First it was the Reverend Jeremiah Wright, and now the Reverend Michael Pfleger. What's with Obama's crackpot preacher pals?
One is white and one is black. And there are probably more of them that the Obama campaign is trying to muzzle as we speak. But does Obama seem peculiarly unfortunate in his choice of mentors and allies, or is there an ideological basis to what these preachers are saying?
Chicago, where Obama is from, is the capital of what may be called the Black Liberation Theology movement in the United States. This movement is a legacy of the 1960s, and has more to do with Malcolm X than Martin Luther King.
Malcolm X, you may recall, denounced Christianity as a racist religion which had created what he called a "blond, blue-eyed Jesus." Malcolm X called on blacks to repudiate this bigoted religion. He himself embraced the Nation of Islam with its own peculiar theology.
Some black activists, notably a theologian named James Cone, agreed with Malcolm X. But their solution was not to abandon Christianity. Rather, they countered what they saw as the white man's Christianity with a kind of black equivalent. In this view, Christ was not blond and blue eyed but rather black and Afrocentric. Picture Christ with an Afro and dashiki leading a revolutionary liberation movement against the white Pharoahs and you'll get the picture.
Cone and others spearheaded a new interpretation of the Bible which is now read as a story of emancipation from white racist oppression. Unfortunately what black liberation theology does is to take all the old racial stereotypes and simply invert them. Consequently the new theology was no less race-conscious and prejudiced than the one it sought to replace.
The Reverend Jeremiah Wright explicitly associates himself with black liberation theology. I don't know about Pfleger, but his rhetoric also reflects the same themes. Ironically there are some whites like Pfleger who are attracted to the doctrine of white oppressors and black martyrs. Presumably these whites hope that by allying themselves with black virtue they can escape the moral stigma of being white.
Obama and his campaign managers have been trying to promote the lie that this bizarre cult of black liberation theology is actually mainstream teaching in the black church. And again there is a strain of condescending white liberalism that is quick to agree. "Yes, of course they say crazy things in the black church, Mildred, but you have to understand the terrible things those people have been through."
In reality you only have to sample black churches across the country to see that this is a calumny against black Christians, who are mostly traditional in their understanding of the Bible and who don't spend their Sundays chanting "God damn America!"
I'm relieved that Obama has finally summoned the good sense to quit the Reverend Wright's Trinity Church. Ultimately what Obama needs to repudiate is not only the odd Reverend who happens to embarrass his campaign but the racist ideology that calls itself black liberation theology.
Reader Comments ( Page 4 of 44)
46. "why does God demand blood be spilled for sins committed"?
AndrewV
Life is in the blood according to the Old Testament(Torah); "For as for the life of all flesh, its blood is identified with its life (Leviticus 17:14)".
janesophie1 at 11:39AM on Jun 2nd 2008
47. janesophie1,
The tefillin is supposed to act as a conduit-type device to plug into and amplify the reception of divinity. If you believe in the same god and akin theology, why not pray with tefillin to amplify the connection? What have you got to lose?
Mokele Mbembe at 11:42AM on Jun 2nd 2008
48. Completely randomly...Jesus was the latin name for him....what was his actual name? Wasn't it Joshua?
Strados at 11:42AM on Jun 2nd 2008
49. When you become serious about studying Christianity, please read "Theology for Beginners" by Frank Sheed. The theology of the trinity is clearly explained. janesophie1
Hell I'm still trying to figure out God's chosen people the Jews, for instance Exodus. Practicing Jews have beeen enslaved by the Egyptians for generations ... Moses comes in and tells them to let my people go, They refuse, so he brings down 7 curses until they realize that there own God and priests are helpless against this God and relent. So the Jews after making their escape, seeing the Red Sea parted and then their pursuers drowned. Watch as Moses goes off to get the next instruction from God ... and what do they do? They build and idol and start worshiping Baal ... what happened, did their collective IQ drop as soon as they crossed the Red Sea? Could God really make such morons the chosen, who as soon as Moses is out of sight ... completely forget who the hell had just saved them from death and slavery???
