Reverend Wright
Whoa. I am sitting here listening to NPR reporting on Barack Obama's paster, the Reverend Dr. Wright (or is that the Dr. Reverend Wright?).
Every single time I hear a clip of the Rev. Wright speaking I want to stand up and cheer.
In fact, I couldn't restrain myself a couple of times- I have been dancing around my kitchen gleefully. I love that someone speaking truth to power has exploded on the public stage. To me, this epitomizes the absolute best of my Christian faith.
I suppose I can understand why others find the Rev. Wright's sermons 'inflammatory' (their word, not mine). To me, that's Christian prophetic tradition. Prophets are supposed to be inflammatory- that's their job. Half of the old testament is this sort of thing- Jeremiah and Isaiah jump immediately to mind.
For those who have missed it, Rev. Wright has preached many fiery sermons comparing America to the Roman Empire, denouncing white privilege, accusing America of being one of the primary promulgators of terrorism in the world . . . etc. A quick Google search will reveal much to you.
For example, however, one of the absolutely most-quoted bits cited as 'incendiary hate speech' is the following:
"America is still the No. 1 killer in the world. . . . We are deeply involved in the importing of drugs, the exporting of guns, and the training of professional killers . . . We bombed Cambodia, Iraq and Nicaragua, killing women and children while trying to get public opinion turned against Castro and Ghadhafi . . . We put [Nelson] Mandela in prison and supported apartheid the whole 27 years he was there. We believe in white supremacy and black inferiority and believe it more than we believe in God."
Except for the last sentence, and without referring to a textbook, I'm pretty sure that every particle of that is the literal, absolute, truth. School of the Americas, anyone?
But why aren't more folks like me, folks that see themselves as fighters for the underdog, (regardless of religious belief; I think speaking truth to power cuts across religious lines)? Or am I just a crazy, incendiary, anti-American terrorist?
The main stream media coverage of this (the sad day has arrived; I have finally called NPR 'mainstream') is driving me a bit batty. Support? Help? Thoughts?
(cross-posted to feminist
Every single time I hear a clip of the Rev. Wright speaking I want to stand up and cheer.
In fact, I couldn't restrain myself a couple of times- I have been dancing around my kitchen gleefully. I love that someone speaking truth to power has exploded on the public stage. To me, this epitomizes the absolute best of my Christian faith.
I suppose I can understand why others find the Rev. Wright's sermons 'inflammatory' (their word, not mine). To me, that's Christian prophetic tradition. Prophets are supposed to be inflammatory- that's their job. Half of the old testament is this sort of thing- Jeremiah and Isaiah jump immediately to mind.
For those who have missed it, Rev. Wright has preached many fiery sermons comparing America to the Roman Empire, denouncing white privilege, accusing America of being one of the primary promulgators of terrorism in the world . . . etc. A quick Google search will reveal much to you.
For example, however, one of the absolutely most-quoted bits cited as 'incendiary hate speech' is the following:
"America is still the No. 1 killer in the world. . . . We are deeply involved in the importing of drugs, the exporting of guns, and the training of professional killers . . . We bombed Cambodia, Iraq and Nicaragua, killing women and children while trying to get public opinion turned against Castro and Ghadhafi . . . We put [Nelson] Mandela in prison and supported apartheid the whole 27 years he was there. We believe in white supremacy and black inferiority and believe it more than we believe in God."
Except for the last sentence, and without referring to a textbook, I'm pretty sure that every particle of that is the literal, absolute, truth. School of the Americas, anyone?
But why aren't more folks like me, folks that see themselves as fighters for the underdog, (regardless of religious belief; I think speaking truth to power cuts across religious lines)? Or am I just a crazy, incendiary, anti-American terrorist?
The main stream media coverage of this (the sad day has arrived; I have finally called NPR 'mainstream') is driving me a bit batty. Support? Help? Thoughts?
(cross-posted to feminist