SubscribeWhite Hatred In Black Liberation Theology
From the Asia Times:
The peculiar theology of black liberation
By Spengler
Mar 18, 2008
Senator Barack Obama is not a Muslim, contrary to invidious rumors. But he belongs to a Christian church whose doctrine casts Jesus Christ as a “black messiah” and blacks as “the chosen people”. At best, this is a radically different kind of Christianity than most Americans acknowledge; at worst it is an ethnocentric heresy.
What played out last week on America’s television screens was a clash of two irreconcilable cultures, the posture of “black liberation theology” and the mainstream American understanding of Christianity. Obama, who presented himself as a unifying figure, now seems rather the living embodiment of the clash.
One of the strangest dialogues in American political history ensued on March 15 when Fox News interviewed Obama’s pastor, the Reverend Jeremiah Wright, of Chicago’s Trinity Church. Wright asserted the authority of the “black liberation” theologians James Cone and Dwight Hopkins:
Wright: How many of Cone’s books have you read? How many of Cone’s book have you read?
Sean Hannity: Reverend, Reverend?
(crosstalk)
Wright: How many books of Cone’s have you head?
Hannity: I’m going to ask you this question …
Wright: How many books of Dwight Hopkins have you read?
Hannity: You’re very angry and defensive. I’m just trying to ask a question here.
Wright: You haven’t answered - you haven’t answered my question.
Hopkins is a full professor at the University of Chicago’s Divinity School; Cone is now distinguished professor at New York’s Union Theological Seminary. They promote a “black power” reading of Christianity, to which liberal academic establishment condescends.
Obama referred to this when he asserted in a March 14 statement, “I knew Reverend Wright as someone who served this nation with honor as a United States Marine, as a respected biblical scholar, and as someone who taught or lectured at seminaries across the country, from Union Theological Seminary to the University of Chicago.” But the fact the liberal academy condescends to sponsor black liberation theology does not make it less peculiar to mainstream American Christians. Obama wants to talk about what Wright is, rather than what he says. But that way lies apolitical quicksand.
Since Christianity taught the concept of divine election to the Gentiles, every recalcitrant tribe in Christendom has rebelled against Christian universalism, insisting that it is the “Chosen People” of God - French, English, Russian, Germans and even (through the peculiar doctrine of Mormonism) certain Americans. America remains the only really Christian country in the industrial world, precisely because it transcends ethnicity. One finds ethnocentricity only in odd corners of its religious life; one of these is African-American.
During the black-power heyday of the late 1960s, after the murder of the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr, the mentors of Wright decided that blacks were the Chosen People. James Cone, the most prominent theologian in the “black liberation” school, teaches that Jesus Christ himself is black. As he explains:
Christ is black therefore not because of some cultural or psychological need of black people, but because and only because Christ really enters into our world where the poor were despised and the black are, disclosing that he is with them enduring humiliation and pain and transforming oppressed slaves into liberating servants.
Theologically, Cone’s argument is as silly as the “Aryan Christianity” popular in Nazi Germany, which claimed that Jesus was not a Jew at all but an Aryan Galilean, and that the Aryan race was the “chosen people”. Cone, Hopkins and Wright do not propose, of course, to put non-blacks in concentration camps or to conquer the world, but racially-based theology nonetheless is a greased chute to the nether regions.
Biblical theology teaches that even the most terrible events to befall Israel, such as the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BCE, embody the workings of divine justice, even if humankind cannot see God’s purpose. James Cone sees the matter very differently. Either God must do what we want him to do, or we must reject him, Cone maintains:
Black theology refuses to accept a God who is not identified totally with the goals of the black community. If God is not for us and against white people, 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 … Black theology will accept only the love of God which participates in the destruction of the white enemy. What we need is the divine love as expressed in Black Power, which is the power of black people to destroy their oppressors here and now by any means at their disposal. Unless God is participating in this holy activity, we must reject his love. [1]
In the black liberation theology taught by Wright, Cone and Hopkins, Jesus Christ is not for all men, but only for the oppressed:
In the New Testament, Jesus is not for all, but for the oppressed, the poor and unwanted of society, and against oppressors … Either God is for black people in their fight for liberation and against the white oppressors, or he is not [Cone]…
That is the “biblical scholarship” to which Obama referred in his March 14 defense of Wright and his academic prominence. In his response to Hannity, Wright genuinely seemed to believe that the authority of Cone and Hopkins, who now hold important posts at liberal theological seminaries, was sufficient to make the issue go away. His faith in the white establishment is touching; he honestly cannot understand why the white reporters at Fox News are bothering him when the University of Chicago and the Union Theological Seminary have put their stamp of approval on black liberation theology…
Note
1. See William R Jones, “Divine Racism: The Unacknowledged Threshold Issue for Black Theology”, in African-American Religious Thought: An Anthology, ed Cornel West and Eddie Glaube (Westminster John Knox Press).
