{"title":"Robert Beckford","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"god-and-the-gangs-book-robert-beckford-9780232525182","title":"God and the Gangs","description":"Violent crime including gang warfare and the use of firearms affects many urban communities, with a growing number of alarming incidents reported in the media.  Churches often struggle to find appropriate ways to respond to these crises and the pastoral needs that arise from them.  Robert Beckford, lecturer in Black Theology at the University of Birmingham, attempts to provide some much-needed theological tools for an understanding of the rise of disaffection among black urban youth. Offering a clear analysis of the cultural and political factors at work, he argues for an approach based on reflection and action to seek life-transforming responses. Accessibly written, God and the Gangs is essential reading for those seeking to resource themselves for urban work or ministry.   Includes a foreword by the Archbishop John Sentamu.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49527710908689,"sku":"GOR002251026","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50129343217937,"sku":"GOR013864937","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51251943276817,"sku":"GOR002924371","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0232525188.jpg?v=1751356611"},{"product_id":"my-theology-duppy-conqueror-book-robert-beckford-9781913657505","title":"My Theology: Duppy Conqueror","description":"My Theology: The world’s leading Christian thinkers explain some of the principal tenets of their theological beliefs.  ‘How can people racialised as black conceive God, Jesus, and the Spirit within contemporary concrete social and political worlds?’ asks pioneering black theologian and broadcaster Robert Beckford. ‘What would facilitate a radical theology committed to confronting racialised injustice, social inequality and environmental degradation?’  In Duppy Conqueror Beckford explains how he has recontextualised African-American black and womanist theologies of liberation to answer these questions for second and third-generation black British. His methodologies have included a correlation of linguistic concepts from black cultural history and urban life with theological concepts, and the inscription of black theology onto documentary filmmaking and contemporary gospel music.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49551011021073,"sku":"GOR013718137","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49740307235089,"sku":"NGR9781913657505","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1913657507.jpg?v=1751425901"},{"product_id":"jesus-dub-book-robert-beckford-9780415310192","title":"Jesus Dub","description":"Engaging with the Black church and Black society, the crack age, hip-hop theology and TV, this radical and cutting-edge Christian message presents dub as a tool in which Christians can find new empowerment and purpose.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49556023607569,"sku":"GOR006438674","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50354101158161,"sku":"CIN0415310199VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50399341281553,"sku":"CIN0415310199G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52351680282897,"sku":"NLS9780415310192","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0415310199.jpg?v=1751197929"},{"product_id":"god-of-the-rahtid-book-robert-beckford-9780232523317","title":"God of the Rahtid","description":"How can we make sense of the complex phenomenon of Black rage and use it in a positive way so that it becomes a constructive way in our lives?","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49563041759505,"sku":"GOR007801844","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51000490230033,"sku":"NIN9780232523317","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52400903815441,"sku":"NLS9780232523317","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0232523312.jpg?v=1751445150"},{"product_id":"jesus-is-dread-book-robert-beckford-9780232522419","title":"Jesus is Dread","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49573876334865,"sku":"GOR002920004","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49600259096849,"sku":"GOR004092798","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50481439015185,"sku":"GOR006308417","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0232522413.jpg?v=1750694707"},{"product_id":"dread-and-pentecostal-book-robert-beckford-9780281051366","title":"Dread and Pentecostal","description":"A systematic attempt to construct a Black British theology of liberation, as opposed to Black Christian theology which, in the author's assessment, simply reacts to and draws inspiration from European and American theologies. Black Christian theology is primarily concerned with church life, worship and witness, whereas Black liberation theology seeks empowerment through social and political change. The author uses arguments from ancient and contemporary history, and from previous studies of the Black church, and looks for sources for a new liberation approach.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49578424860945,"sku":"GOR010590498","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50840384602385,"sku":"GOR014094058","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51613006364945,"sku":"GOR009182656","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52153291440401,"sku":"GOR001806676","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0281051364.jpg?v=1751101470"},{"product_id":"duppy-conqueror-book-robert-beckford-9781506484396","title":"Duppy Conqueror","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis book contours Robert Beckford's recontextualization of African American Black and Womanist theologies of liberation. Making the black British experience a point of departure, Beckford's theological method appropriates two distinct approaches to pursue a contextual theology or a Black theology dub: first, a correlation of linguistic concepts from Black cultural history and urban life (Rahtid, Dread, and Dub) with the theological categories of God, Jesus, and the Spirit; second, a media theopraxis or inscribing of Black theology onto commercial television documentary filmmaking and studio-produced contemporary gospel music.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn the My Theology series, the world's leading Christian thinkers explain some of the principal tenets of their theological beliefs in concise, pocket-sized books.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50085076828433,"sku":"CIN1506484395VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50377870147857,"sku":"CIN1506484395G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ LIKE_NEW \/ SBYB","offer_id":52946907824401,"sku":"CIN1506484395LN","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1506484395.jpg?v=1751243464"},{"product_id":"decolonizing-contemporary-gospel-music-through-praxis-book-robert-beckford-9781350081734","title":"Decolonizing Contemporary Gospel Music Through Praxis","description":"Is contemporary Black British gospel music a coloniality? What theological message is really conveyed in these songs?  In this book, Robert Beckford shows how the Black British contemporary gospel music tradition is in crisis because its songs continue to be informed by colonial Christian ideas about God.  Beckford explores the failure of both African and African Caribbean heritage Churches to Decolonise their faith, especially the doctrine of God, biblical interpretation and Black ontology. This predicament has left song leaders, musicians and songwriters with a reservoir of ideas that aim to disavow engagement with the social-historical world, black Biblical interpretation and the necessity of loving blackness.  