The Cross and the Lynching Tree

Compose an essay drawing out the explicit parallels between the author’s account of the lynching tree and the narrative of the gospels in the New Testament. Use explicit narrative details from the text as found in the four Christian gospel accounts of Jesus’ death, as well as explicit details found in Cone’s recorded accounts in the text.

Show how the author synthesizes his admiration for Reinhold Niebuhr as a Christian theologian while at the same time criticizing him for failing to see certain aspects of oppression to which he could have spoken eloquently. Use examples from the text.

In what way does the author draw on the religious themes espoused by Martin Luther King Jr., and in what way does he draw on political themes espoused by figures such as Malcolm X. Compare and contrast the two streams of thought in Cone’s work.