Of course we already had our suspicions.
But it’s nice to see them documented.
(Thanks to NotStuckOnStupid for the heads up.)
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33 Responses to “White Hatred In Black Liberation Theology”
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March 18th, 2008 at 7:41 pm
Excerpts from the article worth repeating:
Meanwhile, further down the page…
Absolutely amazing.
March 18th, 2008 at 8:13 pm
Keep them stupid and they will believe anyone who speaks loudly.
March 18th, 2008 at 8:18 pm
If you can get past the libspin in the article, you’d be surprised at the similarities between Cone’s ravings and those of white separatist theology.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Identity
Cone and Wright need to either shave their heads or put on sheets.
March 19th, 2008 at 4:42 am
Oh dear. That’s just tragic.
“If God is not for us and against white people, then he is a murderer, and we had better kill him…”
What part of “you are all one in Jesus Christ” did this fellow miss?
March 19th, 2008 at 10:50 am
I’m guessing the entire part. Christianity is supposed to be about God and losing yourself into a relationship with Him, but for these men, it’s all about them and what God can do for them.
March 19th, 2008 at 11:01 am
Obama is a Mac Daddy! :}
http://youtube.com/watch?v=khuu-RhOBDU
March 19th, 2008 at 11:23 am
This is an interesting read…..
Call to Renewal Keynote
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Senator Obama spoke at the Call to Renewal Conference sponsored by Sojourners earlier to day. He spoke of the role of religion in politics.
“This is why, if we truly hope to speak to people where they’re at - to communicate our hopes and values in a way that’s relevant to their own - we cannot abandon the field of religious discourse.
Because when we ignore the debate about what it means to be a good Christian or Muslim or Jew; when we discuss religion only in the negative sense of where or how it should not be practiced, rather than in the positive sense of what it tells us about our obligations towards one another; when we shy away from religious venues and religious broadcasts because we assume that we will be unwelcome - others will fill the vacuum, those with the most insular views of faith, or those who cynically use religion to justify partisan ends.
In other words, if we don’t reach out to evangelical Christians and other religious Americans and tell them what we stand for, Jerry Falwell’s and Pat Robertson’s will continue to hold sway.”
…”So we all have some work to do here. But I am hopeful that we can bridge the gaps that exist and overcome the prejudices each of us bring to this debate. And I have faith that millions of believing Americans want that to happen. No matter how religious they may or may not be, people are tired of seeing faith used as a tool of attack. They don’t want faith used to belittle or to divide. They’re tired of hearing folks deliver more screed than sermon. Because in the end, that’s not how they think about faith in their own lives.”
http://obama.senate.gov/podcas...../index.php
March 19th, 2008 at 11:29 am
Has anybody ever watched a baseball game and seen someone holding a sign that said “JOHN 3:16″? Here’s what that Bible verse reads:
I guess in the eyes of black theology “the world” and “whosoever” means just the oppressed…
March 19th, 2008 at 11:56 am
Compare the words from Rev Wright in the 1 Mar 2007 Fox news link I emailed to S~L on 10 Mar 08. Link
“WRIGHT: If you’re not going to talk about theology in context, if you’re not going to talk about liberation theology that came out of the ‘60s, (INAUDIBLE) black liberation theology, that started with Jim Cone in 1968, and the writings of Cone, and the writings of Dwight Hopkins, and the writings of womanist theologians, and Asian theologians, and Hispanic theologians…
HANNITY: Reverend, I’ve got to get this in.
WRIGHT: Then you can talk about the black value system.
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: I’m going to tell you this. Listen…
WRIGHT: Do you know liberation theology, sir? Do you know liberation theology?
