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Thank God for liberation theology
In the wake of his weekend rally, Glenn Beck kept up the drumbeat of criticism about President Obama's religion, calling it a "perversion" and saying that America "isn't recognizing his version of Christianity," which Beck characterized as "liberation theology."
Despite critique of Obama's Christianity, a recent poll showed that nearly 20% of Americans believe falsely that the president is Muslim.
Why is there so much attention on Obama's religion? Does it matter what religion the president is?
Mainstream America (aka Conservative America) has never recognized President Obama's "version of Christianity," as Glenn Beck said this week.
Historical American Christianity recognized a "we" and a "them," with "them" being less worthy of civil and right treatment. It was OK, perhaps ordained by God, that African Americans be treated as sub-human. Traditional American Christians, evangelical Christians included, saw no disconnect between the Bible and the way they were treating African Americans and the way they had treated Native Americans before them.
There was master and slave; oppressor and oppressed. The oppressed were taught God wanted it that way. They were taught that in order to go heaven, or to even be considered worthy of being considered for heaven, that they must be obedient to their earthly masters and not be discontent with their position in life.
That lesson was included in catechism classes taught to little black children by white clergy. The lessons are recorded.
This situation was a problem for the people who were being oppressed. Either there was one God, who, as the Bible seemed to indicate, loved all people and wanted all people to be treated as children of God, or there were two gods, one for white people and another for those who were not white.
The God that slaves came to know was the same God who was angry at Pharaoh for oppressing the Hebrew children and who prompted God to use Moses to say to Pharaoh on God's behalf, "Let my people go."
According to the Hebrew scriptures and to the Gospels, this God demands that all people created by God "treat the needs of people as holy," as stated by Obery Hendricks in his book "The Politics of Jesus."
There was a divide, then, from the beginning of the life of this country between the way black people and white people read the same Bible.
Liberation theology is as valid a way of reading the Bible as is the way Mr. Beck and others read it. The thing is, the scriptures themselves seem to bear out that liberation and equity among people is what God is all about, and is what God and later, Jesus, demanded of all people.
Others who studied Christianity, including Gandhi and de Tocqueville found a disconnect between how they read the Gospels and what was actually practiced by people calling themselves Christian.
The disconnect saddened Gandhi, who said that if people followed the Gospels, doing what Jesus asked of us, the world would be revolutionized.
In this country, however, the master-slave, oppressor-oppressed relationships existed and were protected on every level, social, economic and political.
The oppressors did what they could (which they had the power to do) to keep the separation between the two groups intact - in the name of God. Slaves who learned to read, however, came to know a different God, a God that wanted people to live together, help each other, and erase some of the disparity between the haves and have nots.
Jesus taught that those who have were to help "the least of these." It's biblical. And Jesus taught that there was too much separatism between people. Hence, the story of the Good Samaritan and the lessons found there.
Studies have shown that many evangelical churches do not use and have not used the Gospels as their main source of Biblical direction, but rather the epistles of Paul, which would more support their ideology, which is touted as theology.
When it comes to the religion of President Obama, it is natural then, that those who have relied more on the epistles of Paul than on the Gospels and the social theology espoused in the Hebrew scriptures would be concerned.
President Obama attended Trinity United Church of Christ, where liberation theology was preached by the Rev. Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. The world believes, on the basis of a soundbite, that Dr. Wright preached hatred and that liberation theology, therefore, cannot be a good thing.
Quite the contrary. Liberation theology has made it possible for people other than white people, or more specifically, white males, to feel like there is a place for them in the Kingdom. Liberation theology has not only freed African Americans from an oppressive ideology which has been passed off as theology, but has freed white women as well.
And liberation theology teaches that those who know Jesus will do what Jesus commands: love one another and forgive one another. Liberation theology teaches that if we do not forgive those who have wronged us, we cannot hope to be forgiven.
I see in the president a man who has ingested and digested the words of Jesus. I see him trying to level the playing fields, so that "the least of these" have better lives. I don't know why so many people insist that he is a Muslim, but if he were, what would it matter? The word "Islam" means "submitting oneself totally to God." What about that notion bothers people?
Isn't that what Mr. Beck said we should do?
As an African American woman, I rejoice that there is liberation theology. History shows us that the oppressors have done much harm to many people, making sure that they've been kept in their place so that the oppressors could not only maintain their power but gain more, at the expense of "the least of these."
