As I read Thabiti’s book there was something that I was feeling that I couldn’t immediately put words to, and then it hit me. Thabiti, a black man himself, writes of the black church and culture as if he was a visitor to a land he’d never been to before. Granted his work is historical by nature, but it comes across as if it’s written by an outsider.

As part of my doctoral work I am reading a lot of books that to one degree or another relate to my field of study. One of the books that I just finished was Thabiti Anyabwile’s, “The Decline of African American Theology” (The very title of the book provokes mixed feelings, none of which I found to be appealing, and leaves one wondering what exactly is African American theology? A question that I still have after finishing. But that’s neither here nor there). It’s been a week or so since I completed Thabiti’s work, and I still feel a sense of disequilibrium with it, so much so that I feel compelled to write, not a response, but my reflections on the book.

What cannot be denied is that Thabiti has done significant historical work, that I felt at times to be compelling. Theologically he works through a systematic grid, rooted in the reformed tradition. Each chapter takes one of the core doctrines (salvation, the Holy Spirit, revelation, etc), and begins with the biblical teaching of that doctrine. From here Thabiti then proceeds to take us through five major movements in African American ecclesiological (church) history. His breakdown is as follows: 1) Early slavery era through abolition (1600-1865); 2) Reconstruction, “Jim Crow” Segregation, the great migration and the “New Negro” movement (1865-1929); 3) Depression and World War II (1930-1949); 4) Civil Rights Era (1950-1979); and 5) End of century, Postmodern era (1980- Present). To sum up his argument: African American theology began on a solid footing because we were trained in the reformed tradition, but ever since then our theology has devolved into a downward spiral.

There is a lot that this book has to offer. Thabiti is no historical slouch, giving great biographical sketches of some of the major players in the African American tradition. Along the way he profiles both preachers and literary savants who have contributed heavily to the tapestry of African American thought and culture. As I read I kept finding myself immersed not only in his text, but in the footnotes as well. Thabiti has clearly done his homework…somewhat.

While I was enlightened with some of Thabiti’s work, I kept feeling a sense of frustration. To get straight to the point, “The Decline of African American Theology,” is not only a curious work, but forgive my bluntness, it is a very dangerous work.

As Thabiti lays out his argument, taking the reader through five periods in African American thought and culture, he lifts up certain “key” figures who contributed, well, to the decline of African American Theology, and here’s where his book suffers a major flaw.