HANNITY: I studied theology; I went to a seminary. And I studied Latin.
WRIGHT: Do you know black liberation theology?
HANNITY: I’m very aware of what you’re calling black liberation, but let me get my question out.
(CROSSTALK)
WRIGHT: I said, do you know black theology?
HANNITY: Reverend, I’m going to give you a chance to answer my question.
WRIGHT: How many of Cone’s books have you read? How many of Cone’s book have you read?
HANNITY: Reverend, Reverend?
(CROSSTALK)
WRIGHT: How many books of Cone’s have you head?
HANNITY: I’m going to ask you this question…
WRIGHT: How many books of Dwight Hopkins have you read?
HANNITY: You’re very angry and defensive. I’m just trying to ask a question here.
It’s here in the 1 Mar show transcript that Rev Wright talks about the~
“WRIGHT: The black value system, which was developed by the congregation, by laypersons of the congregation, 26 years ago, very similar to the gospel (INAUDIBLE) developed by laypersons in Nicaragua during the whole liberation theology movement, 26, 28, 30 years ago, yes.”
The only thing going on in Nicaragua 30 years ago was the Communist led Sandinatis trying with the help of John Kerry to take over South America
“The best example is when he and Democratic Senator Tom Harkin traveled to negotiate with Communist Nicaraguan Dictator Daniel Ortega. Ortega, head of the notorious Sandinista party, seized power in a coup in 1979 and quickly consolidated power. Torture, prison, and the execution and imprisonment of thousands of Nicaraguans soon followed. Private property was seized and media, banks and factories nationalized. The Sandistas were especially brutal towards some of the native Indian tribes, liquidating their leadership, imprisoning, and displacing them. In 1984 Ortega held a fraudulent Presidential election and claimed victory, but the opposition boycotted the election and began armed resistance. Before and during his revolution and rule Oretega was supported by Communist Cuba and the Soviet Union. (9) The Sandinistas also began supported the Communist revolution in neighboring El Salvador. From 1980 to 1992 over 75,000 people died in El Salvador. ”
IMO, South/Central America goes completely Communist under a Obama presidency, among other very bad for America things.
March 19th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
Liberation Theology: The Truth shall set you free.
March 19th, 2008 at 12:51 pm
Beware of false prophets -
Two things to take note of here:
Those who do not study history are doomed to repeat it
and
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.
We don’t have to worry about terrorists - the DNC, the RNC, the msm and people like Wright and his most successful student will take America down from within.
March 19th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
I’ve known Christians my whole life. I’ve gone to church with them and even into battle with them and you sir, Rev. Wright and your fellow “theologians”, are no Christians. Liberals would have us believe everything is relative but a Christian is definable. A Christian would never give God an ultimatum. “Either God must do what we want him to do, or we must reject him”. IMO only an atheist would be arrogant enough to make such a statement.
Black theologians are Christians like Michael Vicke is a dog lover.
March 19th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
WM4, here’s a quote you might like: “the only thing we learn from history is that no one learns from history.”
And that whole interview with Wright and Hannity? Completely freaking nuts. I don’t think Hannity would have been out of line punching Wright in the gut to knock the wind out of him. Maybe then Hannity could have gotten his question in.
March 19th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
I mentioned you here
March 19th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
Thanks, Don.
If you get a chance you should peruse the archives. Just do a search for Wright.
We have been on this story since January 2007.
March 19th, 2008 at 5:42 pm
From the good book…
These are the last four verses of the New Testament which makes them the last four verses of the Bible. The “curse” ( for the lack of a better word) mainly relates only to the Book of Revelations or in the Catholic Religion ( they use the Greek word) The Apocalypse. Many Christians believe that this also pertains to the entire Bible. I wonder if John Cone, Dwight Hopkins, Jeremiah Wright or Cornel West knows what wrath they may reap.
