Respect Understanding Caribbean British Christianity

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Book Reviews / Pneuma 31 (2009) 105-160

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Joe Aldred, Respect: Understanding Caribbean British Christianity (Peterborough, UK: Epworth, 2005). viii + 240 pp. £17.99 paperback.

Joe Aldred is a bishop in the Church of God of Prophecy tradition which is one of the larg- est branches of Black Pentecostalism in the United Kingdom. While subtitled Understand- ing Caribbean British Christianity, Aldred writes from a Caribbean British Pentecostal perspective and predominantly about the Caribbean British Pentecostal experience. (Hence my use of Aldred’s “Caribbean British Christianity” nomenclature in the remainder of this review should be understood in this exclusive sense.) Nevertheless, since so few studies in the UK have been dedicated to the examination of Caribbean British Pentecostalism, a work of this kind from someone who is an insider is well overdue. This book is insightful because of the stress the writer places on understanding which comes through “respect.” The central thrust of the book is respect which comes from the Latin word “respicio” mean- ing to “look back” or to “look again.”

The book is comprised of six chapters. Chapter one sets out the methodology for under- taking the research and then explains the diﬀ erent factors inﬂ uencing doing theology con- textually. The chapter also deﬁ nes some of the key terms used throughout the book. Next the writer explores the issue of ethnicity and faith by seeking to uncover the diverse and complex voices constituting Caribbean British Christianity. The third chapter continues to analyse the progression of the ethno-religious identity of Caribbean British Christians by focusing on the construction of Caribbean and then British identities to argue that a com- bination of a complex range of factors constitutes Caribbean British Christianity. Following this, the author seems to be concerned in the main with the nature of ecumenical dialogue between Caribbean British Christian leaders and White church leaders in the Birmingham area. Chapter ﬁ ve seeks to challenge the dominant theme of oppression used in Liberation and Black theologies. Aldred is not wishing to dispel entirely with the Exodus story but sees it as inappropriate when addressing contemporary contextual concerns of Caribbean British Christians. Instead Aldred oﬀ ers the Incarnation as a paradigm for moving forward and counter-balancing the Exodus story. The last chapter focuses in greater depth on a theology of respect and sets out a programme for its realization. This follows an eight stage process — of information, relationship, ethnicity, faith, self, other, dis/regard, and prophetic presence — which the author hopes will ultimately lead to a greater understanding of the self and the other.

The literary review in chapter four is helpful whilst the concluding proposals may be the most useful part of the book. However, the study is limited in many ways, of which I will highlight two in particular. First and sadly, the picture of ecumenical activities between Black and White church leaders narrowly focuses on Birmingham and only covers a two year period 1996 to 1998. Although the author provides a brief history of the devel- opment of Caribbean British Christian ecumenical organizations in chapter three, this is not connected with his treatment of ecumenical interaction between Black and White church leaders in chapter four. Inclusion of a substantial section or chapter analys- ing interactions of this kind prior to 1996 would have been helpful. Aldred himself is a political activist amongst other things, but his account of the ecumenical interaction between Black and White church leaders does not reﬂ ect this. The writer’s treatment of this

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Book Reviews / Pneuma 31 (2009) 105-160

theme highlights the ongoing problem of a lack of vision, unity, sustainable engagement, and leadership among Black and White church leaders working for ecumenical change. Second, Aldred’s treatment of the Incarnation as an alternative to the Exodus story is highly relevant in the construction of a political theology for Caribbean British Christian- ity. This perspective is especially important given concerns raised about Robert Beckford’s proposals for Caribbean British Christians to develop a political theology. In his sugges- tions, Beckford employs the ideology of Rastafarianism which is incongruent with Pente- costal theology. The Incarnation story as presented by Aldred oﬀ ers a contrasting and perhaps a more useful model to Beckford’s “dread” analysis for developing a Caribbean British political theology. Yet Aldred’s alternative is problematic in that he does not oﬀ er the historical analysis for applying the incarnational perspective within the contextual reality he writes about. This perhaps will lead some to argue that Aldred’s alternative incarnation- liberation paradigm is utopian.

Although Aldred is not a liberation theologian, his ideas should not be ignored by Black British theologians since they serve as useful introduction to a complex and relatively new area of academic research — that of Caribbean British Pentecostalism. T is book is essential reading for anyone engaged in ecumenical or interfaith dialogue. Finally, even if predomi- nantly about Caribbean British Pentecostalism, Aldred’s Respect succeeds in its major thesis, and thus has broader theological implications for Caribbean British Christianity in general and even for British Christianity as a whole. May it ﬁ nd a wide readership.

Reviewed by Berrisford Lewis

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