Theology is by definition the study of God. Does “Black Liberation Theology” involve the study of God or is it something else?
Early in this election season, Barack Obama was asked about his church and his minister. He stated, “I don’t think my church is particularly controversial.”
During that portion of the campaign, Obama was getting very favorable press
coverage and he likely thought that neither his church nor his minister would be questioned.
But the story did break and Obama initially said, “The statements that Rev. Wright made that are the cause of this controversy were not statements I personally heard him preach while I sat in the pews of Trinity or heard him utter in private conversation.” This response was not received by the American public or even the press the way Obama had hoped and so he delivered his now famous race speech in Philadephia. In that speech Obama said, “I have already condemned, in unequivocal terms, the statements of Reverend Wright that have caused such controversy. For some, nagging questions remain. Did I know him to be an occasionally fierce critic of American domestic and foreign policy? Of course. Did I ever hear him make
remarks that could be considered controversial while I sat in church? Yes. Did I strongly disagree with many of his political views? Absolutely - just as I’m sure many of you have heard remarks from your pastors, priests, or rabbis with which you strongly disagreed.”
A lot of people interpret the two statements as contradictory when he said that he never heard Wright say such statements and then said in the Philly speech that Wright said things that “could be considered controversial.” If one takes a look at the teachings of Black Liberation Theology it is even harder to believe since Obama’s church and his minister Wright are adherents of it.
Black Liberation Theology was started by James Cone in the late 1960’s. Cone wrote the book that is the basis for Black Liberation Theology. Some of the more offensive points in the book are as follows:
“Black theology refuses to accept a God who is not identified totally with the
goals of the black community. If God is not for us and against white people, then he is a murderer, and we had better kill him. The task of black theology is to kill Gods who do not belong to the black community … Black theology will accept only the love of God which participates in the destruction of the white enemy. What we need is the divine love as expressed in Black Power, which is the power of black people to destroy their oppressors here and now by any means at their disposal. Unless God is participating in this holy activity, we must reject his love.”
A Black Theology of Liberation By James H. Cone 1990 ISBN-10: 0883446855 Page 27
The black theologian must reject any conception of God which stifles black
self-determination by picturing God as a God of all peoples. Either God is
identified with the oppressed to the point that their experience becomes God’s
experience, or God is a God of racism…The blackness of God means that God has made the oppressed condition God’s own condition. This is the essence of the Biblical revelation. By electing Israelite slaves as the people of God and by
becoming the Oppressed One in Jesus Christ, the human race is made to understand that God is known where human beings experience humiliation and
suffering…Liberation is not an afterthought, but the very essence of divine
activity. (A Black Theology of Liberation, pp. 63-64)
Some further Cone statements:
- “All white men are responsible for white oppression.”
- “While it is true that blacks do hate whites, black hatred is not racism.”
- “Theologically, Malcolm X was not far wrong when he called the white man “the devil.”"
- “The black theologian must reject any conception of God which stifles black
self-determination by picturing God as a God of all peoples.”
- “We have had too much of white love, the love that tells blacks to turn the other cheek and go the second mile. What we need is the divine love as expressed in black power, which is the power of blacks to destroy their oppressors, here and now, by any means at their disposal.”
A couple of conclusions immediately come to mind. This is not a study of God. This is an appeal to emotions. And it is simply not reasonable to question whether Barack Obama heard hateful and anti-American statements in his church. With a theology based on divisiveness, it is simply not possible to avoid having heard such things.