Perspective
I steer clear of politics. But I have been asked by a number of people for my opinion on the flap over Senator Obama and his pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. There question was not so much about being for or against one political party or candidate and I would normally like to respond.
But this is Holy Week, and I have been too busy on other things to study the issue enough to give an informed perspective. It's not that I know nothing of Liberation Theology and the stream of thought that undergirds some inflammatory remarks. It's just that I don't have the time to check things out enough to offer any help on the current broohaha. But two others have done so in different ways and I will post their comments here:
The always thoughtful Questing Parson notes that his congregation doesn't even remember what he preaches.
And Diana Butler Bass points out how common it is for someone in a congregation to disagree with their pastor.
And the folks at OnFaith offer a number of thoughtful responses to the situation.
But this is Holy Week, and I have been too busy on other things to study the issue enough to give an informed perspective. It's not that I know nothing of Liberation Theology and the stream of thought that undergirds some inflammatory remarks. It's just that I don't have the time to check things out enough to offer any help on the current broohaha. But two others have done so in different ways and I will post their comments here:
The always thoughtful Questing Parson notes that his congregation doesn't even remember what he preaches.
And Diana Butler Bass points out how common it is for someone in a congregation to disagree with their pastor.
And the folks at OnFaith offer a number of thoughtful responses to the situation.
posted by King of Peace @ Wednesday, March 19, 2008
1 Comments:
At 3/19/2008 9:28 AM,
Anonymous said…
Here's a little something on the Rev. Jeremiah Wright/Barack Obama flap you might find interesting.
"Rev. Wright did not preach hate for America. To preach God's divine judgment is not the same as hate. He (Wright) did not dissociate himself from his responsibilities as a citizen of America. As a prophet called by God, he proclaimed God's damnation for America's excesses of wealth, abuse of power, violence, and war, for the harm done by us to persons who are suffering, starving, and dying throughout the world. There is a huge difference between hating and pronouncing God's judgment. . . . I would like to hear or read the rest of Pastor Wright's excerpted sermons. If his only message was damnation, then congregants and clergy colleagues and defenders of the USA may challenge him over the content of his homilies. But I am sure that he said much more than that God had every right to damn us for the above named sins. I've seldom heard a black preacher preach for less than thirty minutes, let alone thirty seconds. . . . Surely Pastor Wright also proclaimed that the kingdom of God is more pwoerful than our American empire and that God is able to work for the oppressed of the world, including justice for those oppressed by the policies and power of the USA. . . . I trust that he also announced God's grace and redemption - even for oppressors such as we are. . . . No Christian sermon would be complete without praching resurrection, proclaiming that God has complete power over death - the death which comes to us from every side, the death we deal upon one another, and even the death which our Creator has every right to brind down on us for our sin. . . . Judgment and hope are inseparable in biblical prophetic tradition. . . . do not malign him for making the Judgment of God the first order of business in his sermon."
Rev. Ted Schroeder, Kansas City, MO
I received the above thoughts in the weekly Sabbatheology Newsletter. The full article will most likely be posted tomorrow, Thursday, March 20, as Thursday Theology #510, on the website www.crossings.org.
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