Reverend Wright’s Jesus

During the Jeremiah Wright flap, something strange happened. Now, if you don’t go to church much, you may not have noticed but talk show hosts, news analysts and bloggers who replayed the taped transcripts of the black activist’s sermons cut off one of Reverend Jeremiah Wright’s hate-America harangues just when he was starting to preach about Jesus. But I did. I noticed because I am familiar with the words of an old anthem of the church that Wright began to quote.

“There is a name I love to hear; I love to sing it’s worth,
It sounds like music in my ear; the sweetest name on earth.”

The chorus to this evangelical hymn heaps lavish love and praise on Jesus, crooning in a building crescendo “Oh, how I love Jesus, Oh how I love Jesus, Oh, how I love Jesus; because he first loved me.” It struck me as rather odd that a man could assume such a radical anti-Semitic stance, lambasting Israel and vehemently giving support to the Palestinians, and then sing love songs to Jesus as though he didn’t know the ethnicity of the Christ.

Reverend Wright, JESUS WAS A JEW!  There.  I said it.  You heard right…Jesus was a Jew!

Jesus was the JEWISH MESSIAH!  He came “to his OWN.”  All twelve disciples were Jews. Peter, John and Jude were Jews. The Apostle Paul who wrote over half the New Testament was a Jew. In fact, Paul stated that he could wish himself accursed if it would help to save his Jewish brethren.

Jesus said, “Salvation is of the Jews.” The “Jewishness” of Jesus figures into the redemption story as a major factor. His advent at Bethlehem fulfilled over three hundred prophecies of the Jewish scriptures.  His very act of crucifixion on the cross grew out of the sacrificial offering that was the custom of the Jews in the Old Testament. The role of bloodshed to atone for sins was of Jewish origin. “And, without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin.” 

There are no Islamic traditions woven into the saving gospel. Islam is not a Christian religion. Islam is an anti-Christian religion. One of Islam’s stated goals is to force everyone to convert to Islam and effectively destroy Christianity. Jesus was not Islamic. And yet, Reverend Wright has a degree in Islamic Studies and speaks on their behalf with decided regularity.

The Jews are God’s chosen people, an appellation that continued to be ascribed to them even while the church became the focus of God’s attention in the New Testament. Jesus quoted Jewish writings extensively. It has been pointed out by another blogger in the past day or so that most of the stories that Reverend Wright employs while preaching his sermons were about Jewish people, many of them heros of the Old Testament. While Barach Obama declares that he cannot disavow Reverend Wright any more than he could disavow the black community, Reverend Wright had no problem disavowing the Jewish community even while he purportedly preaches Jesus.

The bible Reverend Wright preaches from contains the verse, “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.” It is impossible to contemplate the Bible as being anything other than a Jewish book about Jewish people.

Reverend Wright’s Jesus is a left-leaning, Islamic sympathizer who hates America and wants to curse it. Reverend Wright’s Jesus is an “enlightened Jew” who hates his own people. Reverend Wright’s Jesus is a stereotypical Jew who espouses victimhood and who has no greater message to preach than a hate-mongering, resentment filled storyline that never made it out of the fifties and sixties. Jeremiah Wright’s Jesus sees all the gospel through the lens of racial politics, has revenge and extreme detestation of anything white, and will never allow his message to be corrupted by forgiveness.

Jeremiah Wright’s Jesus exists in only one place: in Jeremiah Wright’s head.

I’ll stick with the Jesus of the Bible.

Comments

[Bro Rock]

I do not hold views as narrow as Rev.Wright, but I think our thological umbilical cord that ties us eternally to Israel is flawed. The Jewish religion of Moses that was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, that laid dormant for 70 years, was not the same one that was established upon their return from Babylon. It may have been similar, but over time it became as corrupt and decayed as the one that was destroyed. It was this religion and it's religious leaders that Jesus was so upset with. The Scribes, Pharisees, and Saducees all felt his wrath. Again this religion was overthrown, it's temple worship abolished for a new covenent based on the faith of Abraham, who had no religous affiliation except the One God. If it was not neccessary and manditory for the Jews to be converted then the whole book of Acts is null and void. I we believe that god has some special compartment, some some special reason why they do not have to be converted now, on this plane, then our message is insufficient. We as a group can proclaim our Aposolic truth all day and still miss this point.The biggest problem that Paul had was with Judizers, not Gentiles or government, but his own people who missed the first coming. So now we in America act as if Israel has a right to treat evryone as second class God citizens, especially in their own country. May I ask an honest question: who are the "Jews"? The Hebrews were a "race" of Shem, of Semetic origins. Can I become a "Jew" and leave the Apostolic truths, and still be saved? Does not Jerusalem set on 7 Hills? Has not historic Judism persecuted the saints. Is it not a posibility (I've heard it all my life) that the Anti Christ might be "Jewish", that he will nor regard the (G)god of his fathers? Personally, whatever the position that one takes with israel does not affect my salvation. I would much rather focus on praying for the peace of my own country in a time when all of our freedoms and rights are being compromised by our political leaders. We are being pitted one against another in politics while Rome burns. No, I care little about the Jews, or not any more than I care about others who have not enbraced our Apostolic truth. Either they (Jews) need it, or Jesus, Peter and the boys died in vain.