"Black theology cannot accept a view of God which does not represent him as being for blacks and thus against whites. Living in a world of white oppressors, black people have no time for a neutral God."
I ended the last post with this quote from James Cone, the leading exponent of Black Liberation Theology in the U.S. He wrote this in the 1970 publication A Black Theology of Liberation. This quote, perhaps more than any other thing, encapsulates the huge real problem in the life of Barack Obama, the church in America, and the nation as a whole.
I believe the problem is centered in the heart and it involves a fractured view of reality. This view contains pieces and bits of truth mixed with bits and pieces of error. It is a view that justifies evil in the service of good. It is a view that brings the Kingdom of God down to earth to serve the economic fantasies of social justice. In short, it is a view that says unless God serves us, we will not honor Him. The bits of the truth are those which rightly claim that God does love the poor, and that He requires the rich to help the poor. It is truth to claim that God is against oppression and tyranny, and those who are poor suffer the most from these. It is truth that God warns through the prophetic utterances of many men in Scripture the rich and powerful that they face judgment from God if they mistreat and oppress the poor. However, the errors of this view more than negate the truths presented. Errors such as the fact that God does not show favoritism, as is plainly stated in passages such as Matthew 5:45 and I Peter 2:23. In fact, it is blatant sin to demand that God be a certain way to satisfy what you or I or any group "has time for." God is God and it is He alone that has the right to demand our conformity to His rule, not the other way around, which is what black liberation theology, along with a host of other theological systems, does.
That is the heart of the problem for Obama himself because it leads to a false belief that he is safe and secure without having submitted to the Lord in his heart. In fact, this view makes it seem as though Senator Obama (as with others who follow it) has a right to demand that God bless him and curse those who oppose him. If followed wholeheartedly, it presents a grave danger of accepting a false gospel which further endangers Senator Obama's very soul.
The same can be said on a larger basis for the church as a whole. For those who accept liberation theology teaching, the danger of heresy and condemnation from God is present. Less obvious is the danger to those who do not accept such heresy. The existence of those who accept a liberation theology message, if they press their agenda, puts much pressure upon others to conform or be the next targets of whatever evil actions are contemplated to bring the new "oppressors" into line.
It should be easy to see that this can pose a profound danger to the nation as a whole. If black liberation theology were to realize its goals, a permanent division of race in the form of a physically divided nation would result. One only has to read the literature of the Nation of Islam to understand that this is the goal. We should remember that a prominent honoree of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago (Obama's church formerly pastored by Jeremiah Wright), was Louis Farrakhan, the leader of the Nation of Islam.
It is my sincere prayer that Senator Obama himself will repudiate these teachings from his heart, and not just as a matter of course so that he might win an election. In addition I pray that these kinds of heretical and dangerous beliefs will grow smaller and fade away, and that the glorious gospel of grace will grow and prosper here and around the earth.
IJHN
LEE
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Obama's Problem II
In my last post, I mentioned the problem that the comments of Rev. Jeremiah Wright have caused to Barack Obama. The media has been all over this, but with the exception of a very few, they have and continue to miss the real problem.
I mentioned that the problem is not really with Rev. Wright at all, nor is it with his church. The problem here is certainly not one that should be in any way associated with so-called "black" churches. The problem is with the "Black Liberation Theology" that Rev. Wright preaches and promotes.
Black Liberation Theology is a type of broader thought known simply as liberation theology. This theology has its roots in Latin America and exploded on the scene in the 1950's and 1960's. It is strongly associated with Marxism and shares many of the philosophical beliefs of Marxism. Liberation theology in general believes that sin is not an individual's rebellion against a holy God. Instead, sin is the economic and social oppression of the poor on earth. God's role in this system is to be for the oppressed and against the oppressor no matter what. The end of oppression by any means is God's mandate. Thus it becomes that case that sin only applies to those who belong to the group who is seen as the oppressor. Those who belong to the oppressed are incapable of sin against their oppressor. The only sin that the oppressed group can commit is not to join in the struggle against the oppressor. Violence, rape, theft, terrorism, and even murder are justified and even approved of by God as long as these kind of things are practiced against the oppressor.
Black liberation theology is simply liberation theology applied to the black community in America. In a famous quote from his book A Black Theology of Liberation, James Cone wrote,
"Black theology cannot accept a view of God which does not represent him as being for blacks and thus against whites. Living in a world of white oppressors, black people have no time for a neutral God."
It is here that we can begin to see the real problem for both Barack Obama, and for our nation as a whole, and for the church in particular. But that will have to wait until the next post.
IJHM
LEE
I mentioned that the problem is not really with Rev. Wright at all, nor is it with his church. The problem here is certainly not one that should be in any way associated with so-called "black" churches. The problem is with the "Black Liberation Theology" that Rev. Wright preaches and promotes.
Black Liberation Theology is a type of broader thought known simply as liberation theology. This theology has its roots in Latin America and exploded on the scene in the 1950's and 1960's. It is strongly associated with Marxism and shares many of the philosophical beliefs of Marxism. Liberation theology in general believes that sin is not an individual's rebellion against a holy God. Instead, sin is the economic and social oppression of the poor on earth. God's role in this system is to be for the oppressed and against the oppressor no matter what. The end of oppression by any means is God's mandate. Thus it becomes that case that sin only applies to those who belong to the group who is seen as the oppressor. Those who belong to the oppressed are incapable of sin against their oppressor. The only sin that the oppressed group can commit is not to join in the struggle against the oppressor. Violence, rape, theft, terrorism, and even murder are justified and even approved of by God as long as these kind of things are practiced against the oppressor.
Black liberation theology is simply liberation theology applied to the black community in America. In a famous quote from his book A Black Theology of Liberation, James Cone wrote,
"Black theology cannot accept a view of God which does not represent him as being for blacks and thus against whites. Living in a world of white oppressors, black people have no time for a neutral God."
It is here that we can begin to see the real problem for both Barack Obama, and for our nation as a whole, and for the church in particular. But that will have to wait until the next post.
IJHM
LEE
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