Black Liberation Theology Not Marxism, Obama Not Hitler

A mostly silly discussion, but I haven't had fun with Sibby for some time....

Steve Sibson does me the favor of promoting my comment on Obama, theology, and politics to a full post and response. Sibby directs me to read in full Kyle-Anne Shiver's "Obama, Black Liberation Theology, and Karl Marx" [American Thinker, 2008.05.28] for "an honest discussion on Christianity versus Marxism."

Honest discussion? Spectacular leaps of logic and rhetoric, all aimed at manipulating the message of black theology into the bogeyman that Shiver, Sibson, et al. want it—need it— to be.

Ms. Shiver does indeed give me the shivers. Look what she does with the following quote from black theologian James H. Cone**:

And Cone brings it all the way home with this proclamation of liberation from traditional Christianity itself:

"The appearance of black theology means that the black community is now ready to do something about the white Jesus, so that he cannot get in the way of our revolution."

Move over Jesus and make way for Cone, Wright and Obama.

No, no, no. Cone doesn't say get rid of Jesus. No one is trying to replace Jesus with false contemporary idols. Cone is contesting the misappropriation of Jesus by white American culture. Jesus was not white. Jesus was not American. Jesus was definitely not the mild smiling chap we see blessing cherubic Nordic children and fluffy lambs in the kids books. He was a swarthy Middle Eastern Jew who would probably get special attention from the TSA if he tried to fly into JFK or Dulles. "White Jesus" is an absurd concept that we all need to sweep aside.

Shiver plays further word games, italicizing the words oppressor and oppressed in a Marx quote and proceeding to label any mention of the oppressed in black theology as evidence that black theology is all about Marxist class warfare, not Christianity. She puts Cone's (and Obama's) Christianity in quotation marks, continuing the scurrilous strategy of questioning another man's clearly professed faith. (I can say Sibby is wrong about a lot of Christian stuff without saying he's not a Christian. In other words, I don't have to call him a liar to argue that he's wrong.)

Shiver goes further in insinuating that Obama is still just the son of an "agnostic anthropologist," not a true Christian. She cites Obama's The Audacity of Hope:

"It was because of these newfound understandings [at Trinity under Wright]—that religious commitment did not require me to suspend critical thinking, disengage from the battle for economic and social justice...that I was finally able to walk down the aisle of Trinity...and be baptized."

...and draws this shocking and irrational conclusion: "Wright's vision of Christianity was perfectly appetizing to Barack Obama; he didn't need to change a thing."

So wait a minute: since when did accepting Jesus Christ mean having to change one's commitment to critical thinking and economic and social justice?

Ms. Shiver's article contains further wishful mishmashings of text, argument by juxtaposition and insinuation. (Many of the reader comments descend into further blatant nuttiness.) Most emblematic of Shiver's style of "logic" is the fun she has linking Obama to Hitler. Really. Her insinuations go like this:

• Karl Marx was an anti-Semite. Shiver thinks Obama is a Marxist. Therefore, Obama must be an anti-Semite, just like Hitler.
• Obama said words matter. Hitler wrote in Mein Kampf about "the magic of power of the spoken word." Therefore, Obama is a demagogue just like Hitler.
• Obama mentions Christianity in his speeches. Hitler "sprinkled Mein Kampf with Christian language." Therefore, Obama is just like Hitler.

I can't say much about the first insinuation (it is clear to any semi-educated reader the rhetorical associations Shiver is trying to make). As for the rest, well, I seem to recall President Reagan having some magic power with the spoken word and making rhetorical nods to Christianity. Shiver loves Reagan... therefore are she and Reagan just like Hitler? I think not.

You can do better than Shiver, Steve. If our worldviews are sound, we shouldn't have to descend to shysterly writing to defend them.

------------------------
*I note with satsifaction that Dr. Cone has more theological training and experience than Ms. Shiver. Dr. Cone is an ordained minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church and the Charles A. Briggs Distinguished Professor of Systematic Theology at Union Theological Seminary. I can find no online record of any formal theological training in Ms. Shiver's background. What is it about the Religious Right getting its theology from anyone but theologians?