Introduction

Abstract The introduction to the anthology briefly familiarizes readers with Pennington and explains the thematic organization of the anthology. It outlines the thematic sections and shows how they contain through-lines of philosophical questions and problems that Pennington repeatedly engaged with throughout his life: the meaning of freedom, the meaning of being human, the contours of Black history and destiny, and the moral responsibilities of the freedom struggle. Pennington approached these questions through the intellectual framework of Reformed theology, specifically a strain of New Divinity theology that emphasized God’s moral governance and humanity’s moral agency. He brought together this intellectual inheritance with the experiential framework of his biography and his racial consciousness. The introduction also shows how Pennington worked within traditional abolitionist and evangelical genres, reflecting his sense that the fight for freedom was never separated from the struggle against sin.