Black Theology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Black Theology - Essay Example In the midst of this turbulent period, a relatively unknown theologian from a rural town in Arkansas emerged to confront the abstract and irrelevant definitions of white mainstream theology and to speak to the social conditions of black Americans. James Cone has been called "the father" of black theology, "the leading exponent of black theology," and the "premier black theologian" (Burrow, 1993, p. 1). Grenz and Olson (1992, p. 206) acknowledge, "Cone was able to emerge as an important voice for the new Black theology in part because he shared the plight of Blacks through his upbringing in the South. This qualified him to understand their feelings and speak on their behalf. At the same time, his voice was significant because he had obtained the academic credentials necessary to gain a hearing in the largely White-dominated theological circle." Cone wrote the first systematic treatment of black theology. His books, articles, and lectures launched black liberation theology into the national and international theological arena. As Hopkins (2002, p. 16) argues, "I believe he was the first person in the history of the United States to position liberation of the poor as the central and foundational preaching and teaching of Jesus And Cone was one of two people in the world to first write books on liberation theology." To better contextualise this assessment, it would be pertinent to point out that Hopkins (2002, p. 14) defines black liberation theology as "the name given to a movement created by a group of African American pastors in the late 1960s who felt that the gospel of Jesus Christ had a positive message for black people." Arguably, there were three historic events that provided the context for the formation of black theology as a movement: (1) the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, associated with Martin Luth er King Jr., (2) the publication of Joseph Washington's book, Black Religion: The Negro and Christianity in the United States (1964), and (3) the rise of the black power movement, strongly influenced by Malcolm X's philosophy of black nationalism (Burrow, 1993). In the 1960s, the notoriety of the civil rights movement emerged under the leadership and direction of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He confronted racism and discrimination using a social-oriented theology and a nonviolent method of protest. His pastoral concern and academic training gave a theological and biblical voice to the debilitating implications of racial oppression. Second, Joseph Washington's (1964) book Black Religion was one of the major writings to argue that black religion is not identical to white Protestantism or any other expression of Euro-American Christianity. "Rejecting the thesis of earlier studies that viewed Black religion as one aspect of the broader category of North American Protestantism, Washington asserted that it was actually a distinctive phenomenon in North American religious life" (Grenz and Olson, 1992, p. 204). Finally, with the influence of Malcolm X, phrases like "black nationalism," "black pride," and "black power" emerged to raise black consciousn ess and reclaim black identity in American society. The three historical benchmarks - the civil rights movement, Black Religion, and the black power movement -provided the conte

Stereo Electronic Effects in Fuel Dehydrating Icing Inhibitors Research Paper

Stereo Electronic Effects in Fuel Dehydrating Icing Inhibitors - Research Paper Example The solubility of water in most hydrocarbon jet fuels often decreases by roughly 2 ppm v/v per 1 °C. In this regard, the dissolved water components of the jet fuel may freeze to form tiny ice crystals and blocking fuel feeds, enhance corrosion as well as supporting microbial growth. A number of plane crash incidences attributed to fuel starvation due to icing have been recorded. For example, during extended high latitude flights, fuel temperatures often fall to extremely low levels thereby causing the water components of the jet fuel to freeze. In most cases, the ice crystals thus formed may not only clog jet fuel filters but can also lodge into the fuel with potential implications such as engine malfunction or flameout (Repetto et al., 2013, p.556). However, there are currently a number of possibilities of effective elimination of the potential hazards associated with jet fuel water contamination. According to Trohalaki and Pachter (2009, p.79), although the application of organic molecules as potential dehydrating agent remains underutilized due to their complex chemical refining requirements, a number of organic molecules with efficient dehydrating properties such as ortho esters, ketals, hemiketals, acetals, hemiacetals are increasingly being seen as potential candidates for the development of novel and effective fuel dehydrating Icing Inhibitors (FDII). This research proposal investigates the feasibility of using stereoelectronic effects of organic molecules such as ortho-esters in the management of both jet fuel water contamination as well as ice formation in jet engines during high altitude flights. Stereoelectronic effects play a critical role in the hydrolytic processes of the organic water scavenging molecules such as ortho esters (Chiang et al., 2003, p.58). According to many experts, orthoesters are organic molecules that contain a functional group consisting of three alkoxy groups attached to one of the carbon atoms. Orthoesters generally work as water scavengers by getting rapidly hydrolysed when in contact with the free water thereby acting as an ace inhibitor.  Ã‚