It is very likely that Senator Obama will soon be the Democrat nominee for President, and that if he is elected Senator Clinton will go home to bake cookies and tend to her chores as Secretary of something or other. The choice is, therefore, probably between Senators Obama and McCain. According to Rupert Murdoch, the Democrats will win by a landslide. He may well be correct, unless Senator Obama manages the Clintonesque task of shooting himself in the foot while holding it firmly in his mouth.
So, where do we go from here?
The flap over a recent sermon by Roman Catholic priest Father Pfleger, a long-time friend and mentor of Senator Obama, at Senator Obama's former church, is a big problem. It was recently characterized by another Roman Catholic priest (Father Jonathan, a Fox News columnist) as "a racist, sexist, crude and demeaning sermon, a stinging defense of Senator Obama against “white entitlement.” These are very strong words, and Father Jonathan rarely uses words like that. At the end of Father Pfleger's sermon, the new pastor at Trinity United Church said, "we thank God for the message and we thank God for the messenger”.
The circumstances surrounding Senator Obama's belated resignation from Trinity United Church on 31 May present another big problem, directly related to the first. His resignation was submitted shortly after Father Pfleger's sermon, for which Senator Obama's new preacher had expressed thanks to God. In Senator Obama's letter of resignation, he said, "We also have come to appreciate your ministry and both think you have been, and will be, a wonderful pastor for years to come." Senator Obama also stated,
I'm not denouncing the church and I'm not interested in people who want me to denounce the church . . .[the new pastor at Trinity and] the church have been suffering from the attention my campaign has focused on them.Senator Obama also reiterated his continuing concern that statements made at his now former church, even those with which he says he vehemently disagrees, will be deemed his own views. He has not, however, very clearly denounced "Liberation Theology," nor is there any reason of which I am aware to think that he will. He has long been enamoured of it and of its proponents, and it seems unlikely that without his history of trying to further it he would now be where he is.
These problems are unlikely to change Senator Obama's momentum or his accumulation of enough delegates and super-delegates to win the Democrat nomination, because the winner will most likely be declared very soon. Once Senator Obama achieves critical mass with delegates, it would be extraordinarily difficult to prevent his nomination. I hope there is no critical impact, because even flawed as he seems to be, I am convinced that Senator Clinton would be a far worse president. The problems may well diminish his chances of winning the general election, however, Mr. Murdoch to the contrary notwithstanding.
In the United States, we pretend that religion and politics are kept separate, something which Bertrand Russell would doubtless characterize as a "Sunday truth"—we say it, and we pretend to believe it, but deep down we really don't. John Morton Blum, in The Republican Roosevelt recounts the following story, which may be apocryphal or then again may not be. In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt appointed Oscar Straus as Secretary of Commerce and Labor. At a dinner celebrating the appointment,
The President explained his choice. He had selected Straus without regard to race, color, creed or party. His concern had been only to find the most qualified man in the United States. This Jacob Schiff would confirm. Schiff, presiding at the celebration, good-naturedly senescent, wealthy, respectable, and, regrettably for Roosevelt, now quite deaf, nodded. "Dot's right, Mr. President," he acknowledged, "You came to me and said, 'Chake, who is der best Jew I can appoint Segretary of Commerce?'" William Loeb, Roosevelt's secretary, persuaded the newspapers to suppress the exchange.Some folks get appointed or elected because of their religious beliefs (or demographic characteristics), and some people get rejected because of them. This, however, is largely beside the point here, unless one considers "Liberation Theology" a religious belief. In the usual sense of the word, doctrines such as that AIDs was created to kill off Black people, and that assimilation into the community as a whole is bad for Blacks, and the like, are not considered "religious" beliefs. They are more in the realm of politics and social policy. It is normally unhelpful to put labels on ideas and then to rely on those labels in arguments; it may not be even marginally useful here. Even if these are properly characterized as "religious" beliefs, they are antithetical to American society and culture. A candidate whose religious beliefs encouraged bigamy, or the execution of apostate Moslems, could not realistically expect to win high office in the United States. Even Senator Obama seems to acknowledge this in rejecting some points of "Liberation Theology," at least for purposes of political consumption. Therefore, I take the position that to the extent that these are Senator Obama's beliefs, religious or otherwise, they are properly considered highly relevant to whether he should become our next President.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Clavos
"...his connection with Black "Liberation Theology" will come to be the most significant issue in the general election campaign."
