Saturday, February 09, 2013

Black Liberation Theology

Reverend Jeremiah Wright pastored Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago from 1972 until 2008.  Reverend Wright is "an animated apostle of Black Liberation Theology"(BLT), so it is important to know what this theology teaches.  What follows is a quick summary of what "Black Liberation Theology" really believes as found in "The Gospel According to Barack" by Jefrey D. Breshears.
"Jesus, who was an 'African Jew,' was first and foremost a radical social prophet and revolutionary who preached a Gospel of social justice and equality and whose mission it was to liberate all humanity from social, political, economic and religious subjugation.  For this, he was criticized, harassed and eventually executed as a common criminal by the white power structure of his day." (p. 24) 
Rev. Jeremiah Wright and Bill Ayers
"...rather than focusing on individual sin as the root cause of humanity's problems, it shifts the focus to social and institutional injustice.  Therefore, the solution is not spiritual transformation and a renewed heart and mind but radical social change...humanity is basically good but 'society' corrupts..." (p. 24)
"...rather than emphasize forgiveness and healing for past wrongs, BLT tends to focus almost exclusively on retribution." (pp. 24-5) 
"...Black Liberation Theology is a volatile mix of two very toxic elements: (1) Racialism and (2) Neo-Marxim....  Racialism...is an obsessive fixation on race to the extent that it primarily determines one's sense of self-identity and becomes one's paradigm for processing the personal, social, economic, political and religious issues in life." (p. 25) 
"In [BLT], 'white'  represents a history of oppression, exploitation and imperialism--i.e., a culture of evil.  'Black,' on the other hand, represents victimhood--those who have been (and still are) subject to oppression, exploitation and imperialism." (p. 26) 
"Neo-Marxism perpetuates this kind of simplistic social stereotyping [as found in Classical Marxism regarding socio-economic divides], except that now the 'good' are the victimized minorities--feminist women, blacks, Hispanics, homosexuals, etc.--and the 'bad' are white males, non-feminist white females, Christians and conservatives in general." (p.26) 
"...racial politics is a uniquely 20th century concept, and [BLT] expropriated the idea to formulate a unique racialist and Neo-Marxist Christian synthesis.  ...BLT divides humanity along the lines of white oppressors and black victims.  So in effect, God is not only 'black' but also 'red.'" (pp. 26-7)
I recommend that you read "The Gospel According to Barack" by Jefrey D. Breshears to gain a deeper understanding of this topic.

All quotes taken from "The Gospel According to Barack" by Jefrey D. Breshears, 2012 Areopagus Publishing.

Cross-posted from Against All Enemies

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Disclaimer: These opinions are solely my own, and do not reflect the opinions or official positions of any United States Government agency, organization or department.

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