———————————-
This is an Excerpt from the book of Romans. I first would like to place it in context for those not familiar with the texts. This is a letter written by Paul to the Christians in Rome on how they should treat each other and strangers. Mainly other Christians in the Church that is sometimes known as the “body of Christ” or the “bride of Christ”. Paul wasn’t an original disciple. He was a devout Jew named Saul who was responsible for the death and persecution of many early Christians. He had his famous conversion on the “Road to Damascus” when Jesus, who had been long crucified and risen, confronted him in a vision. He met with the others many times and learned all they knew of Jesus and his teachings directly from the original 11 men left…except for Phillip whose death he witnessed as he held the coats of the men who stoned him to death. You can imagine how hard it must have been for any Christian to trust or believe he was converted at first much less the original disciples. He was their first enemy. Anyway, He wrote many books of the New Testament in the form of letters and was later murdered for his belief. As they all were, but John.
Now, here’s the money quote.
I would have to say that Black Liberation Theology is nothing close to the Christianity being taught here. There are many quotes of Jesus himself about loving your enemies and turning the other cheek. The bottom line is that what Wright, Cone and Hopkins are teaching other people. People who will later become pastors and preachers themselves are not anything close to the Bible or Christian principles. These people will be misleading their flocks and the whole twisted mess spirals down to hell. Literally! Not only are they spewing hate to widen their wallets, but also they are damning entire congregations to certain death. This is really a HATE crime of the highest order.
March 19th, 2008 at 6:47 pm
Noyzmaker: I’m Catholic, and my Bible calls Revelation, Revelation. Just an FYI.
March 19th, 2008 at 6:49 pm
Noyzmakr
Great post and very relevant. You just can’t escape the hate in the words we’re hearing from these guys . Any reasonable person knows that one can’t own hate but the reverse is inevitable. Also, the usual needed remedy is forgiveness and we’re not hearing anything close to that from Wright and his fellow liberationist.
March 19th, 2008 at 10:30 pm
I agree, great post Noyzmakr. Christianity is not about teaching hate and division! When all is said and done and judgement day rolls around, it won’t matter one iota what color your skin color was during a person’s lifetime on Earth. It’s all about love and good works. :-)
March 20th, 2008 at 3:01 am
I stand corrected. Thanx ;-)
March 20th, 2008 at 9:02 am
Thanks for the kind words, but the elegance of that post came from the excerpts…not my words. I’m not a well-educated man, and it shows at times, but a prescient thought does cross my mind every now and then.
I have tried to educate myself in the things I feel are most important. God’s word and politics. Why these two? The first should be obvious and the second because I wanted to be able to defend myself from the tyranny of those who do not except the first.
I recommend reading this whole chapter. Here’s one last excerpt on this subject; Jesus is quoted as saying…
I think that pretty much ends all doubt of the ridiculousness of The Black Liberation Theology. Most people instinctively knew this was wrong. Why don’t some black congregations? It’s truly sad when you think about it. We can only hope and pray that they turn from this sophistry and back to the Christ they were seeking when they found it.
April 11th, 2008 at 5:28 pm
“If they hate you..they hated me first”. This is what Jesus said..He knew that he was a ‘true’ Christian as the son of God. He knew his responsibility….to bring people to the ‘truth’ of what the Lord has said, commit to him, obey him…..and salvation is promised. It is a verb. Action each and every person must do with his Savior. It is not hard…it is written, a book of instructions and a book of ‘life’.
I think what Jeremiah Wright was saying when he said Jesus was black, not literally, but with all that he had to endure, the rejection by many, Satan’s enticement, his anger with Christ…., Jesus was targeted all of his life, but his True Christianity was a very strict, very rigid way of life…but the only way to salvation. Because he endured all this he knew his Father was proud of him. He gave his Son to us as a ’sacrifice’ for all those ‘true christians’ that would follow the laws of his father.
Most christians today work their ‘faith around their chores, work, entertainment. With ‘true Christianity’, you work your life, entertainment, chores around your ‘faith. Being a true Christian is a full time spiritual job. None of us are perfect…so we are challenged each and every day to deal with our obstacles in a way that pleases God.
Dr. Wright is, from what I hear of him, an honorable ‘true Christian’. Some things are hard to hear….but they have to be said, …they have to be heard. This challenge with racism in still brewing, especially since this presidential campaign because one candidate is an african American. So is my grandchild and I’m white, but to condemn him (who am I?), Only God judge’s man’s behavior. But, I am a woman in his generation……and I was truly affected, still am, of America’s treatment of African American’s way back in the 50′ and 60’s. “What were they thinking”….I still say that periodically…that white America has this denial of ‘wrongdoing’. My, my…then white America is upset….spewing anger back, “what can we do?”. Well it is complex.
