Religion
In reply to the discussion: So I went over to Reverend Barber's website [View all]Tanuki
(14,918 posts)Barber has been speaking truth to "religious right wingers" for years.
https://www.google.com/amp/amp.charlotteobserver.com/living/religion/article167532207.html
..."On what hed say to evangelical clergy who have supported President Trump. After Charlottesville, several of them spoke out against bigotry, though some including Franklin Graham did not mention the neo-Nazis or the KKK by name:
I would say the same to my fellow preachers: yes, we must call racists to repentance. But it's cheap grace and hypocrisy to both say you renounce racism and continue to defend the systemic racism that is anti-immigrant, anti-black, anti-LGBTQ and anti-Muslim. Do what Jesus said: show fruit worthy of your repentance.
On fellow North Carolinian Franklin Graham, a fellow preacher with very different views:
Well, hes my brother in the human family. I have actually met with him with a group of clergy. We challenged him for always castigating President Obama. I will say to you what one of my professors at Duke taught me: Whenever you claim that youve had an experience of being born again, changed, transformed by Christ and it does not produce a quarrel with the world a quarrel with policies that exacerbate and create poverty, a quarrel with those who would see other human beings die for the lack of health care, a quarrel with systemic racism and injustice, a quarrel with those, in a land of immigrants, who want to deport and destroy the lives of immigrants, a quarrel with those who want to destroy, dismiss and label the LGBTQ community as something other than Gods creation then my professor taught me and what I believe now is that it renders your claims of faith terribly suspect. Because you cannot find legitimate Scriptural support for that kind of narrow interpretation of morality. I chose not to denigrate Brother Graham, but I will challenge him to remember that Jesus first sermon began with good news to the poor. Theres no way to claim to be with Jesus and to not be with the poor.
On what role Charlottes faith community should play to bring systemic change to the city almost a year after the police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott:
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I think the faith community anywhere has a prophetic role to stand with, speak up with the poor, the marginalized, the stranger and to challenge injustice at the seats of power. We are not merely to be the chaplains of the society.
On what well see in Washington and in 25 state capitals during the first 40 days of the Poor Peoples campaign in 2018:
We will be having civil disobedience and direct action. It will happen simultaneously. The weeks (during the campaign) will be agenda-based. You will see people coming together at these capitals demanding that policy changes be made poor people, activists, clergy. "....(more)