From Other Sites on the Line: 19 Mar 08

Brite Divinity School to Honor Rev. Jeremiah Wright
by Barbara W. Sowell

“If Brite does not rescind this invitation to Jeremiah Wright, I will be compelled by conscience to repudiate my Theology degree from Brite Divinity School.”

Cross posted from Faultline USA:

http://faultlineusa.blogspot.com/2008/03/brite-divinity-school-to-honor-rev.html

On the heels of Obama’s race speech yesterday I learned on national TV that Brite Divinity School at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth Texas is still planning on presenting an award to Rev. Jeremiah Wright at the Black Church Awards Banquet for his 40-year ministry linking divine justice and social justice. Brite will host the fourth annual State of the Black Church Summit and Awards Banquet on March 29.What is a ministry that links divine justice and social justice? Basically it’s short for Marxist born and bred Liberation Theology. Cutting out all the nuanced obfuscations of leftist Theological language and political correctness, Liberation Theology sees Jesus as the Divine Revolutionary leader intent on bringing social justice into this world. It’s a theology that calls for God’s Kingdom here on earth; not something to be attained in the hereafter. And if necessary, God’s Kingdom must be brought forth here and now on earth by any means necessary - even including violent revolution. I leave it to your imagination as to what country and which people must be dealt with!

It is imperative that traditional Christians from all denominations reach out to the young “middle class Christians” that are clueless as to what kind of heresy Brite and other seminaries are spreading. Here’s a typical response from a properly indoctrinated Marxist Brite graduate who is probably coming to pastor a church near you. Note that the blogger doesn’t have comments enabled.“Today I'm proud to be a graduate of Brite Divinity School, which has affirmed its decision to recognize Jeremiah Wright's ministry at this month's State of the Black Church awards banquet.I don't know that God would damn America, as Rev. Wright suggested God ought, but the Holy One surely grieves the nation's racist history and the blood-stained wealth that continues to influence its cultures, politics, and educational institutions.Recognizing the need to interpret Wright's statements with context, audience, and rhetorical intent in mind, Brite has made a courageous and just decision. . . .”He doesn’t know if God will damn America???

Today, Ariel Alexovich of the New York Times politics blog wrote “Open Caucus: On Race and Delegates”. Here’s an excerpt about Brite.“ . . .I heard on the news today that the Brite Divinity School at Texas Christian University was bestowing an award to Rev. Wright this spring. How could this be? The answer is to explore the relationship between the evangelical left and the hard secular left and the interaction between the two. The Obamas were comfortable at Trinity United Church of Christ because the message and theology from Mr. Wright were consistent with the historical world view in which both were academically immersed in the Ivy League.

While the core tenet of the evangelical left is pacifism, the core thrusts of the secular left are distributional justice and social equality. These themes complement each other, and the evangelical and secular Left mutually reinforce each other’s respective positions. . .”The only correction I would make to Alexovich’s statement above is that Brite Divinity School is not an evangelical school. It is a Mainline Christian seminary!!! During the time that I attended Brite the majority of the students were from the United Methodist and Disciples of Christ denominations.

For more information on Black Liberation Theology please read Obama’s Marxist Liberation Theology ChurchThose who have followed my writing about Leftist Heresy in my blog, Faultline USA, are familiar with my stories of surviving and graduating as a traditional Christian from an extremely liberal mainline Christian seminary. I have always refrained from mentioning the name of the seminary because my intent was not to disparage any one institution but to inform other Christians about the dangers of heretical leftist Christianity. Today, however, I am so disgusted that I am revealing the hotbed of radical leftist “Christianity” seminary where I earned my degree. And I am coming forward with a public call for action.

If Brite does not immediately rescind this invitation to Wright, I will be compelled by my conscience to repudiate my Theology degree from Brite Divinity School. I am calling on all Brite alumni, who share my disgust with Brite for this appallingly stupid and racially divisive decision, to join with me in a public demand that Brite must IIMMEDIATELY RECIND THIS INVITATIN TO JEREMIAH WRIGHT! Sam Hodges from the Dallas Morning News quoted from a Brite statement affirming their decision:“ . . .

According to a statement posted Monday on its Web site, Brite affirmed its decision "after careful review" and "understanding the sincere concerns many have voiced in response to recent media reports."The statement continues:"Contrary to media claims that Wright preaches racial hatred, church leaders who have observed his ministry describe him as a faithful preacher of the gospel who has ministered in a context radically different from that of many middle class Americans." . . .

TCU Chancellor Victor J. Boschini Jr. said Monday that "TCU supports the right of free speech even when the opinions expressed are controversial. That is what a university is about. But giving an award is another matter, and in this specific case in light of Reverend Wright's recently discovered remarks, TCU would not give such an award." . . .Although Brite is on the TCU campus, it's a separate school with its own officers and board. Dr. Williams emphasized that the decision to honor Dr. Wright was Brite's alone. . .”

Yes, I will agree that Wright’s preaching is radically different from that of many middle class Americans, and we all must remember that context is everything to multicultural moral relativists! But America can no longer afford a double standard of multiple contexts when it comes to racially charged inflammatory speech. We are now living in “a time when we need to come together to solve a set of monumental problems,” and according to Obama that demands a context of unity! Ministers, no matter how much good they might have done, and no matter what the racial context, can no longer get a free pass for Anti-American, anti-Jewish or anti-White racist speech!!! Universities can no longer hide behind “the right of free speech” lie that rewards leftist anarchists and Anti-American traitors while silencing the voices and limiting the access of traditional Americans!

To the most progressive President of Brite Divinity School, D. Newell Williams, and to Chancellor Boschini of Texas Christian University, I am reminding them of Obama’s speech Tuesday morning regarding Jeremiah Wright’s words. This is from the transcript which can be found here.“ . . .I have already condemned, in unequivocal terms, the statements of Reverend Wright that have caused such controversy. For some, nagging questions remain. Did I know him to be an occasionally fierce critic of American domestic and foreign policy? Of course. Did I ever hear him make remarks that could be considered controversial while I sat in church? Yes. Did I strongly disagree with many of his political views? Absolutely - just as I'm sure many of you have heard remarks from your pastors, priests, or rabbis with which you strongly disagreed.But the remarks that have caused this recent firestorm weren't simply controversial. They weren't simply a religious leader's effort to speak out against perceived injustice. Instead, they expressed a profoundly distorted view of this country - a view that sees white racism as endemic, and that elevates what is wrong with America above all that we know is right with America; a view that sees the conflicts in the Middle East as rooted primarily in the actions of stalwart allies like Israel, instead of emanating from the perverse and hateful ideologies of radical Islam. As such, Reverend Wright's comments were not only wrong but divisive, divisive at a time when we need unity; racially charged at a time when we need to come together to solve a set of monumental problems - two wars, a terrorist threat, a falling economy, a chronic health care crisis and potentially devastating climate change; problems that are neither black or white or Latino or Asian, but rather problems that confront us all. . . .”

Follow the comments on the Daily Skiff, the TCU student newspaper at Divinity school to present award to minister despite controversial remarks

If you’d like to share your thoughts with the President of Brite Divinity School, D. Newell Williams, or with Texas Christian University Chancellor Boschini, here is their contact info.

President of Brite Divinity School, D. Newell Williams n.williams(at)tcu.eduTCU Chancellor Boschini v.boschini(at)tcu.edu

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Latest update: Presentation ceremony moved off campus for alleged "security issues". Read the story in the Dallas News here:

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/032008dnmettcuwrightfolo.30a601f.html