JimCO at 11:45AM on Jun 2nd 2008
50. Strados,
Yeshua (י ש ו ע), I think.
Mokele Mbembe at 11:45AM on Jun 2nd 2008
51. Why is there such a thing as a 'black church' anyway? There are 45 different nations represented in the church I attend. No one refers to it by anything other than it's name. It's not a 'black' or 'asian' or 'mostly non-white' church. It's a church, period. And because it's not pigeon-holed to any partiulcar race, color or culture, most of the people who attend reach out to serve other people in the commmunity, regardless of race or color. People who refer to their church as a 'black church', for example, promote racial discrimination and help segregate communities. What's Christian about that?
fanman at 4:29PM on Jun 2nd 2008
52. It couldn't be Joseph Junior, since he was only the father through marriage, god junior would have been to presumptuous.
JefFlyingV at 11:48AM on Jun 2nd 2008
53. Hm. so Joshua would be a pretty close equivalent. And we all know that saying "Just Joshin' ya" is an accepted term for "I'm kidding"...or acting, which actors do all the time...following the homosexual theory...and the fact that Jesus never actually wrote anything himself about this great message everyone had to know...which implies illiteracy despite a common written language, hebrew, which means he was never properly educated.
in fact, Jesus was an illiterate, uneducated homosexual creative artist.
I can hear Dinesh's head exploding now
Strados at 11:51AM on Jun 2nd 2008
54. Strados, you forgot carpenter.
JefFlyingV at 11:54AM on Jun 2nd 2008
55. "And you were wrong about the origins of racism. After all the god of your bible was very racist. Read how he treated the egyptians, midians, gentiles, and babylonians."
Somber:
God blesses and curses whomever he chooses. He chose to bless the Hebrews so they could in turn bless the world. The tribes you speak of had ample time to repent. It was four hundred years from Abraham to Moses. He ordered the Canaanites destroyed because of his judgment for their sins and unrepentance. They used up the measure of his patience! He also knew they would be an obstacle to the Hebrews, if they remained in the land. He was right. They did not wipe them out as ordered and repeatedly fell into idolatrous practices. Eventually, they too angered God to such an extent that he allowed them to be conquered. Racism is determining the worth of a person by an immutable characteristic, like skin color. It is creating a distinction in value that only God should make. It is elevation of the creature to the role of creator. It is sinful. God created all of us and only he should be worshipped.
As far as homosexuals, God loves the sinner, but not the sin. Homosexuality was not created by God. It is a choice in sexual practice. You already anticipated my answer to that question, so I don’t want to argue. We will never agree.
janesophie1 at 12:09PM on Jun 2nd 2008
56. janesophie
Do you believe just because you understand something that automatically makes what you understand true??
Jerry Brown at 12:19PM on Jun 2nd 2008
57. What's really scary is that religious nut jobs are in positions of power with the nuclear weapons of mass destruction button at their finger tips.
We are doomed as a result of them. Duck and cover.
Peter at 12:19PM on Jun 2nd 2008
58. Could God really make such morons the chosen, who as soon as Moses is out of sight ... completely forget who the hell had just saved them from death and slavery???
JimCO
The forgetfulness and rebellion of the Hebrews is an illustration of humanity's relationship with God. We are ungrateful and forever in sin. This is why we needed a savior. Without Jesus, none of us could be redeemed. It also teaches us about God’s love. He never ceases loving us.
janesophie1 at 12:22PM on Jun 2nd 2008
59. "As far as homosexuals, God loves the sinner, but not the sin. Homosexuality was not created by God. It is a choice in sexual practice. You already anticipated my answer to that question, so I don’t want to argue. We will never agree." - janesophie1
Homosexuals were created in God's image therefor God was and is a homosexual.
Jesus is well known to have partaken in carnal knowledge of men. Likely even young males for which he'd be jailed today.
Face the facts, biology isn't as black and white as you faith freak sweet zombie jesus mindless followers wish it to be.
Peter at 12:22PM on Jun 2nd 2008
60. Since theology is fiction, anybody can make it say anything they want it to say.
emelpe at 12:24PM on Jun 2nd 2008