African American theology has gotten a lot of attention lately in the press. Recently, several good books have been written about its decline such as the one pictured to the left by Thabiti Anyabwile. Several black theologians are speaking out and calling the Christian African American back to a biblical theology and away from Black Liberation Theology (BLT).
I have been a long-time critic of the modern Health and Wealth Movement which is the skanky cousin of BLT. I have “named the names” of the money-hungry self-exalting preachers that fill the ranks of this movement. Similarly, BLT is a false theology that ignores the true gospel story of the Bible and replaces it with a racially-charged socio-political agenda. This heretical movement is rarely talked about by pastors for fear of being labeled a racist hate-monger at worst or an ignorant redneck or insensitive elitist at least.
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.
Redmond quips that BLT has restated the chief end of man as “to glorify the Black self through the pursuit of social mobility, victory over White oppression, riches, perfect health, and geographical distance from the poor, and to enjoy being earthly misers and our actualized selves forever.”
For example, BLT doesn’t interpret the story of the Exodus as a story of God’s redemption of His elect but a story about slaves breaking free. Dr Robert Beckford, lecturer in black theology at the University of Birmingham, writes: “The Exodus story is of fundamental importance to black people, because within it we find a group of people who are enslaved and suffering from both economic and political bondage as well as, at times, genocide and infanticide. They call upon God to help, and what God does is respond by liberating them, crushing their oppressors and leading them into freedom. So the Exodus story has functioned as a paradigm for black people throughout slavery. Also in the contemporary world where the black people have found themselves in bondage, they’ve called upon God to free them as God freed the Israelites in the Exodus account. The Exodus event, and the life of Moses within it, is a central paradigm for black Christian communities. The reason for this is simple. Within the exodus we have an example of socio-political and economic oppression. We have a people who are enslaved and they cry out to God for help and God doesn’t turn away he sends Moses. This story is the story of African people of the last 300 years: the story of slavery and the quest for redemption through belief and faith in God.”
The only problem is that is not what the Exodus is about at all. It is not a story of human rights or socio-political/economic oppression. Rather it is a story about God’s deliverance of His covenant people from the oppression of false religions and worldly wickedness. The story is not really about how God got people out of Egypt but how God gets Egypt out of His people. In fact the Israelites were not led into health and wealth, penthouses and Bentleys. Instead, they were led into the wilderness to learn that man shall not live by bread alone and that no man should put his faith in the riches of Pharaoh. It was not a story that pointed towards the empowerment of humanity but the exaltation of Jesus Christ.
Rev. Redmond recognizes at least five major results the 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 (as stated above), 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,” and 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.”
Click on the album cover (right) to see a list of Jeremiah Wright’s greatest hits!
HT Michelle Malkin and Jim Hoft
Tweet
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.
I am glad to see fide-o back to its roots of tackling issues that are considered to volatile for comment. Thanks for avoiding political correctness.
Sounds like that Anybody Wild guy has his act together. I’ll pay him a visit next time I’m in the Caymans. Any comments Donny?
D. Crane
The problem is that many of the Reformed Cats aren’t doing anything to bring the Gospel into the neighborhoods that these wolves feast upon and that is my struggle brothers.
You see Reformed (which equals Biblical) Theology stays safely tucked away in Suburban Middle and Upper Middle Class communities and the great men that I love and respect are contributing very little to change this. So it is much easier for me to embrace Farrakahn, Elijah, Jehovah Witnesses, Cone and Wright. They are the ones communicating in our language and on our turf.
T4G is a prime example of such a case. Look at the diversity of the crowd, the music, those who were marketed to and tell me who were they trying to get the message to. I love you brothers and I admire and respect those who teach faithfully but the problem is there are two chasims.
1. Culturally
2. Economically
Unless Whites are ready to bridge such a chasim (not to mention both were built by them starting with Slavery and Jim Crow) then these wovles will continually feast upon the poor sheep. There are only so many of us Reformed brothers and 90% are involved with Black Flight (in which I am included). God bless and thanks for the articles my friend.
PS; Sorry for misspells I have become totally dependent on spell check (dog gone technology LOL)!!
Lionel,
I appreciate your comments. At first I thought that you were blaming the Whites for not getting Reformed theology to the Black church. But then I read your post located here. In your post you concluded with the following: Black Reformed Christians HAVE TO DO SOMETHING!!!!!!!!!!! We have to!!!! We have to!!!
That is exactly right. For too long Whites have tried to plant churches in the inner city. Rather Blacks should plant churches in the inner city. Black Christians, Black pastors, and Black Churches should rise up and say that they have the resources, the faith and the message for Blacks — not only in the inner city but in the rural regions as well.
Blacks must take responsibility for the decline of sound doctrine in Black churches. It begins in the home when Black fathers take the lead in this revival of Reformed theology in the Black community. Black pastors need to stop living for the bling and power trip. Black families should hold their politicians, pastors, and schools accountable.
This is Black problem and can ultimately only be solved by Blacks with a passion for truth and God’s glory alone. And White churches should join with them in support and prayer as was seen at T4G.
I would say that we really don’t have the resources though. There is a minority (as we can see less than 5% of those who attended T4G was black and only one 7th of the speakers were black). So really don’t have the resources at all. And those who do are as about Reformed as Rome is.
I think the struggle becomes when we do need “White” churches planting in the inner city and urban/rural areas,the problem is they should attempt to do it with those who know the culture a bit better. I wouldn’t want a White guy planting a church in Iraq (alone anyway) and I don’t expect White Reformed pastors to have much success in the hood either. But most run away not towards and success is not limited to numbers but to faithfulness.
Typically what I have seen is people pop shots and then run. I don’t know one Reformed White Church that tried to do anything for my city or neighboring ones. Secondly most young black reformed Christians I know didn’t learn it from blacks but from white men sucha as Piper and MacArthur and that was purely the grace of God.
So what I am saying is if you guys are going to criticize is time for you to put your money and time where your mouth is. Its time that you say hey lets pool our resources and instead of building that extra youth wing maybe we can help fund some scholarships. For must of us Seminary is important but not much of an option especially based off of the fact we will end up pastoring churches with 150 people or less and most of them poverty stricken.
So that is my challenge to the T4G guys. Get some scholarships (RTS have) or better yet provide personal training to young gifted African Americans so that they don’t have to spend the 40K on Seminary. Because if not we will put you in the same category we do Bill Oriely a bunch of noise and no action.
Lionel, I hear what you are saying and in many cases what you are saying applies. Specifically the “pop shots and then run” examples. But I do not think that the solution is to “put our money where our mouth is.” I know of tons of money that has been wasted.
I don’t think the root of the problem is lack of funds and resources. I have been stating in my series of posts what I think the root problem is.
And one Black man willing to stand against the theological grain of BLT can do more than a million dollars from the White man.
And such men will find themselves funded.
In fact there is a lot of money in the Black church if it were better allocated. I may write on that issue one day.
I agree but that money is in the hands of those who wouldn’t qualify for one of the nine marks. But true indeed. I am not saying flood the inner city with dollars but flood them with the truth and allow the seed to fall on the soil prepared by the Savior.
So once again I am not talking about building houses, giving money to rebuild broken street lights, or opening businesses, but funding individuals that will plant theologically consevative (not to be mistaken with politically conservative) churches that are faithful to biblical fidelity. But you are right we are going to have to do it on our own.
Thanks for the coversation brother. Love the blog keep it going I always admire my Reformed Baptist brothers!!
Amen, brother. Let’s keep it up. I am leaving this evening for a meeting at our church, but I plan to read your blog more… and interacting.