LkwdSteve

How and why did it come about?
Has it outlived it's purpose?
How can it be replaced?

Lets understand it before we condemn it.

Tight-Waist

Should we try to understand anti-semitism too?

ctc

Theology is the study of God. All it is is a fancy term and excuse for racism.

matclone

The study of God is an excuse for racism?

matclone

A couple of different perspectives.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...oryId=89236116

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_theology

I see nothing offensive. It sounds an awful lot to me like what Malcolm X stood for, or before him, perhaps Marcus Garvey.

It essentially takes racism as a given, and tells black people they need not be defined by a white world's perception of who they are. So I'd say, no, it hasn't outlived its purpose.

Of course, much of the popular media is resorting to an old, old theme, and portraying this as some version of the scary black man, just as the anti-immigrant crowd likes to trot out Atzlan (the scary brown man).

p.s. This week on Tavis Smiley (on PBS in my area) he is interviewing black people on a theme surrounding MLK Jr. (this being the 40th anniversary of his assasination). For those interested in hearing what black people have to say about MLK or perhaps Rev Wright (rather than white people talking about what black people think), it might be interesting.

skipster

I suppose those guys can spin anything in any direction they want. Bottom line, their words and actions have told us volumes. No one is saying that they need to be defined by anyone else's perception of who they are. I certainly don't feel that I am defined by any white man's perception of me.

I find it hilarious, though, that Jeremiah Wright and Louis Farrakhan have railed so hard against the white man and his keeping the black man down financially, yet they live in gated communities full of white people. Wright' scongregation even bought him a $10+ million house in a gated community near Chicago, in which he is the ONLY black person living there. Why won't he live in the rich neighborhoods with the black folks.

Maybe there's something here that we're not hearing.

ban basketball

Great points, matclone. It's what I've been saying since day one. Just to add to it, ML King was also the scary black guy in his day too. Now we are just so disingenuous to actually take one day per year and act like he is suddenly a great figure to us. For years, we condemned him.

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LkwdSteve

Marclone, if you can look up Terri Gross's program (Fresh Air) from 3-30 I think you would find it interesting.

CTC,
On the other forum you mentioned that you are defined by your associations. Let me ask you what associations were possible for the newly freed black slaves? And where could these associations take place? Now I'm including social, political, religious, cultural, academic, and relaxation associations. The answer became the CHURCH. For all of them initially.

So that answers one question regarding why the black church has been so politcal throughout the decades. Because there was nowhere else.


Anyone,


Two contentions of the founder of the Black Liberation Theological movement follow:
1. He wanted a movement that walked a line between the message of MLK and those of black militants (ie--The Panthers). For instance King objected to the term "Black" and preferred "Negro".
2. He felt the most important message of Jesus was support/advocation/rescue of the poor. His view is that the chief mission of religion is aid for the needy since that was Jesus' chief mission.


CTC,
Do you agree with that concerning Jesus' main mission?
Are black churches active in this chief mission (of helping their poor)?

More important, is the perception correct that many white-based churches did not pursue helping the poor, ESPECIALLY THE BLACK POOR, in the history of their ministries?

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Finally, is the indifference among many black men to the more strident portions of the Black Liberation message (including it's delivery), due to the fact that they consider it essentially harmless. That is the strong impression I got. So we have blacks viewing the message as harmless and whites in a dither.

Could you draw a parallel between the devil (white church) and the white man (black church) as both act as strawmen to generate excitement within a church on a Sunday afternoon? The congregation gets to let their emotions run high in a social setting of brotherhood, but all is forgotten come Monday morning?

sgallan

For those interested in hearing what black people have to say about MLK or perhaps Rev Wright (rather than white people talking about what black people think), it might be interesting.

Interesting indeed. But pretty much the same folks will think little of each other even after hearing one anothers criticisms. The partisan reactions to Obama's Pastor, and Obama's speech, suggest as much.

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BonnieJ2

Fresh Air:http://www.npr.org/templates/rundown...Date=3-31-2008
also this was pretty interesting:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...oryId=88941182

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