Did Obama's pastor preach hate?

While some label the Reverend Wright's words 'hate speech,' others point to a tradition of exposing social ills.

from the March 28, 2008 edition

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With the furor continuing, the recently retired preacher of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago canceled his trip to the Black Church Summit this weekend in Fort Worth, Texas, where he was to receive an award for his years of pastoring.

Some pastors, both black and white, argue that Wright's damning of America was not wishing ill on Americans but making a theological point that God condemns acts of oppression. The theme of the sermon from which that clip is taken was that people should not depend on government – which sometimes lies and does wrong – but rely wholly on God.

How people hear something depends on their own experience and worldview, says Teresa Fry Brown, who teaches the art of preaching at Emory University in Atlanta. "I listen to 60 sermons a week by black and white pastors, and you could find something in almost any one that is offensive to somebody."

The key as to whether language is hate speech lies in a preacher's overall message, according to Martin Marty, professor emeritus of the University of Chicago Divinity School and renowned historian of religion. Dr. Marty, who has visited Trinity many times, says, "If Wright only had whites in his searchlight, you might call it [hate speech]. But he goes after the men in his church" about fatherhood, he puts himself and his people under the prophetic spotlight.

Prophetic preaching has been fundamental to the black church since the days of slavery. The Bible and its thundering prophets modeled a way forward that enabled black preachers to speak the hard truths while simultaneously envisioning a better future.

"The black church took the distorted version of Christianity that provided the religious justification for slavery, carved out the racist elements ... and implanted new content that actually moved Christianity in this country closer to Jesus' message," says Dr. Braxton.

First and foremost, the black church is rooted in the Bible. Christian slaves, slipping out to the woods for secret prayer meetings, appropriated the narrative of Exodus for their own story, promising eventual freedom from bondage. Worship became a means of survival and hope.

A former slave described a religious service shortly after Emancipation in this way: "Every heart was beating in unison as we turned our minds to God to tell him of our sorrows here below. God saw our need and came to us. I used to wonder what made people shout, but now I don't. There is a joy on the inside, and it wells up so strong that we can't keep still. It is fire in the bones."

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