As well it should be, for, as you point out, it is more a political than a religious philosophy, and will likely influence his decisions as president to a great degree.
If Reverend Wright and Fr. Pfleger and their opinions as expressed on the Unity pulpit are representative of Black Liberation Theology, Americans need to be asking hard, pointed and direct questions of candidate Obama before casting their votes for him.
2 - Teg
"Add your comment, speak your mind"
Oh, I'm sure. We'll see how long it stays.
3 - Dave Nalle
What I find bizarre is that Pfleger who advocated 'black liberation theology' is a white man.
Dave
4 - john Ryan
The thing I find amazing the is anyone quoting FOX NEWs contributors on anything,
Why on earth would you believe anything that comes from a Republican front,and given the amount of plain outright crooks in said party why would you bother.
Some one once said 'there's one born every minute" judging by GW Bush he was not far wrong
5 - Andy Marsh
The problem I have with Obama and his church is him trying to claim that he never heard any of the crap that Rev Wright spewed while he was in attendance. It seems to me that Wright didn't have to be the preacher of the day for that kind of ugliness to be spewed from the pulpit, they all spew it! All you have to do to know that Obama heard that shit is listen to his wife and her "first time I'm proud of my country" kind of statements to know that it was spewed there all the time.
Also, it just seems to ring hollow when someone spews about entitlements...if you're spewing that kinda crap you probably believe that you're the one that's really entitled...it sounds like a little kid crying...johnny got a bike, why can't I have a bike!??!?! And it sounds even worse if the crying little kid got his buddy to spew it for him...
And lastly, I wasted a lot of time in churches when I was younger and I don't ever remember politics being spewed from the alter.
6 - troll
Zedd once informed me that I don't understand liberation theology...this condition is not improved by reading this
7 - Dan Miller
John Ryan
I agree that Fox has a lot of commentators who are way off base. There are, however, exceptions to most every rule, and I have discovered that I can find some pretty good stuff even in sources I generally find appalling. The trick is to sort the wheat from the chaff.
If you haven't read Father Jonathan's commentary, linked in the article, I would encourage you to do so. Even as an Atheist/Agnostic, I find that I agree with many of the things he has to say. He is no Father Coughlin.
Dan
8 - Georgio
What I find bizarre is that Pfleger who advocated 'black liberation theology' is a white man.
Yes Dave he is white and he learned how to become black when his white church I believe it was St Sabinas became black when whites moved out because blacks moved in,,,He transformed himself and became an activist black preacher .He now acts and talks just like a black preacher..One might compare him to Al Sharpton because he is always marching on city hall with one agenda or another .
I am shocked that the media never brings up how easy he became a Senator..He never wa expected to win because no one ever heard of him but the truth is it was given to him because every one of his opponents shot themselves in the foot ..both Democrats and republicans had major scandals so bad that they had to bring in a black man forgot his name who was not even from Ill to run against him ..Makes you wonder if he really is a man of Destiny.
9 - Clavos
Here's a great line from Thomas Sowell's column, Irrelevant Apologies, published today on Real Clear Politics:
10 - Andy Marsh
WE should see those typical comments here shortly...I mean, after all, his name is Tom...I'm sure he's somebody's uncle!
11 - Dave Nalle
Georgio, it does seem like a real step forward in erasing racial barriers that Pfleger can be so obviously white and yet act like and be accepted as essentially a black man by other african americans. It's bizarre, but it's kind of enouraging. I imagine it helps that he seems to be soms sort of anti-establishment cryptomarxist too.
