Texas Mom

Jun 2 2008, 05:25 PM

From Father Jonathan Morris:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,354491,00.html


"But we’re missing the point. The critical element of concern for many of us, whose “thoughts are usually not unlike Ms. Noonan’s”, is not Reverend Wright’s personality or love for the spotlight—it’s his theology of black liberation."

"Liberation theology finds its historical roots in a school of Latin American theological thought made famous in the 1960s and 1970s. In these turbulent years of dictators and militants, some Catholic priests and bishops, Protestant pastors, and laity sought to revolutionize the church’s understanding of its own salvific mission. Instead of giving priority to the spiritual redemption of the soul, they turned their sites almost exclusively to social justice. Their materialistic view of humanity blurred the vertical and horizontal dimensions of the church. They stopped looking up at the Prince of Peace. Their Jesus was now a warrior."

"Many liberation theologians in Latin America had good objectives. They were personal witnesses of the great disparity between the rich and the poor and refused to stand by with their arms folded. They saw how some indigenous peoples, blacks, mestizos, and the poor rural and urban masses were being manipulated and abused by the powerful. But their horizontal and materialistic vision of man led them to adopt elements of Marxist philosophy, including “class struggle” — the pitting of the poor against the rich. In this theological context, the victim status of the lower classes justifies in some cases the use of force to rectify social inequality."

"When you hear Rev. Jeremiah Wright talk about social and racial inequality in America, the influence of liberation theology is painfully evident. It is of a different stripe (not violent), but it is there. His unconditional support for Louis Farrakhan (Nation of Islam leader) and other militants, his crude language, the selective content of his preaching, and his conspiracy theories against the government, are divisive. And they are divisive in a similar way as followers of liberation theology in Latin America."

I have a friend who has become quite wealthy courtesy of her husband's jobs with major oil producers. She is a big Obama supporter and I have wondered if her husband is expecting a cabinet appointment if Obama becomes President. The husband also has "issues" about his family having been landed gentry in former generations, but the Civil War devastated the family fortunes and their plantations were forfeited. One day she started to lecture me about Obama and Black Liberation Theology, but I stopped her with a simple question when I asked her how her husband felt about paying reparations for previous generations of slave-holders and didn't she think that reparations should be assigned so that those whose families actually owned slaves were required to pay in larger proportions. She was p*ssed.

I wish I'd thought to ask her how Marxist philosophy fit into her four car, three house, multimillion dollar lifestyle. She doesn't believe in owning guns either- except when they're invited to a "shoot" in England or Canada.

Quote:

 

A host of other prominent presenters from Metro Detroit’s faith-based community will be joining Dr. Wright for the prayer service. Look for words that uplift and inspire from Rev. Wendell Anthony [Fellowship Chapel], Dr. Carlyle Stewart [Hope United Methodist], Bishiop John Sheard [Greater Mitchell Temple COGIC] Dr. Marsh Foster-Boyd [President Ecumenical Theological Seminary], Minister Raul Muhammad [Muhammad’s Mosque Number One] and Cardinal Mbiyu Chui [Shrine of the Black Madonna]. The planned service is open to religions across all dominations and Muslim affiliations.