“Right now, Black voices are in.” That’s the opening line from Reading Black Books: How African American Literature Can Make Our Faith More Whole and Just by Pastor Claude Atcho from Church of the Resurrection in Charlottesville, VA.

Learning from Black voices means listening to more than snippets. It means attending to Black stories. In Reading Black Books, Claude offers a theological approach to 10 seminal texts of 20th-century African American literature. Each chapter takes up a theological category for inquiry through a close literary reading and theological reflection on a primary literary text, from Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man and Richard Wright's Native Son to Zora Neale Hurston's Moses, Man of the Mountain and James Baldwin's Go Tell It on the Mountain.

This book helps readers of all backgrounds learn from the contours of Christian faith formed and forged by Black stories, helping us move toward deeper conversations about racial justice in the church. Claude demonstrates that reading about Black experience as shown in the literature of great African American writers can guide us toward sharper theological thinking and more faithful living.

In the first half of this conversation, Claude shares some of his keen theological insights on a few formative works from Black writers. Then, Mark and Claude discuss the true universality of these stories and how they can inform our faith in ways that extend well beyond conversations about race, helping to bring renewal to our faith, churches, and communities.

Show Notes

• Purchase your copy of Reading Black Books: How African American Literature Can Make Our Faith More Whole and Just


• Learn more about Church of the Resurrection in Charlottesville, VA and support this church plant


• Check out The Scandal of Reading podcast for inspiring conversations about why Christians should be reading great literature.


• Visit Claude’s website


• Follow Claude on Twitter: @ClaudeAtcho


• Follow Mark on Threads: @markhackett

Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. I explore faith and American church culture from Memphis, TN. Never miss a post by signing up for my free newsletter or becoming a member.

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