Oh, how I hate to disagree with my buddy. But in this case I have no other option.

Marshall writes:

I go to church, and like Senator Obama, I’ve sat quietly in my seat listening to my pastor say things which with I’ve disagreed, oftentimes strongly. But that doesn’t mean that I believe him to be any less a man of God.

God is perfect. Men are fallible. Which means men like Pastor Wright are fallible, too. Pastor Wright brought Barrack Obama closer to God. That’s his life’s purpose. He is not a man of politics. That’s Senator Obama’s territory. And to hold Senator Obama responsible for Pastor Wright’s views is, in my view, totally unfair.

I hasten to add, it’s equally unfair when the media try to indict a conservative politician for attacking the religious views of his or her church. So let’s attack the double standard, but let’s not attack the candidates.

It’s fine to disagree with your pastor, though I still think if my pastor had said the things Jeremiah Wright said, I’d be looking for another church. But my problems go far beyond “U-S of K-K-K A” and “God Damn America”. Barack Obama says he disagrees with Wright’s statements. But what about Wright’s theology?

Rev. Wright’s theology is one that he describes as “black liberation theology”. Well, if liberation theology in general can be described as Christian Socialism, then black liberation theology could best be described as Christian Socialism with a specific emphasis on social equality for blacks. I don’t believe this is a “black seperatist” or a “black supremacist” movement. But when the basis of your church is that every act or thought must be viewed through a racial prism, it’s kind of hard for me to accept that Obama’s going to be the guy to bridge the racial divide in this country.

Frankly, from where I sit, it seems black liberation theology has little to do with the words of Martin Luther King, Jr. Compare this:

The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.
…
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

To this exerpt from a Jeremiah Wright sermon.

It just came to me with — within the past few weeks, you all, why so many folk are hating on Barack Obama. He doesn’t fit the model. He ain’t white. He ain’t rich. And he ain’t privileged.

Barack knows what it means to be a black man living in a country and a culture that is controlled by rich white people.

I guess one of my biggest problems isn’t necessarily JUST with the comments we’ve seen from Rev. Wright. It is that Rev. Wright’s comments don’t seem out of line with liberation theology in general, and black liberation theology in particular. And I’m having a hard time seeing how black liberation theology is anything but a perversion of Martin Luther King’s vision of a society in which we are judged by the content of our character, rather than the color of our skin.

I’m sure if you look through Rev. Wright’s sermons, you’ll see a lot of talk of hope, and love, and charity. But if he is, as he says he is, a proponent of black liberation theology, then it will always be about the racial division, not the common ground we all share. It seems to me the message of Rev. Wright is completely different than the message Barack Obama has been expressing, which makes me wonder how he could have attended this church for 20+ years if Rev. Wright’s theology didn’t ring true.

I may have mentioned before that my 21-year old daughter (the offspring of a white woman and a black man) is an Obama supporter. Part of that is her age, but a large part of his appeal has to do with the fact that someone “like her” could be in the White House. One of the things I’ve tried to impress upon her is that ideology isn’t skin deep. She may well have a lot in common with Barack Obama, but basing her vote on their similar skin color isn’t a very mature way to vote. I’ve told her that I hope we can have a real conversation about what she perceives to be Obama’s strengths and weaknesses, because I want her to make an informed vote in November. If her chosen candidate subscribes to a religious theology that says I’M the biggest problem in my her life because of the color of my skin, I’d like her to be aware of that.