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Posted: March 20th, 2008 at 1:52am By: Kevin Considine
As I've written before, there's a saying about walking a mile in someone else's shoes.
As I remember, it deals with holding off your talking until you've done the walking. Because it's easy to pass judgment upon someone or some group that you don't really know. And it's even easier to be hypocritical when passing judgment from afar.
So once again I'm writing in defense of Barack Obama's church, Trinity United Church of Christ here on Chicago's South Side. In case you've been living in a cave, let me remind you that there has been a firestorm growing about the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, the former pastor of Trinity. It would seem that he used some incendiary speech when denouncing the human cost of racism and violence. He even went so far as to say "God damn America" and to provide a list of evils that have been committed in its name. For this, Rev. Wright has been called a "demagogue," a "racist," a "bigot," a "hatemonger" and so forth.
Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion. And I have no intention of justifying everything that Rev. Wright has preached. But I take issue with anyone who would cast judgment upon the man and his former congregation from afar.
So I offer two questions to those who are the first to cast stones: What do you know about the tradition and culture of the African-American church? Have you ever actually visited Trinity United Church of Christ?
I have no way of knowing how anyone would answer those questions. But I would guess that the majority of those whose hackles are raised might answer "no" to both of them. Because Obama's church is not the problem here. And even the controversial comments by Rev. Wright are not the root of the problem. Instead, the problem is our proclivity for passing judgment from afar.
Many of us are more than willing to call into question a congregation on the South Side of Chicago while we ourselves live worlds away. We can fan the flames against this congregation without knowing a whole lot about the history of the neighborhood or this church. We can damn them while turning a blind eye to the great amount of healing that this church has brought to so many people. We can cast stones at some polemical sermons while ignoring Trinity's commitment to ministering to the sick, the poor, the broken, the oppressed. In short, we condemn them for being imperfect while genuinely trying to follow Jesus Christ and his God.
Of course, when we condemn, we always have a good reason. We claim that we as Christians are using the gospel to condemn them for their politics. But the truth is that we're using our own personal politics, and not the gospel, to condemn. And God will judge us for that.
Our stampede to condemn Trinity United Church of Christ also shows our ignorance of the prophetic tradition within Christianity. This is a tradition that is often polemical and rarely pretty. It is downright offensive at times. That's because the words of this tradition are supposed to offend you and to shake you to your core. They're supposed to denounce evil and wrongdoing in no uncertain terms. And they're supposed to call you to reconsider the way you think about the world and the way you live your life.
Now Rev. Wright provocatively decried "God damn America" for a list of sins. Maybe the Scriptures don't use the exact same language — the translations generally use the terms "woe" or "cursed" — but here are a few ugly passages that show a similarity:
The Prophet Isaiah (10:1-2): "Woe to those who enact unjust statutes and who write oppressive decrees, depriving the needy of judgment and robbing my people's poor of their rights. Making widows their plunder, and orphans their prey!"
The Prophet Jeremiah (13:27): "Your adulteries, your neighings, your shameless prostitutions: On the hills in the highlands, I see these horrible crimes of yours. Woe to you, Jesusalem, how long will it yet be before you come clean!"
The Prophet Habakkuk (2:12): "Woe to him who builds a city by bloodshed, and establishes a town by wickedness!"
Jesus the Christ (Luke 6:24-26): "But woe to you who are rich. ... But woe to you who are filled now. ... Woe to you who laugh now. ... Woe to you when all speak well of you ... "
There are many more examples. And it may not be a stretch to suggest that these prophetic statements may have been just as offensive in their historical context. It'd be quite offensive for me to hear someone say that I am cursed.
You see, there is no tidy, pretty way to denounce the evil that has been inflicted upon human beings. There is only a prayerful and sometimes ugly crying out to God for justice, healing and reconciliation. And in the healing process there is a need to vent the rage and anger that have festered in a person's soul. There is a dire need to mourn. And such anger may sound irrational and venomous from the outside. But giving voice to such anger is necessary in order for human beings to be able to move beyond victimhood and claim their dignity as sons and daughters of God.
This is one of the lenses through which we should view Trinity United Church of Christ. This church is not one that preaches a gospel of hate. Rather, it is a church that lovingly provides a safe community for many to cry out to God for salvation from sin and suffering. It is a place for women and men to meet Jesus and claim their dignity as being made in God's image. It's a place for many to be made free to love others. So shame on those of us who jump to condemn them so quickly.
As Jesus pointed out, love of God and love of neighbor are innately connected. If we injure our neighbor, then probably we are not loving God. If we are not loving God,
then we are probably prone to injuring our neighbor. And prophetic speech comes from a burning heart that seeks to remind us of this twofold commandment. It is often ugly and offensive, but it also can call us to account for our sins. It shows a facet of God's heart that burns with a preferential option for the victims, the abused, the denigrated, the dehumanized.
To the critics of Rev. Wright and Trinity Church I say this: Give them the benefit of the doubt. Sometimes we are called to cast judgment. But more often we cast judgment upon others due to our own fears and prejudice. Which means that we're serving ourselves while claiming to serve God. And that's a problem.
So we should be careful about such condemnation. Especially of a church that has been a force for good in the lives of so many. But if we still feel it's our God-given duty to condemn them without a second thought, then woe to all of us. For we have abandoned the God whom we claim to serve.
— — —
Kevin Considine is a graduate student at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, the largest Roman Catholic school of theology and ministry in North America. He is married to a most wonderful woman who keeps him in line and makes sure his thoughts make sense. He and his wife live on the South Side of Chicago. He welcomes comments, feedback or fits of anger and can be reached at {email considkp@yahoo.com}considkp@yahoo.com{/email}. © Copyright 2008 by Kevin Considine.
