More Than Tongues Can Tell

Name: More Than Tongues Can Tell
Price: 72.99 AUD
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ISBN: 9780271101347

Theological Generosity in Black Pentecostal Thought

Eric Lewis Williams

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English

Pennsylvania State University Press
03 March 2026

Pentecostal Churches

Series: Studies in the Holiness and Pentecostal Movements

Pentecostalism is often characterized as an ecstatic movement—centrally involving spirited worship, speaking in tongues, prophecy, and healing—as well as an exclusivist one, primarily aligned with North American white evangelicalism. Yet there is a vibrant Black Pentecostal tradition stretching back more than a century that is both theologically complex and deeply grounded in an ethics of social justice.

In More Than Tongues Can Tell, Eric Lewis Williams dismantles prevailing notions of Pentecostalism’s anti-intellectualism and explores how social contexts shape theologies produced by marginalized groups in America. Through close readings of the work of four pioneering Black Pentecostal theologians—Bishop Ozro Thurston Jones Jr., Bishop Ithiel Conrad Clemmons, Dr. James Alexander Forbes Jr., and Dr. William Clair Turner Jr.—Williams uncovers a theological vision marked by openness to diverse Christian and philosophical traditions alongside a deep commitment to liberation and egalitarianism. Situating these thinkers within African American religious history and the wider landscape of Pentecostal theology, the book reconstructs Black Pentecostalism’s coming of age in the twentieth century.

Foregrounding pneumatology as a site of theological creativity, More Than Tongues Can Tell challenges glossocentric frameworks that reduce the Spirit to ecstatic speech and demonstrates how Black Pentecostal theologians articulate a more expansive and socially engaged vision. The book will be of particular interest to students and scholars of theology and African American and Africana religions, as well as practitioners within Pentecostal communities.

By: Eric Lewis Williams
Imprint: Pennsylvania State University Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm, Spine: 18mm
Weight: 363g
ISBN: 9780271101347
ISBN 10: 0271101342
Series: Studies in the Holiness and Pentecostal Movements
Pages: 248
Publication Date: 03 March 2026
Audience: Professional and scholarly , College/higher education , Undergraduate , Further / Higher Education
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Eric Lewis Williams is Director of the Office of Black Church Studies and Assistant Professor of Theology and Black Church Studies at Duke Divinity School. He is the coeditor of the T&T Clark Handbook of African American Theology.

Reviews for More Than Tongues Can Tell: Theological Generosity in Black Pentecostal Thought

“More Than Tongues Can Tell is a groundbreaking exploration of Black Pentecostal thought. With scholarly rigor and creative insight, Williams uncovers the intellectual depth and theological liberality of Black pioneering theologians who defy stereotypes, revealing Pentecostalism as a dynamic spirituality committed to social justice, beloved community, and dialogue across various Christian and philosophical traditions. As essential reading, this book challenges and inspires us to envision Pentecostal theology’s role in shaping a just and compassionate world.” —Frederick L. Ware, author of Methodologies of Black Theology