Dave
12 - Zedd
Dan,
What is Liberation Theology?
13 - Dan Miller
Zedd,
There are a couple of links in the article, and here is another. If you wish, look up James H. Cone in Google. He is acknowledged as a principal founder of Black liberation theology
As suggested in the article, it is a theology -- or to my lights a social or political movement-- which does not seem appropriate to be espoused by someone who seeks to be the President of the entire country, which has many races, because it tries, consciously, to divide rather than to unify. There is already more than enough disunity, and exacerbating it would be very bad. For everyone, Black, White, and Purple.
My views count for very little. However, Senator Obama's evidently persistent attachment to liberation theology should become a focus of the campaign, so that we don't vote for or against him in the absence of a clear understanding of his perceptions of race and the potential impact of those perceptions on the country, should he become the President.
Dan
14 - Zedd
Dan,
WOW!
I'm astonished!
1.The basic idea behind Black Theology is that a religion which does not unequivocally denounce all racist and oppressive practices is not a religion worth following. Crazy!
2.It says that Christianity as it has been dispensed by Whites suggests that one not focus on their misery on Earth but to focus on their gain in heaven. (Think about our history and the extent of oppression by White Christians towards Africans). I wonder why we were told to focus on heaven. Chuckle.
3.It says that Jesus was a revolutionary. His message of liberation was radical.
Not sure where the terrible aspect is?
I think that some people have tried to understand it (or suppress it) and have latched on to every nut case who happens to be Black or who quotes Black Theologians.
15 - Dan Miller
Zedd,
Several comments:
1. Either your question was rhetorical, or you read very quickly. I could not have read the cited articles and responded in eleven minutes.
2. Since I am not a Christian, the Christian lack of focus on misery here on earth and the extreme focus on life in Heaven, with Jesus, Mary and all the angels, seems odd to me as well.
3. There are lots of nut cases around, of all races. Would you classify The Reverend Mr. Wright (Black) or Father Pfleger (white) as nut cases? How about the Rabid Father Coughlin, from back in the '30s?
Dan
16 - Zedd
What is sad is that Whites in America are so ignorant about everyone else.
Whites in America see themselves as the standard and that anyone who doesn't view the world like them to be BAD or suspect. We are in Iraq because of that childish arrogance. Whites don't know or care to know what really interests or bothers anyone else. They just believe that their world view represents what is good and right.
It is unfathonable that people would think that Blacks would NOT think that Christianity as it has been taught is RIDICULOUS considering their experience. Who would go along with that and WHY?
Perhaps what supports the notion of White supremacy is that Whites believe that Blacks buy their ideas and don't value themselves or their vantage point. Who knows. I am perplexed.
Take a look-see at this site it may give some perspective!
Side note: Obama is Black AND White. We are not OKAY with a Black President YET. Poor guy he is more White (raised by Whites, in a Whites world)than Black but he has to claim something that does not fully define him because of this country's madness.
17 - Zedd
Dan,
I don't know the teachings of Right or Pfleger. Quite frankly, neither do you. You saw a few snippets from these men's decades of ministry. I'm sure you would hate it if someone took a few seconds of something you said without discussing the context or spirit of the speech, blasting it all over the globe for people to decide if you are a good person or better yet, sane. Especially people of a different culture.
18 - Dan Miller
Zedd,
Thank you for making my point for me, much more clearly than I apparently was able to make it myself. You are correct. I don't know the teachings of the Reverend Mr. Wright or the Reverend Father Pfleger, and you say that you don't either. I suspect that most of us are in a very similar position.
Yet, we are being asked to decide whether to vote for a candidate who has long supported their teachings, whatever they may be. My guess (I don't know for a fact) is that Senator Obama knows quite a lot about their teachings. Since he has embraced them for a very long time, I think those teachings, and his perceptions of them, are important: they may well affect the country for better or worse should he be elected President. Doesn't it make at least a bit of sense for us to find out what those teachings and his perceptions of them actually are?
