Christians Being Wronged by Wright

For the past two weeks, like you, my evening news has been besieged with the rants of Rev. Jeremiah Wright. I have been fortunate enough to have had many conversations about the topic and about the man himself. While it has become a political firestorm for a candidate I offer no support, the bigger issue is that of Rev. Wright’s comments and theology and the relative silence of Christian leaders (with the exception of a handful), both black and white, to stand up and say that this is not how our church, our denomination and our congregations worship on Sunday. Kudos to Bishop Harry Jackson for standing up on national television and clearly explaining that this is not the status quo of the African American church in America!

I am realist and acknowledge that, sadly, racism is alive and well in America. A reader of the Church Report sent me a letter and in it stated, “Racism is woven into the hearts and minds of us all.” However, racism in our churches is something that needs to be addressed and corrected. As Christians, we are called to be leaders, not the subject of racism on the evening news. Unfortunately, one has to look no further than You Tube videos, DVD’s that Trinity Church sells and the plethora of discouraging clips on television to realize that the leadership and theology of Trinity Church in Chicago is clearly not a Gospel that anyone should be comfortable with, much less celebrate. Liberation theology, as it has come to be known, has no place in our churches. It is a misinformed theology based up on economic structure, politics and racial agendas. I would maintain that a Sunday sermon is meant to educate and celebrate not to incite and retaliate.

In much of the defense of Rev. Wright, we have heard suggestions that his message resonates within the black church. Perhaps Thomas Sowell, the famed African American leader and current senior fellow at the Hoover Institute at Stanford University makes the most sense of this poorly drawn argument when he wrote in a recent column, “There was a time when the Ku Klux Klan's words had a resonance among whites, not only in the South but in other states. Some people joined the KKK in order to advance their political careers. Did that make it OK? It is this type of honesty in dialogue that I feel is required by all of us if a conversation on racism and liberation theology ever produce any real and lasting effect.

Throughout this two week discourse on race and religion that has circulated the airwaves and newspapers, perhaps the most disappointing element has been the lack of comment from Rev. Wright and his successor, the Rev. Otis Moss III. These men owe Christians an apology. These men owe us an explanation. More importantly, these men need our prayers. As leaders of churches and Christians, the hate-filled sputum pouring from their pulpits is an atrocity. Though a reader suggested to me, “We have free speech even if we don’t agree with the contents and language. That is part of being free.” I would challenge that reader and all Christians to denounce these types of hate speech and denounce this theology of liberation as it is neither liberating nor theology.

Finally, in a column written for The Church Report earlier this week, Bishop Harry Jackson reminds us that “racism is a matter of the heart, first of all. And because it is truly a spiritual problem, it will require the involvement of a unified, emotionally focused church to lead us toward racial reconciliation.”

Jason T. Christy is the Publisher/Editor in Chief of The Church Report, a Christian conservative website and newsletter of purpose, as well as the CEO, of Christy Media. Sought after for his knowledge of the Christian community, Jason often consults with other media outlets. Some of his media credits include: CNN, FOX News Channel, MSNBC, CBS, LA Times, Washington Post, CBS Radio, and the NY Times.

For letters to the editor, please email crdaily@thechurchreport.com