Hendricks, Obery M., Jr. 1953- (Obery Mack Hendricks, Jr.)

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Hendricks, Obery M., Jr. 1953- (Obery Mack Hendricks, Jr.)

PERSONAL:

Born April 9, 1953. Education: Princeton Theological Seminary, M.A.; Princeton University, Ph.D. Hobbies and other interests: Martial arts, playing jazz and blues songs on guitar.

ADDRESSES:

Office—New York Theological Seminary, 475 Riverside Dr., Ste. 500, New York, NY 10115.

CAREER:

Theologian, minister, educator. Investment advisor, New York, NY, 1977-86; Payne Theological Seminary, Wilberforce, OH, former president; New York Theological Seminary, currently professor of biblical studies; Princeton Theological Seminary, visiting scholar.

WRITINGS:

Living Water (novel), HarperSanFrancisco (San Francisco, CA), 2003.

The Politics of Jesus: Rediscovering the True Revolutionary Nature of Jesus' Teachings and How They Have Been Corrupted, Doubleday (New York, NY), 2006.

SIDELIGHTS:

Obery M. Hendricks, Jr., worked on Wall Street for more than a decade before he saw the need for changing his life's direction. In an interview with Larry Reeves for the Memphis, Tennessee, Tri-State Defender, Hendricks said that on Wall Street "after awhile I started feeling empty, like I really wasn't making a contribution." He earned a Ph.D. from Princeton University, and then accepted the position of president of Payne Theological Seminary, the nation's oldest black seminary. Hendricks later left Payne to became a professor of biblical studies at New York Theological Seminary.

Hendricks's first novel, Living Water, is a retelling of the New Testament story, according to St. John, of the Samaritan woman who offered a traveler water from a well. The traveler, Jesus, then offered her "the living water" that would satisfy her for eternity. In his story, Hendricks provides a history of the woman he calls Maryam, although the Bible says little about her other than that she was married five times and was living with a sixth man. In his account, Maryam grows up fiercely independent in a village where the men, who are mentally and physically beaten down by the Romans, take their frustrations out on their women and children. Hendricks's theme is that the cycle of domestic abuse is set in motion when men who are humiliated react by treating the people they love in kind, a pattern that eventually seems normal and necessary. Maryam marries five times, the first time in an arranged marriage to a man who casts her aside when he is tired of her. After four more failed marriages, she finds Yeshua, a kind and gentle man. After the meeting at the well, Jesus tells Maryam to bring Yeshua to him, and then instructs them to go out and preach the word of God and tell all that men and women are to be treated equally.

Black Issues Book Review contributor Kathryn V. Stanley observed that in this debut novel, "reminiscent of Miss Celie's transformation in The Color Purple, the woman eventually liberated herself from her oppression and emerged as a catalyst for the liberation of others." Stanley further said that "Hendricks and his writing are a tall drink of water in a world where personal piety seems to overshadow a socially liberating application of the gospel and where much of the black literary fiction scene appears long on entertainment and short on substance." Ron Charles wrote in the Christian Science Monitor that Hendricks's telling of the brief encounter between Jesus and the woman "sparkles with irony and word play. It also raises a number of fascinating questions about this spunky woman who dares to banter with a strange man, confront the prejudice between their peoples, discuss her shameful marital history, and proclaim his divinity." Charles continued, saying that "Hendricks avoids both Miltonic blandness and offensive irreverence in his portrayal of the Son of God. He presents a Messiah who's at once happy and strong, loving and funny, charismatic and patient…. The arguments implicit in this biblical recreation are more social than theological, but Living Water should stir the settled deposits of anyone's devotion, clarifying one's faith even if it doesn't change it."

In his nonfiction book The Politics of Jesus: Rediscovering the True Revolutionary Nature of Jesus' Teachings and How They Have Been Corrupted, Hendricks offers readers his view of Jesus and the ways in which the lessons taught in the New Testament have been distorted through modern interpretation. Hendricks describes Jesus as a political being, not merely a spiritual individual. He also insists that religious teachings have a firm place in daily life, and that misinterpretation of these teachings has led to corrupt practices at various levels of power. In particular, Hendricks points toward the rationalization of conservatives during U.S. presidential elections, particularly from the 1980s onward, and how their candidates reflected misconceptions of the teachings of Jesus. Bryce Christensen, in a review for Booklist, remarked that "despite his excesses, … Hendricks provides a corrective to the religious partisanship of the Right." A contributor for Kirkus Reviews stated that "Hendricks's strength is in theology, not political theory." However, Kathryn V. Stanley, writing for Black Issues Book Review, opined that the book "gives much-needed critical analysis to an overriding political voice that Hendricks shows to be anything but Christ-like."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Black Issues Book Review, May-June, 2003, Kathryn V. Stanley, review of Living Water, p. 49; January-February, 2007, Kathryn V. Stanley, review of The Politics of Jesus: Rediscovering the True Revolutionary Nature of Jesus' Teachings and How They Have Been Corrupted, p. 25.

Booklist, July 1, 2006, Bryce Christensen, review of The Politics of Jesus, p. 12.

Book World, October 1, 2006, Jon Meacham, "Church and Statesmanship: A Theologian Calls for a More Activist Form of Christianity," p. 4.

Catholic Insight, February 1, 2007, James Hanrahan, review of The Politics of Jesus, p. 42.

Christian Century, January 23, 2007, Eugene Winkler, review of The Politics of Jesus, p. 40.

Christian Science Monitor, March 6, 2003, Ron Charles, review of Living Water, p. 18.

Kirkus Reviews, November 15, 2002, review of Living Water; June 15, 2006, review of The Politics of Jesus, p. 616.

Library Journal, July 1, 2006, John Jaeger, review of The Politics of Jesus, p. 84.

Publishers Weekly, February 17, 2003, review of Living Water, p. 59; May 29, 2006, review of The Politics of Jesus, p. 55.

Tri-State Defender (Memphis, TN), August 11, 1999, Larry Reeves, "A New Breed: Pulpit Activism," interview with author, p. A1.

Washington Post Book World, March 11, 2003, Jabari Asim, review of Living Water, p. C2.