This is much scarier than I imagined.  We know Wright is someone Obama has called his spiritual mentor, but who does Wright look up to?

One answer, according to this article, is James Cone, and from a social or religious perspective, this is not good.

The insanity of “black liberation theology”

The more you know about Jeremiah Wright, the more appalling he is. Spengler today digs up a televised interview between Wright and Sean Hannity in which Wright upbraided Hannity for not having read the black liberation theologian James Cone, with whom Wright identifies. Who is James Cone? He’s the theologian who wrote this:

Black theology refuses to accept a God who is not identified totally with the goals of the black community. If God is not for us and against white people, then he is a murderer, and we had better kill him. The task of black theology is to kill Gods who do not belong to the black community … Black theology will accept only the love of God which participates in the destruction of the white enemy. What we need is the divine love as expressed in Black Power, which is the power of black people to destroy their oppressors here and now by any means at their disposal. Unless God is participating in this holy activity, we must reject his love.

Wow. Either God wants to destroy white people, or He is not worthy of worship. This is racist idolatry.

Here is an excerpt about Cone and his influence on Trinity UCC, Obama’s church, from a sympathetic profile in The Christian Century:

An alert friend emailed me this link this morning. 

The black value system was not removed, it is on its own page.  Here it is for sake of discussion:

THE BLACK VALUE SYSTEM

Trinity United Church of Christ adopted the Black Value System, written by the Manford Byrd Recognition Committee, chaired by the late Vallmer Jordan in 1981. Dr. Manford Byrd, our brother in Christ, withstood the ravage of being denied his earned ascension to the number one position in the Chicago School System.  His dedication to the pursuit of excellence, despite systematic denials, has inspired the congregation of Trinity United Church of Christ.  Prayerfully, we have called upon the wisdom of all past generations of suffering Blacks for guidance in fashioning an instrument of Black self-determination, the Black Value System. Beginning in 1982, an annual Black Value System – Educational Scholarship in the name of Dr. Byrd was instituted.  The first recipient of the Dr. Manford Byrd Award, which is given annually to the man or woman who best exemplifies the Black Value System, was our brother, Dr. Manford Byrd. These Black Ethics must be taught and exemplified in homes, churches, nurseries and schools, wherever Blacks are gathered.  They consist of the following concepts: Commitment to God.  “The God of our weary years” will give us the strength to give up prayerful passivism and become Black Christian Activists, soldiers for Black freedom and the dignity of all humankind. Commitment to the Black Community.  The highest level of achievement for any Black person must be a contribution of strength and continuity of the Black Community. Commitment to the Black Family.  The Black family circle must generate strength, stability and love, despite the uncertainty of externals, because these characteristics are required if the developing person is to withstand warping by our racist competitive society.  Those Blacks who are blessed with membership in a strong family unit must reach out and expand that blessing to the less fortunate.