Barack Obama and his pastor

We have come to that unfortunate point in this presidential campaign that the candidates must condemn their friends, or at least the words of our supporters. Everyone seems to be doing it – Hillary Clinton had to denounce Geraldine Ferraro and now it’s Barack Obama’s turn.

In Obama’s case, the person he must step away from is his pastor. This isn’t Louis Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam. This is his very own spiritual advisor, the man who mentored his faith journey. The Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright, Pastor Emeritus of Chicago’s Trinity United Church of Christ, has been a lightening rod for some time, in large part because most observers neither know the church nor the theology that empowers its work.

It shouldn’t be news that Wright’s views are unsettling to many Americans, especially those who believe that you should “love it or leave it” or who have no understanding of the continuing burden of a history of slavery, Jim Crow, lynchings, and other forms of racism in this nation. We don’t like to hear prophetic words, but Wright has not been loathe to issue them.

So word is out that he has given sermons and made statements that are incendiary, that link 9/11 to American foreign policy. He is also quoted as saying that we should sing “God Damn America,” rather than God Bless America. I can understand why many see this as being difficult to hear, but these words need to be heard in context, but this isn’t what has happened here. So Obama must denounce his friend and distance himself from his pastor – Wright is no longer Senior Pastor at Trinity UCC. But this hasn’t stopped folk like Sean Hannity, among others, who has called Trinity UCC a racist church, to go after him and thereby go after Obama.

While I don’t have time to go into Wright’s words, most of which I’ve not seen or heard, nor do I have space to rehearse the Black Theology that has influenced Wright’s ministry. Suffice it to say that Black Theology is part of a broader Liberationist trend that began in the 1960s. It is related to Latin American Liberation Theology and Feminist Theology, theological constructs that are rooted in the experience of oppression. Given our history as a nation, it shouldn’t be surprising that a Black Liberation Theology emerged. With that in mind, I thought the following statement from a working group of Black theologians that dates to 1969 might help make sense of Wright’s message:

Black Theology is a theology of black liberation. It seeks to plumb the black condition in the light of God’s revelation in Jesus Christ, so that the black community can see that the gospel is commensurate with the achievement of black humanity. Black theology is a theology of “blackness.’ It is the affirmation of black humanity that emancipates black people from white racism, thus providing authentic freedom for both white and black people. It affirms the humanity of white people in that it says No to the encroachment of white oppression. (Quoted in Stanley Grenz & Roger Olson, 20th Century Theology, IVP, 1992, p. 202).

Black theology doesn’t degrade or denigrate White folk, but it does demand that Whites own their past, and in doing so find their own liberation. I don’t believe that Jeremiah Wright hates white people. If he did, why would he be part of a predominantly White denomination? He is well regarded nationally, has spoken at universities and seminaries across the country – including my own. I’ve not heard him preach, but I’ve heard other Black preachers like him. Yes, it can be unsettling, but maybe we need to be prodded once in a while.
I understand why Obama has had to push him aside, but it’s unfortunate.
But listen to what Obama says this afternoon in an MSNBC interview:
“The statements that Rev. Wright made that are the cause of this controversy were not statements I personally heard him preach while I sat in the pews of Trinity or heard him utter in private conversation,” the posting said, adding that over the years, “Rev. Wright preached the gospel of Jesus, a gospel on which I base my life.

“In other words, he has never been my political advisor; he’s been my pastor. And the sermons I heard him preach always related to our obligation to love God and one another, to work on behalf of the poor, and to seek justice at every turn.”
That message is what spurs Obama's work. It is a message that I too embrace.

Comments

dwg said…
well put
Unknown said…
Thank your for your positive worldly views on this matter. Your article serves as hope as well. Here is a message that also lifted me today by a man named Ben.


Dear Friends,

I don't think it's an accident.

I believe in God's providence, and I believe that all of the negative statements about Sen. Obama and the hatred toward Rev. Jeremiah Wright will not prosper. I've talked to dozens of friends in Chicago (I lived in Wheaton, in the lily-white Western suburbs, for 9 years), and still feel confident that what Obama said yesterday on Fox News is correct - that the inflammatory and unChristian statements of Jeremiah Wright which have been strung together are compiled out of hundreds of sermons over the years. On balance, my understanding is that Rev. Wright has spoken out consistently and faithfully about our obligations to the poor, about the issues of social justice and peace that are foundations of Christian ethics, and about the needs for black Americans to take responsibility for their own recovery from 400 years of systematic racism.

There is nothing within those statements that I disagree with. In fact, taken in context, I think that Obama's pastor has consistently called us to love our enemies, to maintain hope in the midst of others' hatred, to strongly condemn unjust economic and military policies, and to advocate for "the least of these" in our communities across the country. I'd much rather have that attitude than the sort of "Christian nation" "God bless America" "love it or leave it" approach taken by many pastors in America. When we consider that we engaged in a pre-emptive war in Iraq that has killed thousands of American soldiers and many thousands more innocent Iraqi citizens (they euphemistically call it "collateral damage"), we have to look seriously at whether our struggle is a "Christian" struggle. In the same way, we have to look back at the Crusades and realize that during that time of history, church leaders took an approach that was in response to Muslim aggression but responded to evil with evil.

The mob on Palm Sunday adored and cheered for Jesus. On Good Friday, they hated him and screamed for his execution. On Easter, Jesus arose from the dead. Jesus didn't return evil for evil. He told Peter to put away the sword and healed the man whose ear was cut off.

I'm not saying that Barack Obama is a "messianic figure". But I am saying that my Christian faith tells me that Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday and today and forever. My response to the war in Iraq, to unjust economic policies, to violations of civil rights of Americans, is to respond as Jesus would respond. He called the Pharisees a "brood of vipers," overturned the tables of the money changers in the Temple, and said, "Woe to you, Pharisees, you hypocrites!" He responded to the "religious perfectionists" of his day by attacking and condemning them for their evil. And his disciples John and Peter said, "We must obey God, not men."

Please continue to stand with me, as brothers and sisters in Christ, against violence, injustice, and hatred in all its forms. And I have to look at my own shortcomings first.

I'm not following Obama. I'm following Jesus, and I met Obama along the path.

Grace and peace,

Ben Vos, Nashville, TN
Robert Cornwall said…
Shelly,

Thanks for adding to this conversation with these words from Ben Vos.
It's not about the pastor. If Obama's THEOLOGY is seen for what it is the election is lost. See:
http://miraclesdaily.blogspot.com/
Mike L. said…
Good post Bob! I think so many people simply don't understand the concept of prophetic voice. How is what Rev. Wright says ("God damn America") any different than what the OT prophet Jeremiah said about his own nation of Israel? I guess if Rev. Wright ran naken through the streets they would make the connection.

Jeremiah Wright seems to be a wonderful prophet and I'm glad he said what he did. It feels a bit foreign for many of use who are not use to listening to prophets speak from the pulpit. We've grown accustomed to preachers who have been domesticated and pacified by the power structures of society.

To me this is an opportunity to teach the world about prophetic imagination. I'm surprized at the ignorance of the media about this. I haven't heard one single reporter connect the dots.

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