social and political factors and also because the common experience of marginalization drew blacks together. The church has been a virtual refuge from oppression. The black church also tends to function as a community witness, exerting social control and facilitating economic cooperation. The church has served as an outlet for blacks to express their vitality, through music and religious frenzy. The church has also functioned as a symbol of solidarity for God's elect: "In this sense, the church is a chosen people of God, whose mission is to be the vanguard of the new redeemed order" (129). The functions of the new black church differ from the old in that the former views worship as communion with God, focuses on education and evangelization, and does not seek escape from the world but immersion into it.
Evans, Jr., James. We Have Been Believers. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1992.
Chapters 1 and 3: These chapters discuss the theological foundations of Christianity and the authori
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