Obama...

I have had several conversations lately about Senator Obama's affiliation and possible belief in Black Liberation Theology. From my reading, it appears that James Hal Cone is the "father" of Black Liberation Theology in America; although, this theology has been used throughout many nations in history to promote Marxism.

I have see the following quote by Cone spread like wildfire across the Internet:

"Black theology refuses to accept a God who is not identified totally with the goals of the black community. If God is not for us and against white people, then he is a murderer, and we had better kill him. The task of black theology is to kill Gods who do not belong to the black community ... Black theology will accept only the love of God which participates in the destruction of the white enemy. What we need is the divine love as expressed in Black Power, which is the power of black people to destroy their oppressors here and now by any means at their disposal. Unless God is participating in this holy activity, we must reject his love."

For more information on his philosophies, I recommend looking at his books, "Black Theology and Black Power" and "A Black Theology of Liberation".

Being a Mormon, I am used to people paraphrasing leaders of the LDS church, twisting the inspiring and spiritual sermons given by leaders into derogatory or oppressing dictates. Consequently, I am hesitant to condemn a Man or a Theology based on quotes found on the Internet. With that said, Jeremiah Wright, former Pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, has a history of making inflammatory comments from the pulpit. I won't go into detail as these comments and full sermons can be found on youtube and other areas throughout the Internet.

My conversations with friends has been around Barack Obama's acceptance and support of James Cone and Jeremiah Wright's teachings of Black Liberation Theology. It is clear that Obama has publicly denounced the recent comments made by Jeremiah Wright; however, this does not explain why he has attended and raised his children in a Church supporting this doctrine. Obama claimed to not have heard Wright's sermon in regards to Sept. 11th (and other inflammatory speeches given before the presidential race), but has stated that he has disagreed with some of the things that Wright has said throughout the years.

Obama made the following comment in regards to Wright's recent publicized comments, "But the remarks that have caused this recent firestorm weren't simply controversial. They weren't simply a religious leader's effort to speak out against perceived injustice. Instead, they expressed a profoundly distorted view of this country - a view that sees white racism as endemic, and that elevates what is wrong with America above all that we know is right with America; a view that sees the conflicts in the Middle East as rooted primarily in the actions of stalwart allies like Israel, instead of emanating from the perverse and hateful ideologies of radical Islam."

I have a hard time believing Obama's statement. From what I understand of Black Liberation Theology, seeing "white racism as endemic" is a founding principal. Why would someone attend a church that preaches these ideas for 20 years and donate (outside of tithing) 20k + to the cause if they did not support what is being preached??

So now it comes down to what would you do?

We just had our semi annual general conference for the LDS church. This is a time when leaders of our church give talks/sermons to the general population of the Church (and the public). I have been a member of the LDS church for ~9 years, give or take some months. At no time during my church attendance or study of "current" doctrine have a come across ideas that I feel are oppressive towards a race, gender or my non-LDS neighbors. Some members of the church and non-members alike have expressed issues with Patriarchy/Priesthood or the church's views on homosexuality (obvioulsy there is a much broader list than these two items); however, both the Priesthood and Sexual Sins are sufficiently spelled out to me in the Bible and Book of Mormon as are answer to other questions posed.

Have there been things stated during the History of the LDS Church that are embarrassing and clearly not the doctrine of the Lord's church? Sure, there have been some things stated by leaders of the LDS church that I can not agree with; however, there is no doubt that these issues are dealt with and corrected by the Lord over time. As a son of God, I am always progressing in this life; the Church is also always progressing. That is the beauty of the religion, we believe in an open scriptural canon, which is inline with our belief in modern day Prophecy.

There have been racist comments made by several of the LDS leaders. These comments, even though widely accepted in the time in which they were spoken, are clearly not of a loving Heavenly Father. However, these comments are not church doctrine and racism is not practiced in the LDS Church. I am partly a member of the LDS faith because the true doctrine is that of inclusion, not exclusion. Does that mean that there are not racists in my church? No. Does that mean that there are not men that believe that women are second class citizens? No.

With that said, I would not suffer my family to be part of an organization that teaches hatred or justifies sin. I do not care if the leader of that organization was my Father, Mother or any other relation. I feel that part of persona Integrity is understanding and holding myself accountable for the beliefs and teachings of those organizations to which I associate. Therefore, I hold Obama accountable and question his Integrity in regards to this topic.

What do I want him to do? Based on a conversation with a co-worker, I don't feel that it is necessary or God-like to disown a person because of their beliefs; hence, I don't require Obam to disown his preacher and friend because of his statements. However, I would like Obama to explain (not justify) his view of Black Liberation Theology and where he stands on its basic teachnings. I don't want a blanket statement...

Based on what I have seen, can I say that Obama has integrity?

in·teg·ri·ty - adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty.

No, not right now...