Should All Americans Have the Same Civil Rights?

President Obama had some trouble in the last election when his opponents used controversial sermon tapes of his long-term pastor Rev. Jeremiah Wright to try to scare voters. Wright, then pastor of 8500-member Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, is a highly respected preacher whose black preaching style and black liberation theology stand firmly in the Christian prophetic tradition, but scared the shit out of some white Americans. Go back and look at the tapes – most of what Wright said about American is true; many people didn’t want to hear it, or to hear it said so emphatically; they want sweet soft “Jesus loves you” on Sunday morning.

Otis Moss IIIWright had already retired by the time Obama was running. But the age of You Tube never forgets. And like a lot of recently retired pastors, Wright missed the spotlight, and the press went crazy, and at some public events Wright talked too much and too long, and Obama had to distance himself from him, which was regrettable, and he lost a dear friend, and….it’s a long hard sad story.

I’ve worshipped at Trinity. I have never been so warmly welcomed, so personally prayed for and with, and heard such an inspiring and intellectually challenging sermon. And the music! Check out the tapes.

The church thrives, and their new pastor Otis Moss III is an extremely worthy successor. This past week Moss read a letter to his fellow black clergy about Obama’s statement in support of gay marriage. The African American religious community is torn on this issue. Much of the press assumes all Christians are anti-gay and that all blacks agree. Not true. I encourage you to read or watch Moss’s letter.

The letter video.
The letter text.

Here are some quotes:

“To claim the President of the United States must hold your theological position is absurd. He is President of the United States of America not the President of the Baptist convention or Bishop of the Sanctified or Holiness Church. He is called to protect the rights of Jew and Gentile, male and female, young and old, Gay and straight, black and white, Atheist and Agnostic.”

“The question I believe we should pose to our congregations is, ‘Should all Americans have the same civil rights?’ This is a radically different question than… “Does the church have the right to perform or not perform certain religious rites.” There is difference between rights and rites. We should never misconstrue rights designed to protect diverse individuals in a pluralistic society versus religious rites designed by faith communities to communicate a theological or doctrinal perspective. These two questions are answered in two fundamentally different arenas. One is answered in the arena of civic debate where the Constitution is the document of authority. The other is answered in the realm of ecclesiastical councils where theology, conscience and biblical mandates are the guiding ethos. I do not believe ecclesiastical councils are equipped to shape civic legislation nor are civic representatives equipped to shape religious rituals and doctrine.”

“The institution of marriage is not under attack as a result of the President’s words. Marriage was under attack years ago by men who viewed women as property and children as trophies of sexual prowess. Marriage is under attack by low wages, high incarceration, unfair tax policy, unemployment, and lack of education. Marriage is under attack by clergy who proclaim monogamy yet think nothing of stepping outside the bonds of marriage to have multiple affairs with ‘preaching groupies.’ Same-gender couples did not cause the high divorce rate, but our adolescent views of relationships and our inability as a community to come to grips with the ethic of love and commitment did. We still confuse sex with love and romance with commitment.”

“Emmett Till and the four little girls who were assassinated in Alabama during worship did not die for a Sunday sermonic sound bite to show disdain for one group of God’s people. They were killed by an evil act enacted by men who believed in doctrine over love. We serve in ministry this day because of a man who believed in love over doctrine.”

Moss was very clear that he was not telling people how to vote, but was seeking dialogue with his fellow religious leaders and encouraging everyone to engage in serious public conversation. “November is incredibly important to our community,” Moss said.

November is incredibly important to the world community.

Copyright © 2012 Deborah Streeter