DONNA WOOD | Posted: Sunday, March 23, 2008 12:00 am
The other day a friend said, "I wouldn't call myself a Christian, but I'm a big fan of Jesus!" I like that approach: Honor the holy prophet, be wary of the institution.
The Rev. Jeremiah Wright, emeritus pastor of Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ, is being called "radical" and "Obama's imam." He suggests if things don't change for black Americans, God should damn America, not bless it. Obama responded, "There are times when people say things that are just wrong," and Wright has given up his affiliation with the Obama campaign. Geraldine Ferraro left the Clinton campaign recently for comparable reasons.
Wright also suggested America brought 9/11 on itself with its arrogance in world affairs. He is not the first and won't be the last to do so. It is a provocative statement, not entirely without merit. Terrorism can't be justified, whether it's an attack on the U.S. or Iraq or elsewhere, but violence is too often its own reward.
Jesus never said, "Blessed are the warmongers, the arms dealers, those who rain bombs upon the earth and its peoples." In fact, Jesus told us that not only must we not kill, but that we must forgive those with whom we are angry before we bring offerings to the altar! In that same speech, Jesus said, "Do not resist one who is evil. But if any one strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also."
Shortly before the authorities had him killed, Jesus spoke to the scribes and Pharisees - the height of the Hebrew hierarchy. He didn't mince words. He told them that sure, they tithe, but they also neglect "justice and mercy and faith." They are careful to show a clean outside, he said, "but inside they are full of extortion, rapacity, hypocrisy, iniquity." "Upon you," Jesus thundered, "may come all the righteous blood shed on earth."
Not exactly the kind of material you'd expect to find in your placid Sunday morning sermon.
Speaking of the end of time, Jesus offered this judgment to the ones "left behind": "Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire?; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink."
Jesus never said, "Why should we pay taxes so someone else can eat?" Jesus never said, "Let's lock up lots of black men for petty drug crimes," or "Hey, black children don't need a quality education." Wright's life's work has been to feed the poor, clothe the naked, visit prisoners, and uplift a portion of the population that has suffered centuries of degradation. Geraldine Ferraro's life has been devoted to changing the laws that make racist oppression possible.
Jesus never said, "Go forth and kill everyone who believes other than you do, or has oil that you want." Rod Parsley, however, a popular Christian televangelist, has said, astoundingly, "I do not believe our country can truly fulfill its divine purpose until we understand our historical conflict with Islam?. The fact is that America was founded, in part, with the intention of seeing this false religion destroyed."
Pardon me? America's founding fathers intended that their new nation destroy Islam? There's no end to wackiness. The Christian fundamentalists often sound exactly like the Islamic fundamentalists.
So, Wright and Ferraro have crossed over the border of polite discourse. Jesus crossed the border, too. Would Jesus have said, "Hey, let's pretend that there's no racism in America" Jesus called for radical change. Obama's speech eloquently made the point that Wright's critical error was in assuming that nothing has changed, no progress has been made.
So who's really playing the race card? Is it Wright, with decades of deep service to the black community? Is it Ferraro, with decades of intense service to the cause of justice and civil rights? Or is it the media, whose insatiable desire for controversy causes it to stir the pot more than it needs to be stirred?
Perhaps you can see why I, too, am a big fan of that radical, Jesus, and a big foe of anyone playing the race card in American politics.