The Rev. Jeremiah Wright (Barack Obama's former pastor) has caused quite an uproar lately with the clips that were played of his preaching. However, I think that there is something tragic about what I heard that seems to have been missed by many.
Many have been offended by the language he used. I find this atrocious as well. The pulpit should be a place for making God known, and it should be done with reverence and respect, acknowledging the enormous privilege of being allowed to preach the word. But this is certainly not the greatest tragedy of the scandal.
Others have been offended by his hatred of America. I was appalled with everyone else with the way he spoke of our country. But this is not the saddest part of these sound bites.
The saddest part, the actual tragedy of the whole thing is the complete abandonment of the Gospel. What this man is preaching is not the New Testament Gospel. He is not preaching the good news of the crucified savior who has died for sinners. This is the great tragedy, he has been given an opportunity to turn sinners toward Christ, to expose them to the only true hope that we have, the death of Jesus as our atoning substitute, but instead he offers them social liberation. What good is social liberation for a few decades (I am not saying that social justice is a bad thing) compared with an eternity spent either in eternal torment of eternal joy.
I choose to spend the bulk of my time dealing with our deepest need, the sin problem of humanity, and I pray that you will to.
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