The words 'race' and cosmos' are seldom used in the same sentence and seem to have little if anything to do with one another. In her book by this title, Barbara Holmes seeks new vistas of understanding in the study of race by juxtaposing it with scientific ideas and language.
From the intersection of theology, cosmology, physics, and culture emerges a view of human life that is not divided neatly along categories of race, ethnicity, class, and sexual orientation. Instead, human life on quantum and cosmic levels evinces a oneness that is not dependent on religious hope or social plan. It is an intrinsic element of a universe that is both staggering and healing in its human/divine scope.
Dr. Holmes’ work proposes that liberation will not be found in utopian theological models, legal mandates, or social engineering projects. If the dialogue about race, identity, and the moral life is to be taken to a new level, it will need a language that includes clues about a complex universe that is wondrous and rife with uncertainty.
BARBARA A. HOLMES is a scholar, teacher, and lawyer who serves as Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean as well as Professor of Ethics and African American Religious Studies at Memphis Theological Seminary. She is the author of A Private Woman in Public Spaces: Barbara Jordan’s Speeches on Ethics, Public Religion, and Law (Trinity), Joy Unspeakable: Contemplative Practices of the Black Church (Fortress), Race and the Cosmos (Trinity), and Liberation and the Cosmos: Conversations with the Elders (Fortress).
