Because of the Exodus story, slaves expected deliverance from slavery. Further, they believed that every step they could take toward freedom was sanctioned and blessed by God. They were inspired by the gospel to take flight for freedom and to fight for freedom. Enslaved Africans also embraced other biblical stories of deliverance that modeled strength, endurance, and courage-Daniel in the lion's den and the Hebrew children in the fiery furnace were favorites. Prophetic messages of justice and the New Testament ministry of Jesus formed the content of their worship.
Spirituals tell the story of their appropriation of the Bible.
In contemporary African American religious experience, these texts and stories continue to be appropriated by the community. At work is an independent hermeneutic which works to meet the needs of the people for strength, endurance, courage, insight, wisdom, identity, strategy, and struggle for survival and liberation. The gospel transforms culture by speaking God's judgment against oppression in all forms. The gospel empowers African Americans to articulate a moral critique of racism and to develop as a foundation of their faith the prophetic principle of the equality of all human beings before God. The gospel gives the basis for critiquing all forms of oppression-both inside and outside the church.