Document Type
Article
Department
Religion
Publication Date
1993
Disciplines
African American Studies | History of Religion | History of Religions of Western Origin | Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion
Abstract
Walter F. Pitts died July 20, 1991. I did not know him personally; I came to know only a part of him through the manuscript-obviously an important part of his life-that has been transformed into the book now before the reader. If that which is created is in the image of its creator, I suspect that had I met Walter Pitts I probably would have liked him very much; I know I would have been impressed by him, and would have learned a great deal from him.
At first, when I was asked by Oxford University Press to review Pitts's manuscript while it was under consideration for publication, I remember thinking that I really could not afford the time to take on more commitments. Besides, although I have taught courses in, read widely, and pursue scholarship in African-American religious traditions, it is not my primary field of specialization, and I very much needed to stick to my primary scholarly agenda in New Testament and Christian Origins.
But the title of the manuscript was my undoing-Old Ship of Zion: The Afro-Baptist Ritual in the African Diaspora. "Old Ship of Zion"? "Afro-Baptist"? "Ritual"? The "Old Ship of Zion" metaphor immediately struck a chord; it reminded me of the old song that was a favorite of my grandparents in their worship experiences ("prayer band") at home and in church. During visits, my sisters and I were often allowed on the sidelines at such events. We were awe-struck observers, picking up on the rhythms, the harmonies and idiosyncracies of the worshippers. "Old Ship of Zion" was one of the haunting songs I recall from those days. It is associated with so powerful and vivid a memory that after reading only a few pages of Pitts's manuscript I could not restrain myself from humming the tune, the tune that I recognized as part of the devotional period of my grandparents' Afro-Baptist folk church and house worship experiences. So I knew I had to know more about the manuscript. Once it was atop my desk I could not put it aside. It was, after all, in some sense about me and the sacred world to which I was introduced in my youth.
Rights Information
©1993 Oxford University Press
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Recommended Citation
Wimbush, Vincent L. Foreword to Old Ship of Zion: The Afro-Baptist Ritual in the African Diaspora, by Walter F. Pitts. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993.
Included in
African American Studies Commons, History of Religion Commons, History of Religions of Western Origin Commons, Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons
Comments
First published in Old Ship of Zion: The Afro-Baptist Ritual in the African Diaspora (1993) by Oxford University Press.