Robert Beckford explores the dialogue between two central institutions in African Caribbean life: the church and the dancehall. He highlights how Dub – one of the central features of dancehall culture – can be mobilized as a framework for re-evaluating theology, taking apart doctrine and reconstructing it under the influence of a guiding theme. Engaging with the social and cultural heritage that informs Christian African Caribbean culture, including the influence of slavery, Revival Christianity and working class Jamaican life, Black theology and music ranging from post-war Sound System to American Hip Hop, Jesus Dub is a detailed exploration of how throughout history, music and faith have been transformed in response to racialised oppression. Finally, Beckford demonstrates that dub style appears in the teachings of Jesus, and that Dub is a tool which can provide new ways of envisaging and practising spiritual gifts and financial giving, proposing a more inclusive theology for everyone.
Author(s): Robert Beckford
Edition: 1
Year: 2006
Language: English
Pages: 192
Book Cover......Page 1
Half Title......Page 2
Title......Page 4
Copyright......Page 5
Dedication......Page 6
Contents......Page 8
Acknowledgements......Page 10
Introduction: Sound clash: theology, culture and the Black Atlantic......Page 12
Part I: Church hall, dancehall and resistance......Page 24
1. Theorising the politics of sound......Page 26
2. Diasporic dialogue: The emergence of sound systems and Pentecostal churches......Page 39
3. The set and the Spirit: Dancehall and church hall as cultural resistance......Page 56
Part II: Dub, interpretation and Christology......Page 74
4. The gospel of dub: Origins and development......Page 76
5. Dub hermeneutics: Form and content......Page 92
6. Jesus dub......Page 104
7. Echo chamber: Dialogue with William (Lez) Henry......Page 112
Part III: Dub theology and social change......Page 124
8. Spirit dub: Towards heteroglossia......Page 126
9. Prosperity dub: Commonwealth economics......Page 141
Conclusion: Theology and culture dub......Page 156
Notes......Page 162
Bibliography......Page 177
Index......Page 187
