Sen. Obama's chosen theology

Barack Obama's church explains its vision as follows:

"The vision statement of Trinity United Church of Christ is based upon the systematized liberation theology that started in 1969 with the publication of Dr. James Cone’s book, Black Power and Black Theology." [sic.]

So what is in Dr. Cone's book? Excerpts are available online. Here is a sample:

"But the charge of black racism cannot be reconciled with the facts. While it is true that blacks do hate whites, black hatred is not racism. Racism, according to Webster, is 'the assumption that psychocultural traits and capacities are determined by biological race and that races differ decisively from one another, which is usually coupled with a belief in the inherent superiority of a particular race and its rights to dominance over others.' Where are the examples among blacks in which they sought to assert their right to dominance over others because of a belief in black superiority?" [emphasis added]

First it is clear that Dr. Cone's theology is one that accepts race hatred. (That makes Sen. Obama's claim to be a unifier less than plausible.) Second, as for the word "racism," it is clear that Dr. Cone does not understand the meaning of "usually" as used in a dictionary definition.

You might want to think that Dr. Cone doesn't hate all whites but he has this to say about "all whites":

[A]ll white men are responsible for white oppression. It is much too easy to say, "Racism is not my fault," or "I am not responsible for the country's inhumanity to the black man." The American white man has always had an easy conscience. .... If whites are honest in their analysis of the moral state of this society, they know that all are responsible. [p.24; emphasis original]

So what is about the white race that makes such racism possible? Dr. Cone explains:

Racism is possible because whites are indifferent to suffering and patient with cruelty. [p.24]

Since Dr. Cone is a "Christian," it is clear where this is going theologically:

The demonic forces of racism are real for the black man. Theologically, Malcolm X was not far wrong when he called the white man "the devil." The white structure of this American society, personified in every racist, must be at least part of what the New Testament meant by the demonic forces. According to the New Testament, these powers can get a hold of a man's total being and can control his life to such a degree that he is incapable of distinguishing himself from the alien power. This seems to be what has happened to to white racism in America. [pp. 40-41]

So, if whites are not techically the devil himself, as Malcolm X believed, they are at least, according to Dr. Cone, under the Devil's "total" "control."

It may be tempting to dismiss Dr. Cone as an insignificant nut but he is a central figure in Sen. Obama's church. Here, for example, is Obama's preacher, Rev. Wright, on Hannity and Colmes, declaring the importance of Dr. Cone:

HANNITY: I'm very aware of what you're calling black liberation, but let me get my question out.

(CROSSTALK)

WRIGHT: I said, do you know black theology?

HANNITY: Reverend, I'm going to give you a chance to answer my question.

WRIGHT: How many of Cone's books have you read? How many of Cone's book have you read?

Sen. Obama has chosen to raise his kids in a church that believes that whites, as a race, are "indifferent to suffering," that "all whites" are racists and are under the "total" "control" of the devil.

Some try to claim that black liberation theology merely advocates an "inward affirmation" and is nothing to worry about. Others pretend that the controversy is merely because Rev. Wright's rhetoric was taken "out of context." But, in context, Dr. Cone's book demonstrates that Sen. Obama's chosen theology is racist and hateful.