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As I've written before, there's a saying about walking a mile in someone else's shoes.
As I remember, it deals with holding off your talking until you've done the walking. Because it's easy to pass judgment upon someone or some group that you don't really know. And it's even easier to be hypocritical when passing judgment from afar.
So once again I'm writing in defense of Barack Obama's church, Trinity United Church of Christ here on Chicago's South Side. In case you've been living in a cave, let me remind you that there has been a firestorm growing about the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, the former pastor of Trinity. It would seem that he used some incendiary speech when denouncing the human cost of racism and violence. He even went so far as to say "God damn America" and to provide a list of evils that have been committed in its name. For this, Rev. Wright has been called a "demagogue," a "racist," a "bigot," a "hatemonger" and so forth.
Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion. And I have no intention of justifying everything that Rev. Wright has preached. But I take issue with anyone who would cast judgment upon the man and his former congregation from afar.
So I offer two questions to those who are the first to cast stones: What do you know about the tradition and culture of the African-American church? Have you ever actually visited Trinity United Church of Christ?
I have no way of knowing how anyone would answer those questions. But I would guess that the majority of those whose hackles are raised might answer "no" to both of them. Because Obama's church is not the problem here. And even the controversial comments by Rev. Wright are not the root of the problem. Instead, the problem is our proclivity for passing judgment from afar.
Many of us are more than willing to call into question a congregation on the South Side of Chicago while we ourselves live worlds away. We can fan the flames against this congregation without knowing a whole lot about the history of the neighborhood or this church. We can damn them while turning a blind eye to the great amount of healing that this church has brought to so many people. We can cast stones at some polemical sermons while ignoring Trinity's commitment to ministering to the sick, the poor, the broken, the oppressed. In short, we condemn them for being imperfect while genuinely trying to follow Jesus Christ and his God.
Of course, when we condemn, we always have a good reason. We claim that we as Christians are using the gospel to condemn them for their politics. But the truth is that we're using our own personal politics, and not the gospel, to condemn. And God will judge us for that.
Our stampede to condemn Trinity United Church of Christ also shows our ignorance of the prophetic tradition within Christianity. This is a tradition that is often polemical and rarely pretty. It is downright offensive at times. That's because the words of this tradition are supposed to offend you and to shake you to your core. They're supposed to denounce evil and wrongdoing in no uncertain terms. And they're supposed to call you to reconsider the way you think about the world and the way you live your life.
Now Rev. Wright provocatively decried "God damn America" for a list of sins. Maybe the Scriptures don't use the exact same language — the translations generally use the terms "woe" or "cursed" — but here are a few ugly passages that show a similarity:
The Prophet Isaiah (10:1-2): "Woe to those who enact unjust statutes and who write oppressive decrees, depriving the needy of judgment and robbing my people's poor of their rights. Making widows their plunder, and orphans their prey!"
The Prophet Jeremiah (13:27): "Your adulteries, your neighings, your shameless prostitutions: On the hills in the highlands, I see these horrible crimes of yours. Woe to you, Jesusalem, how long will it yet be before you come clean!"
The Prophet Habakkuk (2:12): "Woe to him who builds a city by bloodshed, and establishes a town by wickedness!"
Jesus the Christ (Luke 6:24-26): "But woe to you who are rich. ... But woe to you who are filled now. ... Woe to you who laugh now. ... Woe to you when all speak well of you ... "
There are many more examples. And it may not be a stretch to suggest that these prophetic statements may have been just as offensive in their historical context. It'd be quite offensive for me to hear someone say that I am cursed.
You see, there is no tidy, pretty way to denounce the evil that has been inflicted upon human beings. There is only a prayerful and sometimes ugly crying out to God for justice, healing and reconciliation. And in the healing process there is a need to vent the rage and anger that have festered in a person's soul. There is a dire need to mourn. And such anger may sound irrational and venomous from the outside. But giving voice to such anger is necessary in order for human beings to be able to move beyond victimhood and claim their dignity as sons and daughters of God.
This is one of the lenses through which we should view Trinity United Church of Christ. This church is not one that preaches a gospel of hate. Rather, it is a church that lovingly provides a safe community for many to cry out to God for salvation from sin and suffering. It is a place for women and men to meet Jesus and claim their dignity as being made in God's image. It's a place for many to be made free to love others. So shame on those of us who jump to condemn them so quickly.
As Jesus pointed out, love of God and love of neighbor are innately connected. If we injure our neighbor, then probably we are not loving God. If we are not loving God,
then we are probably prone to injuring our neighbor. And prophetic speech comes from a burning heart that seeks to remind us of this twofold commandment. It is often ugly and offensive, but it also can call us to account for our sins. It shows a facet of God's heart that burns with a preferential option for the victims, the abused, the denigrated, the dehumanized.
To the critics of Rev. Wright and Trinity Church I say this: Give them the benefit of the doubt. Sometimes we are called to cast judgment. But more often we cast judgment upon others due to our own fears and prejudice. Which means that we're serving ourselves while claiming to serve God. And that's a problem.
So we should be careful about such condemnation. Especially of a church that has been a force for good in the lives of so many. But if we still feel it's our God-given duty to condemn them without a second thought, then woe to all of us. For we have abandoned the God whom we claim to serve.
— — —
Kevin Considine is a graduate student at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, the largest Roman Catholic school of theology and ministry in North America. He is married to a most wonderful woman who keeps him in line and makes sure his thoughts make sense. He and his wife live on the South Side of Chicago. He welcomes comments, feedback or fits of anger and can be reached at {email considkp@yahoo.com}considkp@yahoo.com{/email}. © Copyright 2008 by Kevin Considine.
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