Presbyterians Agreeing With Reverend Jeremiah Wright

The President of the National Black Presbyterian Caucus the Reverend Greg Bentley has written a letter of commendation for Reverend Jeremiah Wright. In the letter he writes:

"... Dr. Wright stands squarely within the Prophetic Black Church Tradition with an authentic passion that emanates from the reality of America’s history of racism and oppression. He spoke the truth. Now, this truth may be abrasive and objectionable to some, but to others it is a validation of the point of view of many African Americans and other marginalized and oppressed peoples. "

But Wright has an anti-Semitic streak that isn't being addressed by this letter at all. In Bill Moyers' interview, Wright defends Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam on the grounds that Farrakhan's anti-Semitic statements were made twenty years ago. Moyers suggests that Louis Farrakhan's anti-Semitic statements, although made twenty-years ago, were indefensible, and Wright responds:

"The Nation of Islam and Mr. Farrakhan have more African-American men off of drugs. More African-American men respecting themselves. More African-American men working for a living. Not gang banging. Not trying to get by. That's not indefensible in terms of how you make a difference in the prisons? Turning people's lives around. Giving people hope. Getting people off drugs."

Later at a National Press Club speech Wright again refers to Farrakhan suggesting that twenty years ago Farrakhan only stated that Zionism was a gutter religion not Judaism. Wright also stated, "So what I think about him, as I’ve said on Bill Moyers and it got edited out, how many other African-Americans or European-Americans do you know that can get one million people together on the mall? He is one of the most important voices in the 20th and 21st century. That’s what I think about him."

But other Presbyterian leaders are also in some ways defending Wright in fact they seem to be defending his anti-Semitism. On the "Presbyterian Thoughtful Christian" blogspot an essay entitled “Jeremiah Wright and Black Prophetic Preaching.” and written by Debra Mumford is offered for sale. But it is the blog posting that is bothersome and in particular one of its links. "Barack Obama's Home Church," written by Kathleen Kern, is the posting and its most provocative link is offered with these words, "For insights into Wright, Obama, and African American attitudes toward Israel, see, http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article9427.shtml. "

I think it might be safe to say that Obama would disagree with Kern's description of this link. The essay they are linked to absolves Wright of any anti-Semitism because of the connection Israel had with South Africa and the contention this caused between African Americans and the Jewish people. Ali Abunimah, author of this essay writes"

"Reverend Wright, who has sought a broader understanding of the Middle East than one that blames Islam and Arabs for all the region's problems or endorses unconditional support for Israel, stood in the mainstream of African American opinion, not on some extremist fringe.

That is not to say that Jewish concerns about anti-Semitic sentiments among some African Americans should simply be dismissed. Racism in any community should be confronted. But as they have done with other communities, hard-line pro-Israel activists like Foxman have too often tried to tar any African American critic of Israel with the brush of anti-Semitism. Why must every black candidate to a major office go through the ritual of denouncing Farrakhan, a marginal figure in national politics who likely gets most of his notoriety from the ADL? Surely if anti-Semitism were such an endemic problem among African Americans, there would be someone other than Farrakhan for the ADL to have focused its ire on all these decades."

The Electronic Intifada staff, where this essay is found, are basically pushing for a one state solution to the Israel and Palestine problem. And their books, their news and their ideas are all one sided. Israel is the aggressor and her lobby in the United States is all powerful.

This refusal to speak truth about a preacher's sin is simply a part of the rising anti-Semitism in the mainline denominations. Reverend Wright will not denounce the anti-Semitism of Louis Farrakhan, and the Reverend Greg Bentley will not denounce the strange ideas and the anti-Semitism of Wright. The Church suffers because of it. That is hardly prophetic.