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 7 of 44)
91. Randy, you are right.Luther was just going for reform in the catholic church, and he did not forsee the consequences. Luthers Treatise inspired change in christian thought, which is still
ongoing.
And lest we forget Luther was a rabid anti-semite.
JefFlyingV at 2:25PM on Jun 2nd 2008
92. Mokele,sorry but at 61 a little too old for that.But there was a time and place: Hue,1968,USMC.,before the Internet and probably before your time.
IRONBLUEEYES at 2:27PM on Jun 2nd 2008
93. Obama still has to renounce Pfleger endorsement and while he is at it he can renounce the endorsements form the other lunatic reverends, Rev Meeks, Rev Sharpton and Rev Jesse Jackson, all of whom are close with Obama and have working relationships with Obama.
They are just some more of the Lunatic Religious Left that Obama has made his friends.
Robert OKane at 2:32PM on Jun 2nd 2008
94. 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
So then, is the story really true or is it just a way to illustrate what could happen to you if you forget to worship God? Because it is hard for me to reconcile the Jews of old with the Jews of today. They have been persecuted and killed over the last 2000 years in so many ways and yet they have remained faithful. Yet if you read the Old Testament ... it seems like God was always having to sent them a new champion every chaper to get them back on track. Has it ever occured to you that like the Chronicles of Narnia ... it is just a story? That neither Aslan nor Jesus were really the son of God?
JimCO at 2:38PM on Jun 2nd 2008
95. "Malcom X spent WW 2 hiding under his bed, while 16 million American men and women served."
IRONBLUEEYES, I don't know about Malcom X, but I do know that a number of people set out WW 2. Thirty years ago, when I was a young soldier in the Army, the big military icon was John Wayne. I watched all of his Hollywood created military exploits. Imagine my dissappointment when I learned that he set WW 2 out. Same was true with Ronald Reagan. You couldn't get him near a military uniform outside of a Hollywood movie set.
It seems that our current crop of chicken hawks are carrying on a fine tradition.
randy at 2:39PM on Jun 2nd 2008
96. That didn't answer my question at all. You read into that WAAY too literally. The question is why does God demand sacrifice? And in addition, how can he be all good and still demand suffering as payment for sin?
AndrewV
I have a question for you. Why is suffering and sacrifice bad?
janesophie1 at 2:49PM on Jun 2nd 2008
97. I feel no need to question my faith. Faith is something you either have or don’t. Faith comes with humility and acceptance. God does not have to be logical for me to believe in him.
janesophie1
And yet humans are logical people which you must assume your God made that way. We like to know the answers to questions like what are rainbows? It might work for children to expalin that they are a convenant bwtween God and Noah. So does it upset you that someone else found the logical explanation is only the relationsip between the position of the sun and water droplets? Do you believe that the world would be better if we all remained ignorant as long as we all worshiped God?
JimCO at 2:51PM on Jun 2nd 2008
98. Dennis,
"I always thought Jesus was a splitting image of Bob Marley."
Wow, I could actually see that. "We've got to fulfill the book."
Mokele Mbembe at 2:55PM on Jun 2nd 2008
99. ATHEIST
Reply to: I feel no need to question my faith. Faith is something you either have or don’t. Faith comes with humility and acceptance. God does not have to be logical for me to believe in him.
And the answer is (drum roll)
PEOPLE ARE STUPID.
FAITH is a BAD thing.
Only idiots are proud of having faith in silly things like a God.
that's the problem. These people don't know they're stupid. They're the victims of a slick Con Game and they've been convinced that "faith" is a good thing.
More (better) education MIGHT help.
William Hays at 2:56PM on Jun 2nd 2008
100. ATHEIST
On today's front page, a wonderful example of how STUPIDITY affects people.
they aren'tincapacited. They're just pathetically inept at what they do.
__________________
The Rev. Michael Pfleger, a Chicago activist, also apologized for last Sunday's sermon at Obama's church. In video circulating on the Internet, Pfleger said the former first lady expected to win the nomination before Obama's sudden popularity.
"She just always thought that, 'This is mine. I'm Bill's wife. I'm white.' ... And then, out of nowhere, came 'Hey, I'm Barack Obama." And she said, 'Oh damn, where did you come from? I'm white. I'm entitled. There's a black man stealing my show,'" Pfleger said at Trinity United Church of Christ.
He then went on to parody Clinton, sobbing and wiping his face with a handkerchief.
"She wasn't the only one crying," he said. "There was a whole lot of white people crying."
Obama won the Iowa caucuses, the first contest of the nominating season, in January. Days later, Clinton's eyes brimmed with tears and her voice broke as she talked with New Hampshire voters on the eve of the primary, which she won.
Obama said he was "deeply disappointed" by Pfleger's comments
____________
Stupid people don't realize they're stupid.
But Christianity MAKES you stupid.
You are brainwashed with "belief" is enough, that you don't have to THINK.
William Hays at 3:04PM on Jun 2nd 2008
101. 92. Obama still has to renounce Pfleger endorsement and while he is at it he can renounce the endorsements form the other lunatic reverends, Rev Meeks, Rev Sharpton and Rev Jesse Jackson, all of whom are close with Obama and have working relationships with Obama.
They are just some more of the Lunatic Religious Left that Obama has made his friends.
Robert KOKane at 2:32PM on Jun
What do you mean, he HAS to renounce them? Does your vote hinge on that?? If not, why does he HAVE to renounce them?? AND, what does McCain HAVE to do, in your opinion???
America's Most Gangsta at 3:08PM on Jun 2nd 2008
102. Hey Dinny! You are aware that the whacko preacher in charge of your Roman Catholic church is a former nazi aren't you? Just think about all the crazy things he said back when he was serving Hitler (who, despite all the protests by others nowadays that he wasn't a 'real' one, said he was a Christian) as well as Jesus. Wouldn't it be great if film of that could somehow show up!
Robert Jase at 3:12PM on Jun 2nd 2008
103. Robert Jase,
I hope that "Wouldn't it be great" is the prelude to your posting a link to an actual video...
[fingers crossed]
Mokele Mbembe at 3:15PM on Jun 2nd 2008
104. "Yet if you read the Old Testament ... it seems like God was always having to sent them a new champion every chaper to get them back on track. Has it ever occured to you that like the Chronicles of Narnia ... it is just a story? That neither Aslan nor Jesus were really the son of God"?
JimCO
About three years ago, I was reading the book of Judges. Judges is an interesting book because it teaches what happens when God is forgotten. As I neared the end, I heard a voice; not audibly, but very clearly say, "And these things happened". I knew that the voice was not just referring to Judges, but the entire word of God. Even as a child, I knew the stories were true. I have no doubt that Jesus lived, died, and rose from the dead.
My faith struggle has always been accepting God’s complete forgiveness; letting him love me without resistance. I also struggle with trust and giving him total control over my life. I am super independent and stubborn. This is a huge obstacle in growing spiritually. (Do any other Christians struggle in this way?) It’s fumy that people on this blog think I am such a holy roller. I have the worst faith. I constantly fall into patterns of sin; temptations of anger, unforgiveness, lust (yes, lust), sloth, etc. I need a Savior!
janesophie1 at 3:22PM on Jun 2nd 2008
105. You have copulated?
Kuni Linqvist at 3:26PM on Jun 2nd 2008