That was the basic thrust of the article: Black liberation theology should be fair game during the general election campaign. Right now, I must confess that I do not particularly like what I have heard of those teachings; I am not irrevocably wedded to that position because, as you say, I am not fully informed. Perhaps, if adequate illumination is shed upon them during the campaign, I may decide that they are just fine.
Dan
19 - Zedd
Dan,
I just watch the stream of Father Pfleger and I don't get what the problem is?
We know that Hillary IS getting a lot of the votes that she is getting because she is NOT the Black one candidate. We know that Hillary thought she had it sewn up. We know that in our history, Black men DON'T become President. Hillary WAS stunned by Obama's assent. Heck we were all stunned and YES his race was a large part of it.
I believe you agreed to the notion that Hillary behaves as if she is entitled to the position of President. I also felt like the tears may have been a about being misunderstood but it also seems that they may have been about exhaustion and her becoming aware that it wasn't going to be easy to beat this guy (who happens to be Black and Blacks aren't supposed to win YET).
Where is the outrageous part????
I wish that we didn't have just snippets in order to put the entire message in perspective. However, preachers are supposed to leave no stone unturned. They are not politicians.
20 - Dan Miller
Again, Zedd
There is a lot we don't know about Black liberation theology. Perhaps we will know more before the general elections. I hope so.
By the way, did you read Father Jonathan's cited article on Father Pfleger's sermon and background? I hope you will. Father Jonathan is a very temperate man, and when he gets as vocal as he was in his article, it suggests something to me.
Dan
21 - Clavos
Father Jonathan's article was interesting, and far more in keeping with what I was always taught was Catholic theology than that bizarre performance from Fr. Mike. (And yes, Zedd, I know it was "only a snippet," but it was a very disconcerting snippet.)
If nothing else, it was mean spirited. Downright vicious, even.
22 - Dave Nalle
I thought Pfleger's performance was reminiscent of a stand-up comedy routine, and it was fairly amusing. A bit creepy once I realized he was white, but rather like a Chris Rock routine otherwise. My impression has always been that there's a higher element of entertainment in black churches when compared to most white/anglo churches, and if nothing else, Pfleger is entertaining.
Dave
23 - RJ Elliott
You gotta love the media.
Post-Wright, Hillary has won PA by almost 10 points, won WV by 40, won KY by 35, and won 99%-Hispanic PR by a surprising 35-point landslide.
Then tonight, she shocks Obama by winning SD by ten points, and in her speech she refuses to concede. And then there are all the rumors swirling around (from fairly credible sources) that a potentially-fatal "Whitey" video (from Michelle Obama's lips) is about to be released.
But through all this, the media has been saying that Hillary is finished, Obama is the certain nominee, and that anyone who disagrees is akin to a Ba'athist dead-ender.
Folks, there are still another two-and-a-half months to go until the Democrat national convention in Denver. And the "superdelegates" who seemingly handed Obama the nomination today could still change their minds.
If the media wasn't completely in the tank for Obama, I wouldn't have to point all this out. But since they are, here I am.
24 - RJ Elliott
"If Reverend Wright and Fr. Pfleger and their opinions as expressed on the Unity pulpit are representative of Black Liberation Theology, Americans need to be asking hard, pointed and direct questions of candidate Obama before casting their votes for him."
I'm glad to see you've changed your tune, Clavos. Welcome aboard! :)
25 - RJ Elliott
Black Liberation Theology:
Barack Obama's suddenly radioactive pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, has defended himself against charges of anti-Americanism and racism by referring to his foundational philosophy, the "black liberation theology" of scholars such as James Cone, who regard Jesus Christ as a "black messiah" and blacks as "the chosen people" who will only accept a god who assists their aim of destroying the "white enemy."
"If God is not for us and against white people," writes Cone, "then he is a murderer, and we had better kill him. The task of black theology is to kill gods who do not belong to the black community."
Sounds like a reasonable and unifying spiritual message to me. Vote Obama!