The Question: Jeremiah Wright's sermons continue to be an issue in the presidential campaign. Why? What do you think of his preaching style? What do you wish you understood better about it?
Some of the things that Jeremiah Wright said to his congregation were obnoxious and untrue even when seen in context.
For example, to see September 11 as a punishment for American foreign policy is as theologically obnoxious as seeing it as a punishment for abortion and gays, something that some conservative white preachers said. And while he can be very eloquent in addressing the sins of racism, he should have prayed, “God forgive America,” rather than “God damn America.” I think that is what Martin Luther King would have said.
But to hold everyone in Wright’s congregation responsible for his statements is nothing less than guilt by association.
When I look out over my congregation, which is located in Georgetown, I have spotted senators, representatives, a commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service and a director of the CIA. None of these people is responsible for what I say; only I am. If everyone who listens to a preacher were held responsible for what the preacher said, a lot of people would be in trouble.
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