10 Christian ministry leaders, influencers who died in 2019

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Monday, December 30, 2019

Cain Hope Felder – Oct. 1, 2019

Biblical scholar Cain Hope Felder (1943-2019), author and longtime professor of New Testament language and literature at Howard University School of Divinity. | Howard University/Justin Knight

Biblical scholar Cain Hope Felder, a prominent African American author, preacher, and professor of New Testament, died at age 76.

Born in Aiken, South Carolina, Felder wrote multiple theological works and taught at Howard University’s School of Divinity for over 30 years.

He also served as pastor at Grace United Methodist Church in New York City in the late 1970s and later became an elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

In an interview with The Christian Post in 2005, Felder explained that as a professor, he stressed that “African Americans have not been cursed by God and they have enormous potential as people on this Earth.”

“But we've been beaten down,” said Felder. “We have to be the moral voice that has to stand up and make a difference out of the oppression.”

“Religion should be the basis of empowering people, in giving a new sense of hope and meaning and allow them to reach the fullness of the human potential.”