By Eric Dunbar
VinePublication.com
It seems that every time you bat an eye there is a man of the cloth reaching out to help Barack Obama win the Presidential election. But their words are anything but the words of a crusader. First the Reverend Jeremiah Wright spoke up for Obama in several racist sermons that were condensed into a 30 second clip that made headline news across America. And this time, from the same church, came the comments of Father Pfleger, a Catholic Priest who came across as more of a comedian than a priest.
Quite honestly, I think the church should address some of the racial issues rather than sitting in church pretending that the issue of racism does not exist. According to the Bible, the church has the keys to the kingdom. It also states that we have authority over the enemy—and the real enemy is Satan.
The most recent comment from the Trinity Church of Christ made by Father Pfleger has led many people to believe that the real reason Senator Obama left his church of over 20 years was because of the church’s theology.
Father Pfleger’s video clip comes across as a comedy act as compared to that of Pastor Jeremiah Wright, whose sermon had heavy racial overtones. At least that’s the story as told from one point of view—white America.
But many black churches all across America identify with like sermons that depict their long struggles as a people in a country controlled by white people.
Even today, many white churches are saying, “We respect the fact that you are a Christian, but you can’t worship here.” It is the church that in fact who holds down the last frontier of segregation in America. There are more segregated churches in America than there are schools.
I do not condone the sermons that have been publicized coming from the pulpit of Trinity Church of Christ, but in black churches, black people make light of their struggles that have been, and still are far worse than the words said in either of the sermons that made the nation’s news headlines. I personally think that when one can laugh about tragedy—and especially the kind of tragedies that many blacks have endured at the hand of whites, it is a sign of healing.
There once was a time when it hurt blacks to talk about Uncle Willie whom a group of white men hang on a tree because he looked at a white woman. It used to hurt when a black person had to sit in the back of the bus, although it was empty. It used to hurt when blacks were treated as animals wherever they went. When you can make light of your struggles and tell jokes about the many painful events of your life, it is a sure sign that you still remember, but it doesn’t hurt anymore, and that is the first sign of healing and forgiveness.
Watch Video of Father Pfleger’s attack on Hillary Clinton
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