James Baldwin’s Understanding of God

Abstract

This book focuses on Baldwin's experiences as a gifted black writer who fought valiantly against racism and wrote openly about homosexual relationships. Baldwin's God is a 'mysteriously impersonal' force he calls love- 'something ... like a fire, like the wind, something which can change you.' Front Matter....Pages i-xiii Introduction....Pages 1-5 Credo....Pages 7-11 Born in a Christian Culture....Pages 13-24 In Search of a Majority....Pages 25-33 Scarred by the Rock....Pages 35-57 Opening the Unusual Door....Pages 59-77 Coming out the Wilderness....Pages 79-100 Weighing Your Gods and You....Pages 101-115 Declining to “Imitate the Son of the Morning”....Pages 117-130 That Train’s Long Gone....Pages 131-145 The Black Issue of the Holy Ghost....Pages 147-162 Ain’t Nothing but Us up the Road....Pages 163-178 A Miracle of Coherence and Release....Pages 179-194 Postscript....Pages 195-197 Back Matter....Pages 199-222