More than tongues can tell : theological generosity in Black Pentecostal thought / Eric Lewis Williams.

Author/creator Williams, Eric Lewis author.
Format Book
PublicationUniversity Park, Pennsylvania : The Pennsylvania State University Press, [2026]
Copyright Date©2026
Descriptionxii, 236 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.
Subjects

SeriesStudies in the Holiness and Pentecostal movements
Studies in the Holiness and Pentecostal movements. ^A1435515
Contents Introduction: On the coming of age of Black Pentecostal thought -- Whose report shall you believe? : Black Pentecostalism as a curious object of examination in American religion -- The priest : Ozro Thurston Jones Jr. as the philosophical theologian -- The prelate : Ithiel Conrad Clemmons as the historical theologian -- The prophet : James Alexander Forbes Jr. as the public theologian -- The preacher : William Clair Turner Jr. as the constructive theologian -- Conclusion: On the theologically generous vision of Black Pentecostal thought.
Abstract "Pentecostalism is often characterized as an ecstatic movement--centrally involving spirited worship, speaking in tongues, prophecy, and healing--as well as an exclusivist one, primarily aligned with North American white evangelicalism. Yet there is a vibrant Black Pentecostal tradition stretching back more than a century that is both theologically complex and deeply grounded in an ethics of social justice. In More Than Tongues Can Tell, Eric Lewis Williams dismantles prevailing notions of Pentecostalism's anti-intellectualism and explores how social contexts shape theologies produced by marginalized groups in America. Through close readings of the work of four pioneering Black Pentecostal theologians--Bishop Ozro Thurston Jones Jr., Bishop Ithiel Conrad Clemmons, Dr. James Alexander Forbes Jr., and Dr. William Clair Turner Jr.--Williams uncovers a theological vision marked by openness to diverse Christian and philosophical traditions alongside a deep commitment to liberation and egalitarianism. Situating these thinkers within African American religious history and the wider landscape of Pentecostal theology, the book reconstructs Black Pentecostalism's coming of age in the twentieth century." -- Publisher, page four of cover.
Abstract "Foregrounding pneumatology as a site of theological creativity, More Than Tongues Can Tell challenges glossocentric frameworks that reduce the Spirit to ecstatic speech and demonstrates how Black Pentecostal theologians articulate a more expansive and socially engaged vision. The book will be of particular interest to students and scholars of theology and African American and Africana religions, as well as practitioners within Pentecostal communities." --Publisher.
Bibliography noteIncludes bibliographical references (pages 213-225) and index.
Issued in other formebook version : 9780271101798
ISBN9780271101347
ISBN9780271101330 (hardback)
ISBN0271101334 (hardback)
ISBN0271101342 (paperback)
ISBN(ePub ebook)
ISBN(PDF ebook)

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