An investigation into the phenomena and practices of spiritual ...

such as COGIC, have developed a strong sense of self-identity. They are communities whohave learnt to survive through a sense of willpower and not to let others observe their senseof sadness and vulnerability. Riggs‟ analysis is that dignity, pride, patience, endurance anda deep sense of shame are the guiding principles of slave descendants and a similar sense isfound amongst church members. Although they pray for forgiveness and they repent fortheir sins, their strong sense of guilt does not allow them to receive a deeper level ofhealing and this why they ask for healing for the same condition on several occasions. TheAfrican-centred scholar Browder (1989) similarly argues that African-Americans as apeople can only move from disintegration to reintegration as they declare independence byrecognising some important memories lost as a direct result of enslavement.The Afro-Caribbean people came to Britain with a hope of liberation in mind, in that theywould be able to make a better life for themselves and for their families and to shake offsome of the shackles of the legacy of slavery. Having left their homeland for a better landthey did not leave behind their belief, their faith and the cultural expression of their faith.When they arrived in Britain, they expected to find the opportunity to attend church and toexpress their faith in a similar format to the way the British and American missionariestaught them. To their surprise this opportunity was denied along with the opportunity forhousing and education. They were left with no alternative but to congregate together forsurvival. It is this need for survival of the people that black theology was born in Britain inan effort towards liberation, freedom to worship and healing from the wounds ofoppression. Although Pentecostal theology, outside of its specific innovations, tends to beclassified as conservative, we may see some parallels with the liberation theologydeveloped in the Roman Catholic Church in South America.116