Religion
James H. Cone addresses the realities of organized religion in everyday life, and also theological discussions surrounding Christianity. He recounts his own experiences of religion, in his childhood church, and the power religion had in connecting the African American community and giving them some comfort among the suffering they endured due to racism. He also refers to the way that racist groups like the Klu Klux Klan used religion in order to terrorize and harm African Americans. As such, religion is a difficult theme in this text and is shown to be a paradoxical presence of suffering and hope for African Americans. Cone advises churches and religious institutions today to discuss race openly and to seek racial inclusiveness as a goal. This, according to Cone, is "a test of the Christian identity of the church."
Racism
In this text, the lynching tree becomes a symbol of the suffering African Americans have endured throughout American history, from slavery to lynchings and segregation. Cone addresses the hardships caused by racism and the unjust murder of thousands of African American men and women due to lynchings. He often describes racism in shocking detail, including the description of a pregnant black woman being lynching mercilessly after she had protested the murder of her partner. Cone argues that the experiences of racism and segregation give African Americans a unique perspective of Christianity, one that mostly ignored in theological discourse.
The absence of the lynching tree
James H. Cone often refers to the absence of the lynching tree as a symbol in theological discussion. He argues that "relatively few people, apart from black poets, novelists, and other reality-seeing artists, have explored the symbolic connection [between the cross and the lynching tree.] The acknowledgment of this symbolic connection is something Cone argues must happen for there to be true healing for the African American community. The lack of discussion is something that inspired Cone to write theological texts about the African American experience: "Silence on both white supremacy and the black struggle against segregation made me angry with a fiery rage that had to find expression. How could any theologian explain the meaning of Christian identity in America and fail to engage white supremacy, its primary negation?"
