A question for my faithful readers: How do you respond when your pastor gets it right on Friday, then muffs the message on Monday? At what point do your pastor's mistakes outweigh the good he does for your congregation and make you leave your church?
"The God of the people who are riding on the decks of the slave ship," Wright said, "is not the God of the people who are riding underneath the decks as slaves in chains."
Better late than never, Moyers' program offers viewers a chance to see that, whether you agree with him or not, Wright is not a nut case or "wackadoodle," as some have portrayed him. You can also see why, as many have wondered, Obama was impressed enough with the man to answer Wright's call to Christ.
Unfortunately, the good that Wright did for himself on Moyers' show was largely undone by Wright's excessive showboating at his heavily covered news conference in the National Press Club in Washington Monday [Clarence Page, "Wright Does Obama Wrong," Real Clear Politics, 2008.04.30].
Or step away from church, pick anyone you care about: think about your disagreements, not the "Less Filling Tastes Great" stuff, but the real points of contention, like voting the other way on Referred Law 6, making comments about Indians that set your teeth on edge. How do you respond to that friend? Do you denounce and disown that friend? Call that friend on it publicly? Delete that friend from your Facebook account?
I wonder if the answer to those questions is anything like the answer to the question of how we respond to our country -- to ourselves -- when it does so much good, yet fails in so many ways.
I vote. When necessary, I write to the elected officials whose job is to serve the people. And I contribute (constructively, I hope) to this blog.
ReplyDeleteI've thought long and hard about Obama's comment about pastors saying things we don't agree with. My arguments or complaints would be theological in nature. I did not like what Rev. Wright said, but I'm an adult and realize that I shouldn't judge Obama on another man's comments. (Although I would be with Mrs. Clinton (GRRRR....) and probably went church shopping)
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I don't think the criticism of Rev. Wright is an attack on the Black church. I'm just a girl from SD and not completely sure what the Black church even is. My church community here at Ft Riley is ethnical mixed, so is the Catholic faith multi-racial??? Is any attack on a priest’s comments an attack on everyone? Does, Mrs. Madvilletimes want to work for a White church, since it’s members are primarily White? (I think Mrs. Madvilletimes would walkout if she thought that) I didn't think tenants of faith and truth differed because of skin color. As Christians, we should love and be concerned for everyone’s well being. Because of that having a “Black Church” seems, well, rather odd.
I'm glad Obama distanced himself from Rev. Wright. Obama's the post-racism candidate. Rev. Wright seems to bring up old fights and tension. Shouldn't we be moving past all that? I don't think I'll be voting for Obama, for completely unrated issues, but he seems interested in bringing people together. Everyone should admire that and working towards that goal.
Christine and Stan, you both have good things to say. Keep it coming.
ReplyDeleteJust curious, Stan: voting and writing elected officials doesn't the solve the problem of someone in your own circle of friends or significant others taking political stands you just can't abide. How do you deal with that?
Christine, I'm sorry we can't get you to vote Obama, but I'm glad it's for other, quite likely well-considered reasons, not the gotcha game of guilt by association the media wants to play.
I have friends and relatives like that on both the right and the left. To me, some of their opinions are downright insane.
ReplyDeleteThese people are free to take whatever stand they like, provided they don't threaten me or anyone else with direct harm. It's like the old "Wave your arms but not into my nose" thing, or "Don't yell 'Fire!' in a crowded theater" thing.
Trouble is, it appears that Rev. Wright likes to yell "Fire!" in crowded theaters, and he doesn't care who gets trampled underfoot as a result.
If I were running for public office and had a "rebel reverend" like that, I'm not sure what I would do. I do not envy Barack Obama at all. I guess he's doing the best anyone could under the circumstances.
P.S. I can't resist noting that Jesus himself was a rebel if ever there was one. See what they did to him! (The similarity ends there, however. I don't think Jesus was paranoid, nor that Rev. Wright is a savior.)
ReplyDeleteI'm a liberal rebel. I also have an unltr-conservative sister who thinks an awful lot like Wright, in that she is very opinionated and is always RIGHT. She isn't racist or so she says, but some of her comments make me think otherwise. I know better than to talk religion or politices with her, because nobody can ever win against her, she just gets more and more sarcastic.
ReplyDeleteAnon, you're lucky you aren't running for office: you'd have the press asking you to air your disagreements with your sister every day in public.
ReplyDeleteWell, Bill Moyers helps put this in perspective, which you can read at CommonDreams.org (that web site might be enjoyed by C.H. if he is not already). To make it personal, C.H. must have felt a sting and then defensiveness after one negative letter to the editor about him recently. Imagine how Wright must have felt after weeks of national attention, mostly negative. Those press questions were accusatory in nature and he may have just coped with all he was capable of coping. He turns me off personally, but the only thing he said that is way off is the HIV thing, which although untrue, it is fact that Ronald Reagan was slow and reluctant to respond to the AIDS crisis because of the gay issue. When you aren't treated fairly that anger comes out somehow.
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