Theology in the Mode of Monk: An Aesthetics of Barth and Cone on Revelation and Freedom, Volume 1: Epistrophy: Historical and Hermeneutical Backgrounds

by Willie James Jennings; Raymond Carr

Publisher:

Cascade Books

, 2024

Overview

This captivating study engages two of the most influential theologians of the twentieth century: Karl Barth, the Swiss Protestant theologian who constructed his theology “from above” and engaged the powers in the background of Nazi Germany, and James H. Cone, the father of Black Theology in America, who constructed his theology “from below” and confronted white racism--the most intractable issue in America’s history. In this three-volume project, Carr employs the aesthetic thinking of the jazz legend Thelonious Monk to reconceptualize, restructure, and advance the theologies of Barth and Cone. This first volume appeals to the Bebop tune “Epistrophy” as the analogical framework for (re)conceptualizing the historical form and hermeneutical backgrounds of Karl Barth and James H. Cone. Monk’s mode of musical thinking establishes the aesthetic theological architecture Carr uses to reiterate and reimagine the revolutionary theological contributions of Barth and Cone.

Praise for Theology in the Mode of Monk: An Aesthetics of Barth and Cone on Revelation and Freedom, Volume 1

Many of us who know the brilliance of Raymond Carr have waited for these volumes. They are epic. Here in volume one, Carr sets the stage for an astounding re-reading of Karl Barth and James Cone through the music of Thelonious Monk. The depth, subtlety, and artistic dexterity through which he articulates Barth and Cone’s theological projects is unmatched by any text I have ever read. This book is a turning point in Barth studies and emerging Cone studies.

——Willie Jennings, associate professor of systematic theology and Africana studies, Yale Divinity School

Thelonious Monk’s unprecedented aesthetics allow Raymond Carr to innovate brilliantly a mode that creates the interpenetration of James H. Cone and Karl Barth as supplementation and correction in counterpoint. In this groundbreaking first volume, Carr, himself a theological jazz creator and trickster theoretician, deploys history interpretation to set us up for the Monkian melodies in his forthcoming volumes two and three.

——Dwight N. Hopkins, professor of theology, University of Chicago

Raymond Carr undertakes an audacious attempt to construct ‘irregular theology’ in an aesthetic mode through which Karl Barth encounters James Cone. He interrogates and advances Barth’s thinking of freedom (Mozartean) down a line that includes James Cone’s spirituals and blues and Thelonious Monk’s jazz. In Carr’s groundbreaking proposal, Friedrich-Wilhelm Marquardt’s ‘logos of society’ finds significance in the Black experience of sociopolitical struggle. Do not miss this book!

——Paul S. Chung, director, Karl Barth and Public Theology Center

Raymond Carr is the Conjunto Cat! ‘Conjunto’ is Spanish for ‘to join together’ or a ‘set’ or a musical group. In Theology in the Mode of Monk, Carr has arranged a new polygonal bandstand on which appears a theological vision and practice whose main players are Karl Barth, James Cone, and Thelonious Monk! Watch out! Give a listen! Read deep! Conjunto can also mean totality, everybody! Come onstage by reading this book and join Raymond Carr’s conjunto.

——Davíd Carrasco, professor of the study of Latin America, Harvard Divinity School

Raymond Carr draws on a Black liberative tradition and employs Monk’s musical aesthetic for theological exploration. His trilogy, Theology in the Mode of Monk, invokes questions and invites readers to explore ideas and to challenge concepts of being.

——Angela D. Sims, president, Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School

Raymond Carr has emerged as one of the most creative minds in contemporary African-American theology. His intensive engagement with James Cone and Karl Barth has already made a mark in the field but is now assured with the appearance of these remarkable volumes.

——George Hunsinger, professor of systematic theology, Princeton Theological Seminary

With great erudition and care, Raymond Carr cleverly utilizes the jazz aesthetic of Thelonious Monk to help explore the theological relationships between Karl Barth and James Cone. As he does so, we see the importance of Christ’s faithfulness as our cantus firmus and hear an urgent call for the church to be prophetic as it hears the higher frequencies of God and the lower frequencies of the cries of the oppressed.

——Gary W. Burnett, senior fellow in New Testament, Belfast School of Theology

Theology in the Mode of Monk is a masterpiece of theological aesthetics. Through Monk, Carr discloses obsolete philosophical systems before and after Karl Barth; and with James Cone signifyin(g) on Barth, he transforms deleterious theological, existential, and political systematics. Thus, this project attunes us to the sound(s) that arise from the cross of Christ—even as we improvise on that revolutionary melody and move to its rhythm(s).

——Johanne Stubbe Teglbjærg Kristensen, associate professor of theology, University of Copenhagen

Product Details

• Title: Theology in the Mode of Monk: An Aesthetics of Barth and Cone on Revelation and Freedom, Volume 1
• Authors: Willie James Jennings, Raymond Carr
• Publisher: Cascade Books
• Print Publication Date: 2024
• Logos Release Date: 2024
• Pages: 240
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Ebook
• ISBNs: 9781532671555, 9781532671548, 1532671547, 9781532671531, 1532671539, 1532671555
• Resource ID: LLS:9781532671555
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2025-04-23T00:17:48Z

About the Authors

Raymond Carr is an international public theologian. His research interests are theologically ecumenical, historically sensitive, and radically inclusive. He is a visiting professor and director of the Codex Charles H. Long Papers Project at Harvard Divinity School, a research scholar at the Moses Mesoamerican Archive and Research Project at Harvard University, and the president elect of the Society for the Study of Black Religion (SSBR).