Theology and the Blues - (Theology, Religion, and Pop Culture) by Justin McLendon (Hardcover)

About the Book

Theology and the Blues showcases theological themes inherent within the organic and expressive genre of the blues. The blues offers safe space to explore the raw material of our fallen condition, urging our voices to join the universal, primal cry for new creation.

Book Synopsis

Theology and the Blues showcases theological themes inherent within the organic and expressive genre of the blues. The blues offers safe space to explore the raw material of our fallen condition, urging our voices to join the universal, primal cry for new creation.

Review Quotes

Through the diverse disciplinary lenses of twelve authors, Theology and the Blues rethinks the long-held tropes separating blues from religion or spirituality, by expanding on research around blues and religion from authors such as James Cone, John Michael Spencer, Adam Gussow and others. Some previously devised divisions isolating blues from religion are turned on their head to show they are often more inexorably linked than sometimes meets the eye. The simplistic idea of Blues being the ldquo;Devilrsquo;s music, rdquo; far removed from Gospel music just doesnrsquo;t hold up. Blues music was simultaneously influenced by African American spirituals while also giving rise to more modern Black gospel music. In fact, blues can itself be almost a form of religion; as Albert Murray pointed out in Stomping the Blues, the act of performing blues music can be a way of exorcising the demons of the emotional state of having the blues.

About the Author

Justin McLendon is professor of theology at Grand Canyon University and department chair for the Master of Arts programs for Grand Canyon Theological Seminary.