Rev. Eric C. Redmond, the pastor of Hillcrest Baptist Church in Temple Hills, MD, correctly points out that so many black pastors today preach an unbiblical theology today that is less focused on the glory of Christ and more interested in empowerment, (social) deliverance, overcoming (White) oppression, God is for the poor (indiscriminant of their sins), God is for Black people, and even, God/Christ is Black. He recognizes at least five major results that the Black Liberation Theology (BLT) has had on the African American community:
1) widespread acceptance of an egalitarian view of the family and the church, for anything short of giving women “equality” was viewed as an oppression from which African Americans needed liberation – the result being the erosion of the African American family, the creation of a female-led community, and the welcoming of homosexual practice as normal,
2) a misinterpretation of the goal of God,
3) the increased racialization of society, because nearly everything “American” came from the (White) oppressor, so it and they had to be rejected rather than embraced,
4) a categorical rejection of Evangelical theology since it was seen as “White,”
5) an uncritical acceptance of anything philosophical that is African American in origin as long as it was divorced from Evangelical theology and conservative social ideology. Redmond laments: “You do not have to look far to see what these results have done to the African American community.
Think of how you would understand “the Gospel” if this is the version of the Gospel that had been fed to you on Sundays for two, three or four decades.”
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Jason Robertson is a husband and a father and a pastor. He is dedicated to leading and equipping his the Church with God’s word and biblical theology for life ministry, using a combination of pastoral, church planting and evangelism experience. He holds a Master of Divinity from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He is experienced in church planting, evangelism, missions, and the training of pastors and Bible teachers.
Jason has been preaching the gospel since 1985, serving the first ten years of ministry as a Southern Baptist itinerant evangelist out of Milldale Baptist Church in Zachary, LA which ordained him in 1993. He has preached in hundreds of churches in over 30 States and 4 countries. He planted churches in Siberia, Russia in the summers of 1993 and 1994. He founded Murrieta Valley Church in California, which he planted in cooperation with the SBC NAMB in 2001. He also teaches ministry students at California Baptist University.
You can hear his sermons and read his manuscripts on sermonaudio.com. Just follow the link to "sermons" at the top of this page.
Jason,
What’s up with music?
TBH
Excuse me, What’s up with “the” music?
TBH
Fide-o reads much better set to music.
Getting back on topic, so what is the solution? Congregations are not leaving in droves from this message. If you accept that this “theology” is leading people from salvation, what can you do about it? If you confront a person indoctrinated by BLT, your arguments are dismissed as being “white” in source and therefore not relevant. The construct is a closed circle as it is with any cult. Only those from within who recognize the problem and leave have the power to influence others within the group.
When I attempt to point out bad doctrine on those rare occasions, the retort I hear most frequently is you are “just a Fundamentalist” as if that was a bad thing. If you are not able to discern salvific issues from those that are clearly not, and you happen upon…say… a discussion between a calvinist and an armenian, you could mistake these discussions as dissent within the ranks on “fundamental” doctrine. There is a great societal concern with issues. Issues drive politics and even the selection of churches by casual Christians. What is lost is the core set of beliefs that are shared by all Christians. I think we spend far too much time discussing the issues and far too little time reiterating our core. Pound the core set frequently. Make sure everyone understands who we are and what we all, as Christians, must certainly believe to be able to use the label “Christian.”
Finally, just a reminder of another megacult, today is May Day. Remember to pray for Oprah and the legions of women she is leading to hell.
FYI black Liberation theology isn’t as prominent in African American Churches as folks are making it out to be. Most black congregants have Never heard of the likes of Cone, J. Deotis Roberts, and Albert Cleage. They have heard the likes of prominet Word of Faith teachers who are of varying races and socio-economic Backgrounds. I think the analysis on BLT is a knew jerk reaction to the whole Rev. Wright fiasco. In all honesty the problem with the Black Church is a preoccupation with making God the catalyst mainly for temporal instead of spiritual. Consequently, Church Doctrine and teaching changes with the current plight of the community. Since the current plight is economic in nature the prosperity teachings are being embraced. Any way a person that expounds on the Current rise of the Word of Faith Movement in the black church is Milmon F. Harrison. His book is entitled Righteous Riches: The Word of Faith Movement in Contemporary African American Religion. Grace and Peace.
BLT’s thinking has permeating many people’s thinking and churches. Take a look at The NBC in any branch or form. Many of the NBC pastors gave a hat tip to Jeremiah Wright.
Redmond is on point to dealing with this . Christian orthodoxy isn’t strong in many of our black churches. There’s some of the reformed brethren that are tripping with the Donald Miller, and some the EC crowd and using Blackaby to teach youth ministry.
Good post.