I read with interested Prof. Blanchard's response to Cory's exegesis on exegesis. Unlike Prof. Blanchard, I work for a living, so I have just got back into town from a business trip and am pretty exhausted. I will limit my comments to the suggestion, hinted at by both, the Jeremiah Wright is a "prophet." Cory, for example, writes:
[Rev. Wright] embodies the finest tradition of speaking in the Christian prophetic voice -- no, not predicting the future, but speaking truth to power. The Bible was written by oppressed peoples, Reverend Wright reminds us. The faith so many Americans conflate with their patriotism was born of opposition to worldly powers of all sorts, from Pharaoh and Caesar right on down to the military-industrial complex. His words deserve our attention and our agreement.
Let's leave aside the notion that Rev. Wright deserves our agreement and concentrate on the claim that Rev. Wright is prophetic. As I wrote a few weeks ago:
Dennis Prager argued on his radio show last week that a prophet is exactly what Jeremiah Wright is not. A prophet tells the people what they don't want to hear. A prophet goes to his people and asks them to look inside themselves at their own sin. Jeremiah Wright assures his congregation that there is nothing wrong with them; it is everyone else who needs to change.
The Gospel, and Scripture in general, is not just for the oppressed but for everyone. Moses condemned the Israelites for worshiping the golden calf. Jonah was called to judge the city of Nineveh. While Isaiah finishes his work with good news of a messiah, the first couple dozen chapters of his book condemn sinful Judah. Jesus himself speaks of separating the goats from the sheep and the wheat from the chaff. He also claims the he himself is the way, truth and life, and that no one comes to the Father but through him. Further, we should repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand. The Gospel cannot be reduced to "it's nice to be nice to nice people." We are called to love the Lord and love our enemies. I am not sure Rev. Wright's congregation gets much of either message.
I stand by my statement that Rev. Wright, whatever else he is, is no prophet. That doesn't mean he is wrong, but it does mean that he doesn't seem to spend much time asking his congregation to reform their lives and commit themselves to Jesus; rather he directs our attention to an impersonal "them," e.g., the government, the capitalists, the white people, and asks that they be blamed for the ailments of his congregation. This is a critique of Rev. Wright as a pastor, not as a social critic.
While naturally any political system or theology will consider what it is against, it should not be reduced to that. Let us not reduce our theology or our patriotism to merely what we are against. For that opposition is not mere negativity, but a reaction to some positive principles that we hold dear.
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