Accept it is a White Master History…but a ‘blended America challenge. Economics…1st problem. Jobs, opportunities, and black leadership….”Yes, I did say Black Leadership”, and this is what Jeremiah Wright and thousands like him are doing. Call it by any name….it is blacks taking care of blacks (why so threatening to white America). It is not a threat, it is a resource. 2nd. Dialogue…..listening, listening and listening. This must be done to understand. Forget the guilt, the righteousness, black America has listened to white America since coming to these shores. Our turn to listen, understand their frustration, anger, hopelessness and scar’s. We own them this much. This is what God expects of us. 3. Apply ‘our resources, combined with black America resources to create a diverse community for our children. The only thing to fear is fear itself.
I hear some politicians trying desparetly to ‘bait Obama….get a reaction. It doesn’t work. He is a bit of everyone in the World, and he should be very proud of his insight, and foresight.
April 11th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
canadagirl
Here’s the “true Christian” theology of Wright from the lips of his mentor.
“Black theology refuses to accept a God who is not identified totally with the goals of the black community. If God is not for us and against white people, 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 … Black theology will accept only the love of God which participates in the destruction of the white enemy.”
You’re either hopelessly blind to the truth right in front of your face or you’re living in a dream world.
Also, I don’t consider my Christianity a job and Jesus wasn’t a Christian, he was a jew. He didn’t start a new religion, he fulfilled one.
April 11th, 2008 at 7:57 pm
……”Dr. Wright is, from what I hear of him, an honorable ‘true Christian’……”
The logic of that statement escapes me at the moment. Perhaps it’s because I’m one of those “typical white people” I’ve been hearing about.
You’ll drive yourself to distraction trying to straighten this one out, Noyz.
April 11th, 2008 at 10:21 pm
Of course, you are right JohnMG.
I’m trying not to be so much of a troll, but I just couldn’t let that slide by.
Also, it was Steven, not Phillip, who was stoned to death. My apologies for the mix up in my earlier post above. I just re-read the chapter again and remembered my mistake. Just for the record.
April 11th, 2008 at 11:52 pm
Here’s some quotes from James Cone -
http://www.newenglishreview.or.....g_id/13718
[quote]James Cone, quoted in William R Jones, “Divine Racism: The Unacknowledged Threshold Issue for Black Theology”, in African-American Religious Thought: An Anthology, ed Cornel West and Eddie Glaube, Westminster John Knox Press, 2003, pp. 850, 856.Black theology refuses to accept a God who is not identified totally with the goals of the black community. If God is not for us and against white people, 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 … Black theology will accept only the love of God which participates in the destruction of the white enemy. What we need is the divine love as expressed in Black Power, which is the power of black people to destroy their oppressors here and now by any means at their disposal. Unless God is participating in this holy activity, we must reject his love.[/quote] [quote]From James Cone’s own, Black Theology and Black Power, 1997, Orbis, p.150:
For white people, God’s reconciliation in Jesus Christ means that God has made black people a beautiful people; and if they are going to be in relationship with God, they must enter by means of their black brothers, who are a manifestation of God’s presence on earth. The assumption that one can know God without knowing blackness is the basic heresy of the white churches. They want God without blackness, Christ without obedience, love without death. What they fail to realize is that in America, God’s revelation on earth has always been black, red, or some other shocking shade, but never white. Whiteness, as revealed in the history of America, is the expression of what is wrong with man. It is a symbol of man’s depravity. God cannot be white even though white churches have portrayed him as white. When we look at what whiteness has done to the minds of men in this country, we can see clearly what the New Testament meant when it spoke of the principalities and powers. To speak of Satan and his powers becomes not just a way of speaking but a fact of reality. When we can see a people who are controlled by an ideology of whiteness, then we know what reconciliation must mean. The coming of Christ means a denial of what we thought we were. It means destroying the white devil in us. Reconciliation to God means that white people are prepared to deny themselves (whiteness), take up the cross (blackness) and follow Christ (black ghetto).[/quote]
Scary stuff. O_o
April 12th, 2008 at 12:02 am
I was actually about to post about Stephen being the first martyr and it was at his death that Saul watched the coats of the men who stoned him, Acts 7. It was James, brother of John and son of Zebedee who was the first Apostle to be martyred in Acts 12:2.
