Michael T. Miller is Associate Researcher at the Polish Institute of Advances Studies, Poland.

• Introduction1. By Means of a Beginning: History, Race, and Truth2. As in the Days of Noah: Eschatology and Apocalypticism3. Black Messiah: Ben Ammi, Yeshua, and Messianism4. Pneumatic Immanence: God, Ontology, and Law5. Divine Justice/Deserved Liberation: Suffering, Agency, and Chosenness6. The Vital Self: Body, Soul, Spirit, World7. The Power to Define: Words, Ideas, Names, and Scripture8. Revolutionary Conservatism: Social Theory, Human Life, and GenderConclusion: Gnostic and Kabbalistic ReflectionsBibliographyIndex

The value of this book lies in its integration of several aspects of study normally kept separate in academic fields. The bibliography contains a notable set of primary source writings from Ben Ammi which Miller cites. His epigraphs from these sources, at times alongside biblical texts, give them near scriptural value. As theological sources, these writings not only introduce readers to Ben Ammi’s capacious mind but the messy and glorious ways the practice of religion exists outside of the rigid systems of academic thought. Miller’s success at systematizing Ben Ammi for readers reveals the complexity required for the academic adventures in contemporary Black religions that only strengthens the study of those religions.