Remember Rev. Jeremiah Wright? How could you not? The man almost single handily took the Democratic Presidential nomination away from Barack Obama. You likely remember that he retired from his church shortly after some of his statements from his sermons were made public and the controversy grew. Since his retirement, the church has yet to repent of it's racist past. But one has to wonder, what has Wright been up to since the height of the controversy and since Obama withdrew his membership from the Chicago church and Wright retired into a rich white neighborhood that he preached against all those years?Well, he is up to much, and like always, he is up to no good.
During the heat of the controversy, Wright made some interesting theological statements defending his words and actions as being Biblical. When asked what he meant by certain statements in his sermons, Wright replied by saying,
"'Jesus said, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.' You cannot do terrorism on other people and expect it never to come back on you. Those are biblical principles, not Jeremiah Wright bombastic divisive principles."
In other words, "do unto others as you would have them do unto you," and "we reap what we sow." These are, in fact, Biblical principles, but outside of the lunacy of such an argument, serious defenders of the faith know better than to affirm such a hermeneutic. Wright's misapplication of the text is apparent here and clearly throughout his ministry. Wright's apparent belief in the Scripture and his application of it makes me wonder what Bible he is reading.
Black Liberation theology is nothing short of heresy. It is not the gospel. It is nothing more than giving the people what they want to hear. It is satisfying the itching ears of the congregation. Wright's congregation in urban Chicago, along with many in the black community, seem to want to remain in the segregated America, it seems. The congregation gets most excited whenever America is called racist, whites are torn down, and blacks are made to feel superior. At such notions, the congregation roars. Those in the black community continue to lecture us about racism, and yet overlook their own racial comments and actions. Wright is nothing more than a racist, and the so-called gospel that he preaches is nothing short of racist bigotry.
But I am not concerned with this aspect of Jeremiah Wright. He is out of his mind and that is not debatable. He is a dangerous radical and that is not debatable. His relation with Obama makes his candidacy very questionable and that too is not debatable.
Rather, I am concerned with how Wright selectively chooses to apply the Scriptures which is typical of many so-called believers today. The dirty little secret of many such movements like Black Liberation Theology is that it selects it's favorite texts and run with it. And, whenever someone challenges their views, they return to misinterpreted quotes of Jesus and the Bible, just like Jeremiah Wright. If Wright was serious about the Golden Rule and applying all of Scripture, then I guess he should have applied it to himself and not preach such racist, unAmerican sermons.
Beyond his controversy sermons, Wright's selective application of Scripture continues to amaze me. Recently, the Institute for Religion and Democracy has announced that they are hosting Wright at their upcoming National Black Religious Summit on Sexuality in Washington, D.C. The main sponsor of the event is the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice (RCRC), a pro-abortion group.
The invitation has been met with some controversy, as many are calling for the institute to disinvite Wright, but I am almost certain that the institute will continue with their plans to have Wright at their event.
I find it interesting that Wright, who claims to be a Bible-believing Christian, is not only ok with preaching un-American sermons in America and with preaching racist hate from his pulpit (in the name of Jesus of course), but is also ok with the murder of infants. What Jesus is He finding in the Scriptures that he claims to believe? As I search the Scriptures, I find no reason to support a pro-abortion organization. In fact, I see the opposite, from the very mouth of Christ, the very mouth of God, and from the very mouths of the Biblical writers, in which, again, Wright claims to believe..
I am appalled that Wright continues to do, say, and support such things in the name of Christianity, when in fact, it is nothing but mainstream liberalism. Either Wright has not read the Bible or he chooses to ignore the parts he disagrees with. I believe that it is the latter. And this is an important lesson to learn about liberal "Christianity," like that of Wright, the Black Liberation Theology, the Emergent Church, the seeker-sensitive movement, the prosperity gospel, etc. is that they elevate certain passages and verses that support their distortion while ignoring the parts of Scripture that disagree with their interpretation.
I am appalled by Wrights application of the Scriptures that he seems to affirm. How in the world can one claim to be a believer in Christ and His Word and ignore what it says especially on issues regarding life? The sanctity of life is what makes the gospel so precious. If life is not sacred, then God wasted His time in redeeming His people. If all life is not sacred, then there is no gospel.
Christ's death on the cross means that all men are worthy of sacrifice. Abortion and other right-to-die issues are an affront to the image of God in whom Christ has come to redeem. Not only does it say that life isn't worth the effort, but also that God wasted His time.
If Wright cared so much about God's Word and it's social application, maybe he would begin with defending the truly helpless, not just blacks who claim to still be suffering from racist segregation, but of the voiceless millions being murdered daily in their mother's wombs. Life goes beyond race and economics. If we do not defend life, then how one thinks about political policy is pointless. Wright's actions makes me wonder if he only cares about segregation against blacks, and couldn't care less about the murderous segregation of the truly innocent. The pendulum swings both ways!
So I must ask myself, what Bible does Wright truly believe in? The one authored by God, or the one authored by himself? How typical it is for man to think he knows better than God. And how typical it is for man to show himself why he is wrong.
As Christians, we must be cautious to not get so caught up in our emotions that we hijack our favorite verses in the Bible. Rather, we must live obediently to the whole of Scripture. The task is difficult, but the reward is great. And in the end, maybe we won't speak such blasphemous words and support dangerous causes in the name of Christ, just like Rev. Jeremiah Wright.
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