This book is decolonisation through praxis. Reflecting on the conceptual social justice album ‘The Jamaican Bible Remix’ (2017) as a communicative resource, Beckford shows how to develop production tools to inscribe decolonial theological thought onto Black British music(s). The outcome of this process is the creation of a decolonial contemporary gospel music genre. The impact of the album is demonstrated through case studies in national and international contexts.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":50698392404241,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":50698394403089,"sku":"NGR9781350081734","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52432019325201,"sku":"NLS9781350081734","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1350081736.jpg?v=1751457248"},{"product_id":"documentary-as-exorcism-book-robert-beckford-9781847063922","title":"Documentary as Exorcism","description":"Documentary as Exorcism is an interdisciplinary study that builds upon the insights of postcolonial studies, critical race theory, theological and religious studies and media and film studies to showcase the role of documentary film as a system of signifying capable of registering complex theological ideas while pursuing the authentic aims of documentary filmmaking.  Robert Beckford marries the concepts of ‘theology as visual practice’ and ‘theology as political engagement’ to develop a new mode of documentary filmmaking that embeds emancipation from oppression in its aesthetic. In various documentaries made for Channel 4 and the BBC, Beckford narrates the complicit relationship of Christianity with European expansion, slavery, and colonialism as a historic manifestation of evil. In light of the cannibalistic practices of colonialism that devoured black life, and the church’s role in the subjugation and theological legitimation of black bodies, Beckford characterises this form of historic Christian faith as ‘colonial Christianity’ and its malevolent or ‘occult’ practices as a form of ‘bewitchment’ that must be ‘exorcised’.   He identifies and exorcises the evil practices of colonialism and their present impact upon African Caribbean Christian communities in Britain in films such as Britain’s Slave Trade and Empire Pays Back through a deliberate process of encoding\/decoding. The emancipatory impact of this form of documentary filmmaking is demonstrated by its ability to bring issues such as reparations to the public square for debate, and its capacity to change a corporation’s trade policies for the good of Africans.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":50986224779537,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50986227499281,"sku":"GOR009476956","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52407259627793,"sku":"NLS9781847063922","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1847063926.jpg?v=1751457685"},{"product_id":"behold-the-men-book-robert-beckford-9780334061236","title":"Behold the Men","description":"Contemporary dominant models of masculinity in Britain are often toxic, highly damaging to both men under pressure to embody them, and women who are subject to oppression, marginalization and abuse because of the gender hierarchies and assumptions such models encourage. Despite growing awareness of the negative impact of such models theologians and churches have so far failed to address critically how theological beliefs and faith practices contribute to toxic masculinity, and what they might need to do to enable the transformation of understandings and practices of masculinity. Behold the Men offers a vital introductory text for those looking to reflect on the ways in which masculinity has been imagined and informed by Christianity. Drawing together a diverse range of scholars, the chapters together ask how toxic models of masculinity might be challenged by Christian theological resources. As a whole the book seeks to offer a range of critical, transformative, healthy, faithful models of masculinity, which engage with Christian traditions.   Blogpost: An interview with Robert Beckford and Rachel Starr","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51595971952913,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51595972346129,"sku":"NIN9780334061236","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51894349070609,"sku":"GOR014451249","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52595746898193,"sku":"NLS9780334061236","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":53406660952337,"sku":"NGR9780334061236","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0334061237.jpg?v=1750696296"},{"product_id":"decolonizing-contemporary-gospel-music-through-praxis-book-robert-beckford-9781350410596","title":"Decolonizing Contemporary Gospel Music Through Praxis","description":"Is contemporary Black British gospel music a coloniality? What theological message is really conveyed in these songs?  In this book, Robert Beckford shows how the Black British contemporary gospel music tradition is in crisis because its songs continue to be informed by colonial Christian ideas about God.  Beckford explores the failure of both African and African Caribbean heritage Churches to Decolonise their faith, especially the doctrine of God, biblical interpretation and Black ontology. This predicament has left song leaders, musicians and songwriters with a reservoir of ideas that aim to disavow engagement with the social-historical world, black Biblical interpretation and the necessity of loving blackness.  This book is decolonisation through praxis. Reflecting on the conceptual social justice album ‘The Jamaican Bible Remix’ (2017) as a communicative resource, Beckford shows how to develop production tools to inscribe decolonial theological thought onto Black British music(s). The outcome of this process is the creation of a decolonial contemporary gospel music genre. The impact of the album is demonstrated through case studies in national and international contexts.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51631514714385,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":51631514943761,"sku":"NGR9781350410596","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51631514976529,"sku":"NIN9781350410596","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52666950254865,"sku":"NLS9781350410596","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1350410594.jpg?v=1751083016"},{"product_id":"documentary-as-exorcism-book-robert-beckford-9781847063915","title":"Documentary as Exorcism","description":"Frames colonial theology in the Caribbean as a form of witchcraft practice that bewitched Africans and later black colonial subjects, and discusses the continued impact of this bewitchment, namely in politics and anti-intellectualism in contemporary Black Pentecostal Church life, especially in the UK.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52336572530961,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52336573153553,"sku":"NLS9781847063915","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9781847063915.jpg?v=1758163774"},{"product_id":"jesus-dub-book-robert-beckford-9780415310185","title":"Jesus Dub","description":"Engaging with the Black church and Black society, the crack age, hip-hop theology and TV, this radical and cutting-edge Christian message presents dub as a tool in which Christians can find new empowerment and purpose.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52409509445905,"sku":"NLS9780415310185","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":53081593512209,"sku":"NIN9780415310185","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9780415310185.jpg?v=1758775145"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/en-gb\/collections\/author-books-by-robert-beckford.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}