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Posted: May 15th, 2007 at 1:37am By: Rev. Jay Speights
This past week, the dialogue between the Rev. Al Sharpton and Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney has intrigued me. As you may recall, Sharpton said, "As for the one Mormon running for office, those who really believe in God will defeat him anyway, so don't worry about that, that's a temporary situation." These remarks were made during a recent debate with Christopher Hitchens, the atheist author of " God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything."
Sharpton says the remark was distorted for political purposes and has apologized to "regular Mormons" for the slight. He later said that he "wasn't saying that Mormons didn't believe in God; I was saying that we weren't going to have to rely on atheists" to defeat Romney. Romney called Sharpton's remarks bigoted and refused to meet with him. However, Sharpton and some Mormon Church leaders have agreed to meet.
Regardless of what Sharpton says he meant, I believe that his statement reflects a lingering mistrust or skepticism that many African-Americans have about the Mormon faith, because until 1978 black members could not hold the priesthood or participate in temple ordinances. These ordinances have been explained in different ways over the years. The most common explanation that I have been able to determine is that people of African descent were believed to be descendents of Cain, the first murderer, according to the Bible. Regardless of the reason, these ordinances were wrong and have been reversed.
As an African-American, I understand Rev. Sharpton's views of the Mormon Church. And, as a voter, I think Romney should be willing to discuss his views and beliefs regarding the past discriminatory ordinances of the Mormon Church that related to folks of African descent. That's only fair, since he is running for president of the United States. And, the Mormon Church should be willing to discuss them as well. This type of dialogue can only help us to understand how both have evolved and grown.
And, it's only fair that if Sharpton wants to single out the Mormon Church for past discriminatory practices against people of African descent, then I would have to ask him why he is a Christian. I know Sharpton is well aware that popes and other Christian leaders in the past used the Bible to justify the African slave trade. As a matter of fact, the justification was almost the same as that used by the Mormons to deny people of African descent full participation in their faith.
So why is this matter worthy of consuming valuable cyberspace in this column? It is worthy because here we have another controversy involving religion that is being used to divide and not unite. What we should focus on in this discussion that was sparked by the Rev. Sharpton is forgiveness and personal growth. These are two common values that I think Sharpton, Romney and the Mormon Church share. Sharpton should acknowledge that the Mormon Church's views concerning African people have changed, and he should allow for the same with Romney. After all, many of us have watched and accepted Sharpton's growth over the years.
I hope that Romney will agree to meet with Sharpton so they can discuss their views and reach a level where they can communicate without any more divisive talk. These two men are extremely visible, and come from such different backgrounds, that the public could only benefit from a productive dialogue between the two. I am sure the same can result from the meeting between Sharpton and the Mormon Church leaders as well. We have to encourage any dialogue that can help remove the barriers that have divided or continue to divide our community. This is the only way we can move toward a more civil American society.
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Rev. Jay Speights has an MA in public policy and is an interfaith minister and the main U.N. representative for The New Seminary in New York. You can learn more about his work at the United Nations at the New Seminary website or at harmoniousday.webexone.com. His email address is {email jayspeights@newseminary.org}jayspeights@newseminary.org{/email}. © Copyright 2007 by Jay Speights.
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This past week, the dialogue between the Rev. Al Sharpton and Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney has intrigued me. As you may recall, Sharpton said, "As for the one Mormon running for office, those who really believe in God will defeat him anyway, so don't worry about that, that's a temporary situation." These remarks were made during a recent debate with Christopher Hitchens, the atheist author of " God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything."
Sharpton says the remark was distorted for political purposes and has apologized to "regular Mormons" for the slight. He later said that he "wasn't saying that Mormons didn't believe in God; I was saying that we weren't going to have to rely on atheists" to defeat Romney. Romney called Sharpton's remarks bigoted and refused to meet with him. However, Sharpton and some Mormon Church leaders have agreed to meet.
Regardless of what Sharpton says he meant, I believe that his statement reflects a lingering mistrust or skepticism that many African-Americans have about the Mormon faith, because until 1978 black members could not hold the priesthood or participate in temple ordinances. These ordinances have been explained in different ways over the years. The most common explanation that I have been able to determine is that people of African descent were believed to be descendents of Cain, the first murderer, according to the Bible. Regardless of the reason, these ordinances were wrong and have been reversed.
As an African-American, I understand Rev. Sharpton's views of the Mormon Church. And, as a voter, I think Romney should be willing to discuss his views and beliefs regarding the past discriminatory ordinances of the Mormon Church that related to folks of African descent. That's only fair, since he is running for president of the United States. And, the Mormon Church should be willing to discuss them as well. This type of dialogue can only help us to understand how both have evolved and grown.
And, it's only fair that if Sharpton wants to single out the Mormon Church for past discriminatory practices against people of African descent, then I would have to ask him why he is a Christian. I know Sharpton is well aware that popes and other Christian leaders in the past used the Bible to justify the African slave trade. As a matter of fact, the justification was almost the same as that used by the Mormons to deny people of African descent full participation in their faith.
So why is this matter worthy of consuming valuable cyberspace in this column? It is worthy because here we have another controversy involving religion that is being used to divide and not unite. What we should focus on in this discussion that was sparked by the Rev. Sharpton is forgiveness and personal growth. These are two common values that I think Sharpton, Romney and the Mormon Church share. Sharpton should acknowledge that the Mormon Church's views concerning African people have changed, and he should allow for the same with Romney. After all, many of us have watched and accepted Sharpton's growth over the years.
I hope that Romney will agree to meet with Sharpton so they can discuss their views and reach a level where they can communicate without any more divisive talk. These two men are extremely visible, and come from such different backgrounds, that the public could only benefit from a productive dialogue between the two. I am sure the same can result from the meeting between Sharpton and the Mormon Church leaders as well. We have to encourage any dialogue that can help remove the barriers that have divided or continue to divide our community. This is the only way we can move toward a more civil American society.
— — —
Rev. Jay Speights has an MA in public policy and is an interfaith minister and the main U.N. representative for The New Seminary in New York. You can learn more about his work at the United Nations at the New Seminary website or at harmoniousday.webexone.com. His email address is {email jayspeights@newseminary.org}jayspeights@newseminary.org{/email}. © Copyright 2007 by Jay Speights.
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