Ben Ammi Ben Israel - Bloomsbury Studies in Black Religion and Cultures by Michael Miller Paperback

Book Synopsis

This text introduces Ben Ammi, the leader and theologian of the African Hebrew Israelite community, as a systematic thinker and theologian. It examines his many books and speeches in order to provide a comprehensive introduction to his thought in the context of both African American and Jewish contemporaries and precursors.

Divided into three thematic sections, History, Law, and Language, the text introduces Ben Ammi's understanding of the nature of God, the responsibilities of the human, and the narrative of history. Ben Ammi was a deeply spiritual but also remarkably modern thinker who blended scientific thought into his evolving socio-theology, while seeking to remove religion from the realm of mythology. The book evaluates how Ben Ammi's theology is one bound to concepts of humility and learning how to go with the grain of the natural world in order to find humanity's true center as a part of nature.

Review Quotes

"The value of this book lies in its integration of several aspects of study normally kept separate in academic fields. The bibliography contains a notable set of primary source writings from Ben Ammi which Miller cites. His epigraphs from these sources, at times alongside biblical texts, give them near scriptural value. As theological sources, these writings not only introduce readers to Ben Ammi's capacious mind but the messy and glorious ways the practice of religion exists outside of the rigid systems of academic thought. Miller's success at systematizing Ben Ammi for readers reveals the complexity required for the academic adventures in contemporary Black religions that only strengthens the study of those religions." --Black Theology: An International Journal

"Ben Ammi Ben Israel, the man and messiah figure, is one of the most interesting spiritual leaders to emerge in African American history. This thorough and thoughtful book by Michael Miller takes him seriously as a revolutionary thinker who challenges much of what we think we know about black politics, culture, language, life and death today." --John L. Jackson JR., author of Thin Description: Ethnography and the African American Hebrew Israelites

"This well-researched book fulfils a long-felt need - a thorough analysis of the philosophy of Ben
Ammi Ben Israel and the beliefs of the Hebrew Israelite movement." --Tudor Parfitt, Distinguished University Professor, Florida International University, USA

"Ben Ammi Ben Israel is not a name that is burnished on the consciousness of many people
outside of the relatively small world of those interested in and committed to Black
liberation. Miller's book is therefore a timely and a bold restatement of the man
and his theological, political and ethical ideas concerned with the selfactualisation
and self-determination of Black people ... This excellent text is a reminder of an important voice in the Black radical tradition that should be reclaimed." --Anthony G. Reddie, Director of the Oxford Centre for Religion and Culture, University of Oxford, UK

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