Theology, life, culture, homiletics, and book reviews.
posted by Bobby's blog at 9:19 PM
I'm married, a graduate of Covenant Theological Seminary, and an MA student at West Virginia University in the History Department where my focus is the relation of the Old Religious Right to the New Religious Right; Carl McIntire; and 1930s Christian Fundamentalism (they all tie together, I promise). I am a ministerial candidate/intern and youth minister in the PCA. One day, I hope to be a pastor and Church Historian. If I'm lucky, I'll never retire.
bobbygriffith.com
My wife's blog
Evangelical Outpost
Stuff I'm reading
PCA Blogs
1 Comments:
Thanks for posting that. I'm glad Anthony had a chance to talk about that -- he did a good job. (Who is this Glenn Beck guy anyway?)
In spite of the fact that I think Obama is most crafty, manipulative, and potentially dangerous politician in American history (precisely because he is able to keep people from recognizing him as such), I haven't followed the flap over Jeremiah Wright. I know a lot of people have said that Wright's comments have been taken out of context. Have you looked into that? I haven't.
I do know that black liberation theology is a terrible evil. It has no robust eschatology, and so justice is what you can get for yourself here and now, mostly in the form of vengeance. A few of my "favorite" quotes from Cone's A Black Theology of Liberation:
"[W]hiteness is by its very nature against blackness ..." (56).
"Liberation means that the oppressed must define the structure and scope of reality for themselves; they do not take their cues from oppressors. If there is one brutal fact that the centuries of white oppression have taught blacks, it is that whites are incapable of making any valid judgment about human existence. The goal of black liberation theology is the destruction of everything white, so that blacks can be liberated from alien gods" (61-2).
"Because blacks have come to know themselves as black, and because that blackness is the cause of their own love of themselves and hatred of whiteness, the blackness of God is the key to our knowledge of God. ... The black theologian must reject any conception of God which stifles black self-determination by picturing God as a God of all peoples" (63).
"We will not accept a God who is on everybody's side -- which means that God loves everybody in spite of who they are, and is working (through the acceptable channels of society, of course) to reconcile all persons to the Godhead" (70).
"This is the paradox of human existence. Freedom is the opposite of oppression, but only the oppressed are truly free" (87). (Just think for a moment what this implies about his view of sin and creation -- sin is fundamental to the universe! Actually, he thinks sin is only defined by blacks in relation to their own community, so it really has nothing to do with the universe at all. He's a complete solipsist.)
"No black person will ever be good enough in the eyes of whites to merit equality. Therefore, if blacks are to have freedom, they must take it, by any means necessary" (98).
It's telling that in Cone's whole book (142 pages), he refers to Scripture only 35 times. That's because he thinks the community defines everything: "It assumes that truth has been given to the community at the moment of its birth" (8). It's all relative!
Yes, James H. Cone is desperately confused and needs prayer for the salvation of his soul! Sadly, I've been told by a recent graduate of Union Seminary here in NYC, that Cone wields tremendous power in almost every area of the seminary's teaching and administration. I only hope that's not the case!
Post a Comment
<< Home