their freedom here on earth, and to liberate people by elevating their spirits in a world free from pains and hurts. God is an orderly God and whenever he does something He does it with a reason. Therefore, any hardships that people may face, He is knows them, and He wants the best for and from His people.
In the work of Delores Williams’ Sisters in the Wilderness the life of Hagar in the wilderness is compared to that of black women under the oppression of white people. both Hagar and the black women found God when they were in great trouble and when they were facing death and destruction. Hagar moved to the wilderness where God manifested Himself, while the black women used to move to their wilderness, which was in the haystack, where they felt the presence of the Lord overshadowing them. Both Hagar and the black women were slaves in their times. Hagar was a slave in Abraham and Sarah’s house, while the black women and their children were enslaved by the white people. God knew about the troubles they were facing but He allowed them to suffer, and revealed Himself at the appropriate time.
Hagar worked as a servant in Abraham’s house, and she was made to bear a kid for Sara in the hope that she would be treated as a member of the family, but that did not happen. After Sara gave birth to Isaac Hagar and her son were sent to the wilderness to die there, but why did God allow her to suffer? It can be argued that it was a way of rescuing Ishmael so that He could his descendants the Ishmaelite, the largest nation. God uses the oppressed and the poor people like Hagar to manifest His power to them and to those oppressing them. God blessed Ishmael wherever he was more than Isaac; this shows that God can bring joy to those He chooses. It can also be argued that God was punishing Hagar for committing adultery with Abraham, and that’s why He made them suffer. God would have wanted Hagar to use her knowledge to liberate herself from slavery instead of using her kid as a way to redeem her. Therefore, God wanted to show Hagar that freedom is earned and not given, and a person must work hard for it since there is no shortcut to freedom. Same case to the problems that the black women faced that made them strong enough and they could fight for their freedom. Together with men, the black women fought for their freedom, through the skills given to them by God.
In the strange fruit by James Cones, the cross and the lynching trees are widely used to represent the recrucicification of Christ in a black body. The Cross is a symbol of death and suffering that Christ was crucified on, while the white people used to crucify the black men and women on the lynching trees. The lynching trees were meant to make the black suffer and not to teach the population a lesson. It can be argued that by crucifying the black people on the lynch tree increased their faith in God, and gave birth to the black church. In the black church, Christ is worshiped in truth and spirit. They have a better understanding of the suffering that Christ went through since some of their people underwent similar situations. On the other hand, being crucified on the lynch trees made the black people become empowered and fight for their freedom. The black people were treated badly like they would not get jobs, healthcare, basic needs, and housing. Lynch occurred when oppressed black people complained and no one rescued them; it shows that Christ is being crucified again and again, and at the end of crucification there would be triumph. Therefore, the black people had to fight for their freedom just like Christ fought death. Thus it is true that God never bring challenges that His people cannot overcome.