(UPDATED – see bottom of article)
There have been a number of essays posted in the secular media over the past two weeks which have attempted to put the Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright’s sermons about racism in the United States into some sort of broader context. But there have also been a few helpful essays written from within the religious community.
One of the first of these essays to appear was written by Craig Uffman and posted on the Covenant-Communion website:
“Much has been made in the U.S. political campaign on the issue of race. The harsh anti-American rhetoric of Barack Obama’s former pastor, attributed by some to liberation theology, has been used by both sides of the aisle as an opportunity to gain political points in support of the three surviving campaigns.
I was particularly disappointed this morning to read William Kristol’s column in the New York Times entitled ‘Let’s Not, and Say We Did.’ In particular, I shuddered in reading his view that ‘The last thing we need now is a heated national conversation about race.’ He goes on to explain:
Racial progress has in fact continued in America. A new national conversation about race isn’t necessary to end what Obama calls the ‘racial stalemate we’ve been stuck in for years’ — because we’re not stuck in such a stalemate.
While I recognize the pragmatic point he strives to make with his rhetoric, I disagree. You can see one reason why I disagree by downloading this alarming statistical perspective of the economic gap between blacks and whites that is the current reality in the U.S. Yet racial injustice is not merely an American concern. Independently of the U.S. political campaigns, the Church needs to wrestle seriously to achieve and teach a theological account of race.
This is a serious issue that demands serious dialogue. To that end, I share below extensive excerpts from an important essay (published in Theology Today) from theologian, J. Kameron Carter, whose recent opinion piece in response to the debate over Dr. Wright’s sermons I posted recently. Those who know the work of Rowan Williams on race will recognize deep resonances in Carter’s penetrating discussion of race and the meaning of baptism. Note that he is responding to a theologian whose account of race, like Dr. Wright’s, is rooted in liberation theology. So you find here a theological account of race that contrasts sharply with that which funds Dr. Wright’s sermons, at least as far as I can tell from those published in recent days by our media”
Read the rest of his essay here.
Mark Harris wrote an initial response to Craig’s piece and wonders if Craig has correctly described a connection between Liberation Theology and the theological underpinnings of Wright’s sermons.
Rosemary Ruether has also posted an essay on the topic, in which she points out that those decrying the criticism of America found in Wright’s sermon are forgetting (perhaps conveniently) the similar statements made by people on the religious right immediately following the events of 9/11
Few of the pundits who were so outraged by such language from Obama’s pastor bothered to note that Christian fundamentalists are in the habit of regularly opining that God is punishing America for some sins. Only their list of sins for which America deserves punishment is different from those of Wright. In the words of Christian fundamentalist Jerry Falwell, “I really believe the pagans, the abortionists, the feminists, the gays and lesbians who are actively trying to make an alternative life style, the ACLU, the People for the American Way, all of them who tried to secularize America, I point the finger at them and say you helped 9/11 happen.”
Similarly Pat Robertson attributed the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001 to divine vengeance brought about because of the Supreme Court forbidding Bible reading and prayer in the schools. “We have insulted God at the highest level of government and then we say why is it happening. Well, it is happening because God almighty is lifting his protection from us.” Both Robertson and Christian conservative John Hagee claimed that hurricane Katrina was a punishment of God for the sins of New Orleans. Hagee said, “All hurricanes are acts of God. I believe that New Orleans had a level of sin that was offensive to God (citing a planned gay parade in the city). I believe the Bible teaches that when you violate the law of God, God brings punishment sometimes before the day of judgment and I believe that hurricane Katrina was in fact the judgment of God against the city of New Orleans.”
Although some Americans may claim to be shocked by Wright’s words, while ignoring those of Falwell, Robertson and Hagee, such damning is indeed typical of Biblical prophetic thought. The prophet Jeremiah, for whom Jeremiah Wright is aptly named, filled his book with condemnation of Israel for its sins, both sexual and social, proclaiming God’s intention to pour out divine wrath against it. “Let my wrath go forth like fire and burn with none to quench it, because of the evil of your doing.” “I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins, a lair of jackals, and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, without an inhabitant.” (Jer. 4:4; 9:11).
You can read the rest of Ruether’s essay here.
(UPDATE) The Christian Science Monitor has an excellent overview of the whole controversy here.
What do you think? Were Wright’s comments “out of bounds”? Were they firmly within the ancient prophetic tradition? How should they be heard within the context of a contested political race?