Making a distinction between true and false Christians is a difficult proposition at best. We cannot see men’s hearts and know what internal struggles they face. What we can see is what they expound as their understanding of Christ’s teachings. Christ asserted that he did not come to save just one group of people, and if he had it would have been the descendents of Abraham through his son Isaac and his son Jacob, i.e. the Jews. It would not be blacks or mixed heritage gentiles like myself and Barack Obama. Mr. Cone’s assertions that Chirst was black and came specifically to save black fellows is a ludicrous idea when Christ himself states that he came to bring salvation to ‘Jew and Gentile,’ an expression that means everyone in the world. Therefore we are forced to conclude that Mr. Cone is not teaching christianity and anyone who follows Mr. Cone’s teachings is not following Christ’s teachings. Since Mr. Wright is a student of Mr. Cone and a very public advocate of Mr. Cone’s teachings, we are forced to conclude that Mr. Wright is not following Christ’s teachings as well.
Biblically speaking these men need to be rebuked. 1 Timothy 5:17-20
17The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. 18For the Scripture says, “Do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain,”[b] and “The worker deserves his wages.”[c] 19Do not entertain an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two or three witnesses. 20Those who sin are to be rebuked publicly, so that the others may take warning.
I was just going to quote 1 Tim 5:20 however, the passage is specifically about elders in the church, i.e. church leaders, and I wanted that to be perfectly clear.
I happen to be from Southeastern Connecticut and in my opinion I live in a fully racially-integrated community. I grew up living Martin Luther King Jr’s dream, black, white, asian, hispanic et al children playing together with no stigma based on the color of their skin. Perhaps I have the wrong background to have the proper perspective on the race issue.
There are laws in place to protect people from discrimination. As long as these laws are enforced equally for every race then the federal government has done its job. The federal government has neither the right nor the authority to foster talks amongst its citizens over any issue. If Mr. Obama, or anyone else, wants to encourage conversation along racial lines he must do so as a private citizen, not as the Commander-in-Chief of the United States of America, nor any other representative of the federal government.
At least, that’s how I understand things.
April 12th, 2008 at 12:29 am
Kytross, That was a very thoughtful post.
Welcome to our corner of the world.
April 12th, 2008 at 12:38 am
Thanks for correcting me on the mispell of Stephen’s name Kytross. That’s what I get for using Audio Bible so much instead of actually reading it as I should.
Kytross writes… “Perhaps I have the wrong background to have the proper perspective on the race issue.”
Looks like you got it just right to me. Kudos Kytross.
April 12th, 2008 at 12:46 am
Beautiful post Kytross!
“At least, that’s how I understand things.”
That’s how most of us that post comments here “understand things” also.
April 12th, 2008 at 1:54 am
Well, let’s see if my degree in Biblical and Theological studies was worth the 80k + interest I paid for it and see if I can refute some of this non-sense.
[quote]From James Cone’s own, Black Theology and Black Power, 1997, Orbis, p.150:For white people, God’s reconciliation in Jesus Christ means that God has made black people a beautiful people; and if they are going to be in relationship with God, they must enter by means of their black brothers, who are a manifestation of God’s presence on earth. The assumption that one can know God without knowing blackness is the basic heresy of the white churches. They want God without blackness, Christ without obedience, love without death. What they fail to realize is that in America, God’s revelation on earth has always been black, red, or some other shocking shade, but never white. Whiteness, as revealed in the history of America, is the expression of what is wrong with man. It is a symbol of man’s depravity. God cannot be white even though white churches have portrayed him as white. When we look at what whiteness has done to the minds of men in this country, we can see clearly what the New Testament meant when it spoke of the principalities and powers. To speak of Satan and his powers becomes not just a way of speaking but a fact of reality. When we can see a people who are controlled by an ideology of whiteness, then we know what reconciliation must mean. The coming of Christ means a denial of what we thought we were. It means destroying the white devil in us. Reconciliation to God means that white people are prepared to deny themselves (whiteness), take up the cross (blackness) and follow Christ (black ghetto).[/quote]
The first thought expressed in this paragraph seems to be in the first sentence:
[quote]For white people, God’s reconciliation in Jesus Christ means that God has made black people a beautiful people; and if they are going to be in relationship with God, they must enter by means of their black brothers, who are a manifestation of God’s presence on earth. The assumption that one can know God without knowing blackness is the basic heresy of the white churches.[/quote]Cone’s argument here is that the only way for white folk to know God is through their black brothers, that being born black gives one a unique advantage in knowing God. This is preposterous. There is no black and white in the Bible. There are those who have chosen to follow God, through accepting Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, and those who have chosen to walk away from God.
