Presbyterian Church (USA) agencies and the leader of a liberal
Presbyterian caucus have risen to defend the Rev. Jeremiah Wright's "God
damn America" sermon.
"He spoke the truth," said the Rev. Gregory J. Bentley, a
Presbyterian minister and president of the National Black Presbyterian
Caucus of the Presbyterian Church (USA). In a
statement
released by the caucus and published on the denomination's Web site
Bentley identified Wright as a modern day prophet, one who "stands
squarely within the Prophetic Black Church Tradition."
Bentley reminded his readers that Biblical prophets were universally
unpopular. "Predictably, this prophetic activity engenders
hostility and fierce resistance from those who are vested in the status
quo – a status quo that often masks itself with superficial
politeness and gentility."
Presumably, Wright's only wrong when he damned America, suggested that
America got what was coming to it in the September 11, 2001 terrorist
attack on New York City, and is responsible for AIDS is a failure of "politeness
and gentility." Had Wright spoken that "truth" in a more
dulcet-like tone he would not have been judged wrong.
A sermonic defense
The Rev. John Buchanan, pastor of Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago
and a founder of the Covenant Network, a caucus of Presbyterians that
was organized to remove sexual behavior standards from the
denomination's constitution, joined Bentley in defending Wright.
In a March 30 sermon, Buchanan said "I wish he had made his point
without saying 'God damn America,' but not for a moment do I wish he had
been less prophetic."
Buchanan also wished Wright had not said "The chickens are coming
home to roost" about the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001,"
but he granted some credence to Wright's thesis that the attacks were
understandable if not excusable because they constituted a retaliation
for unwise US foreign policy decisions.
Buchanan also wished Wright had not "suggested that the government
were [sic] responsible for AIDS," but he deemed the sentiment
excusable in light of findings that between 1932 and 1972 some 399
African Americans who had late-stage syphilis were left untreated by the
U.S. Public Health Service "simply so it could document the
disease's deadly toll."
Clearly, Buchanan's problem with Wright was merely an issue of civility.
Wright was not wrong. The problem was not truth, but tone. But then the
Chicago pastor had an excuse for that as well, for "the great
biblical prophets did and said outrageous, controversial things, which
consistently got them in trouble and occasionally in jail."
Racism is reverse
Ironically, Buchanan who routinely denounces racism, employed racism
when defending Wright's remarks. "I'm distressed by white people,
out of a very different religious, cultural, racial,
theological/ecclesiastical experience, presuming to judge African
American faith practices and religious expression and preaching."
In other words, Jeremiah Wright, an African American preacher, was just
doing what comes naturally (in the same way that sexually active
homosexuals, whose "rights" Buchanan also champions, do what
for them comes naturally).
By logical extension, a kleptomaniac should not be criticized for
stealing, since theft is an authentic expression of who he or she is.
Pedophilia justifies sex between adults and children. In Freudian
fashion, this list of excuses for behavior that Scripture condemns could
go on interminably.
By this calculus, an act is not deemed right or wrong intrinsically but
extrinsically, only in terms of its congruence with the perpetrator's
self definition. Therein is the crux of Buchanan's argument. It is okay
for Jeremiah Wright to say "God damn America," or for him to
explain away the 9/11 killing of thousands of Americans, or for him to
hold the government responsible for AIDS because, after all, that's what
Black preachers do.
A demeaning defense
What a demeaning defense! If ever there was a racist thesis, this is it.
According to Buchanan and the denominationally funded Black Presbyterian
Caucus, Wright is right on two counts. He is right because, along with
the great Biblical prophets, he speaks the truth, albeit lacking
civility in its expression. And he is right because being uncivil comes
naturally to African Americans.
Biblical ethics does not judge an act on the basis of a person's skin
color or sexual inclination, but on the basis of the revealed Word of
God. On that basis, we find arguments proffered by John Buchanan and the
Black Presbyterian Caucus sorely deficient.
The Rev. Wright was wrong.