A president who sees that disparity and wants to let all Americans know that they are worthy of dignity and rights and opportunities is not a bad thing in my book, and his actions bespeak that God lives in him
By
Susan K. Smith
|
August 30, 2010; 1:51 PM ET
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Posted by: DanielintheLionsDen | September 1, 2010 12:59 AM
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I think Purlgurl is a hoax. Something about her rants do not ring true.
Posted by: DanielintheLionsDen | September 1, 2010 12:55 AM
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JSMITH4 comments, "Mormon church would not let Black males hold their priesthood...."
Catholic church does not allow women to become priests and certainly not the Pope.
Islam treats women as of less worth than dogs.
Mormon, Catholic, Muslim, Christian, no real difference between any of those, yes?
Okpulot Taha
Choctaw Nation
Posted by: PurlGurl | August 30, 2010 11:14 PM
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Glenn Beck has joined the Mormon Church, and I have left it.
For 148 years of its 180 year, the Mormon church would not let Black males hold their priesthood, though every white (or yellow or red) male had that privilege.
In 1978, God revealed to the Mormon Prophet that now it was OK for blacks to have equal privileges. Would we call that "liberation theology?"
Susan writes "Liberation theology has made it possible for people other than white people, or more specifically, white males, to feel like there is a place for them in the Kingdom."
See what she means? Duh.
Posted by: jsmith4 | August 30, 2010 9:32 PM
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Susan K. Smith writes, "...the way they were treating African Americans and the way they had treated Native Americans before them."
You know nothing about my peoples. We are not "Native Americans" we are "American Indians." Your use of "Native Americans" to label us is truly offensive. I am insulted.
Recently, the NAACP issued a proclamation of "affinity" with my peoples. Unknown to you, this deeply offends us and truly angers us. You, personally, are claiming the same affinity. My peoples do not speak of this publicly, we are respectful. Privately, we are furious about Black America using us and abusing us to further your cause. You are using our culture without our permission. Not a single black leader came to our tribes to ask permission to use our culture for your benefit. You simply take what you want without our culture's permission.
There is no similarity between American Indians and Black America. There is no affinity between our cultures. Privately, we adamantly denounce any relationship with your culture.
We are our own peoples and Black America is clinging to our coattails solely for the benefit of black Americans. This is a result of your "victim entitlement" thinking; you believe you have a right to take what you want and do what you want with disregard for other Americans.
Your article, at the core, is offensive. You are perpetuating this myth of "White Guilt". You are engaging in racism.
You are no longer the oppressed. You are now the oppressors.
Okpulot Taha
Choctaw Nation
Posted by: PurlGurl | August 30, 2010 7:45 PM
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Liberation theology is not based upon Christianity. Liberation theology is a philosophy of reversing the roles; the oppressed become the oppressors. This is well evidenced by this significant amount of racism coming out of Black America. This is a philosophy of laying a fabricated guilt trip upon White America for a simple objective; oppress whites.
White America, today, is not at fault for past racism. Black America refuses to let of go of the past in order to retain a false power over White America. Yours is not truly liberation theology rather is "victimology", you deceitfully portray yourselves as ongoing victims. This serves only to cause serious harm to black Americans; you teach your children hatred based upon skin color. I know this as racism.
My traditional peoples have let go of the past. We do not hold grudges nor do we work at holding power over others. We have let go of four-hundred years of genocide. We have moved forward, we work with others rather than work against others as Black America does. We are intelligent enough to know not to blame today's peoples for what happened hundreds of years back.
We do not fault today's peoples for past events.
Okpulot Taha
Choctaw Nation
Posted by: PurlGurl | August 30, 2010 7:44 PM
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Susan K. Smith, you suffer three major problems. There is no god, the Bible is a book of lies and liberation theology is not based upon faith in God.
Debating existence of a god is pointless. This is impossible for you to present proof of a god and you will only illogically argue "faith".
The Bible being a book of lies is self-evident as is truth.
Okpulot Taha
Choctaw Nation
Posted by: PurlGurl | August 30, 2010 7:42 PM
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The comments to this entry are closed.
I know one thing for sure, black people did not destroy Indian civilization in America; white people did. That is mistake number one, Purlgurl.
And I also know that the word "Indian" is a misnomer that was applied to the the indigenous people of America when Columbus thought he has landed in the East Indies. It is a word that is grudgingly accepted by some Indians.
So, that is your big mistake number two, Purlgurl.