It should be noted that even before the Son was incarnated provisions were made in Leviticus for non-genetic descendents of Abraham to undergo the ceremony of circumcision and become one of God’s chosen people. Sammy Davis Jr is a famous example of a modern convert to Judaism. King Ahab, whose story is recorded in 1 Kings 16-22, is a great example of an unrighteous Jew. Consequently being born a Jew was not a guarantee of righteousness, nor being born a gentile a guarantee of being forsaken.
Psalm 139:14 reads:
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
Black, white, or chartreuse we are all “fearfully and wonderfully made.” There is no racial distinction to God, we are all created in his image.
Now to deal with Cone’s ascertion that whites need to come to God through blacks, I think Jesus’ words in John 14:6 refutes him:
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
It is through Jesus that we come to be in right relation with God. Now if it happens that a black person introduces a white person to Jesus, or vice versa, so be it. What we as Christians rejoice in is that another lost soul has been redeemed.
Now to Cone’s next thought:
[quote] They [white people] want God without blackness, Christ without obedience, love without death. [/quote]This is not an idea but a string of unrelated phrases that create an incoherent sentence. The idea that Whites want God without incorporating American black culture is the thesis of the paragraph, but “Christ without obedience” and “love without death” is unsupported and brought in from nowhere. I have already attempted to make the point that culture is irrelevant to whether or not you can receive God’s redeeming grace, so I will address these two out of place phrases quickly.
“Christ without obedience” - it is well established in both the old and new testaments that God desires our submission to His will. It is well established in the New Testament that our obedience to God will flow from the Holy Spirit working within us. Comparing us to trees Paul makes that point that “…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” (Gal 5:22,23). One cannot live a Christian life without obedience, as James teaches us in chapter 2 verse 26 “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.”
“love without death” - this makes no sense. John 3:16 states “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Eternal life is one of the basic premises of Christianity. I don’t know what Cone is attempting to say here.
I have to go for a bit, Real Life concerns. If I get the chance tonight I’ll continue with Cone’s next thought.
April 12th, 2008 at 6:18 am
Let’s see. We have the Trinity Church which nationally is predominantly white in which Wright has made his career as a pastor. He acknowledges two influences who are at well regarded, predominately white academic institutions.
We have an article with looks like a hit job coming from a newspaper in Hong Kong. The paper is citing a critique of black liberation theology by William Jones in a book by Cornell West. Two more African American Academics at predominantly white institutions. Jones also being a Liberation Theologists.
And we are all here confident that we are dealing with a bunch of guys who want to go out and kill whitey?? Doesn’t that seem a bit odd to you? Do you think the other professors and or ministers are all saying “well I know you want to destroy all us white folks some day, but in the mean time are you free for coffee?”
I’m sure there may be some problems with this religious perspective, but frankly do you think a man who was raised by his white mother and Indonesian step-father would be going to a church like the?
When I was a kid I saw pictures of a white Jesus with brown hair and blue eyes in many homes. I saw picture of his mother mary with porcelane white skin. In short in the US most religious figures were Anglocised (sp). It was not accurate but it did reinforce a notion of white purity and ideals as well as the hidden condemnation of people of color. Remember the teachings that blacks were carrying the mark of Cane???
Religion has been tweaked throughout history to the service of those in power. It is one of the reasons why converting people was an important part of many imperialists. When you have that awareness, you are liable to decide not to buy in to a God that seems to serve that agenda.
Things don’t happen in a vacuum. Remember that blacks were still restricted to the backs of many churches in the 50’s, and conservative Christians were a major force against King and the civil rights movement. The Jones article is asking if the response by Cone has in places gone overboard, but I seriously doubt that these are core tenants.
-S
April 12th, 2008 at 11:34 am
“Things don’t happen in a vacuum.”
That being said, God recalled the entire Universe.