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Should we dismiss Rev. Jeremiah Wright out of hand?

By Scott Tibbs, May 2, 2008

Barack Hussein Obama's pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, has come under fire for many of the things he has said. Some of those statements, such as the conspiracy theory that AIDS was genetically engineered by the government, are ridiculous and merit both condemnation and (more importantly) ridicule. But one of the statements many flag waving patriots are most unhappy about is his statement "God Damn America". To my brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ, I ask a provocative question. If we are being Biblical, can we dismiss this statement out of hand? America has sinned against God. The 50 million unborn babies this nation has slaughtered under the banner of "reproductive choice" may in and of itself make God's judgment inevitable, but we've sinned in other ways as well.

Slavery is America's obvious public sin, as well as the treatment of American Indians, who are still living on the reservations we made for them. Then we have horribly inhumane Tuskegee experiments and segregation. Our nation has embraced idolatry on a nearly unprecedented scale while we don't even recognize we're doing it. We have an incredibly sexualized culture, but we've perverted and destroyed the gift of sexuality as God has given it to us. We despise authority of any kind. Everywhere you turn, America is in rebellion against God, and you don't think God will judge America? Why are we different from any other nation which has rebelled against God?

Are we loyal to our country, or are we loyal to God? I love my country, and I thank God that he has given me the blessing to live here. I believe this is by far the greatest nation on the planet, I will vehemently oppose attempts to give away our sovereignty, and I will defend the United States when that is called for. But we do not live in a perfect nation by any means, and we need to recognize that there are problems we need to fix and abominable sins we need to confess and repent. One of the easiest temptations for conservative evangelicals to fall into is to worship the United States of America, rather than the God where the she gets her authority and has received her blessings. I can't think of a better verse to warn America than this.

Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. - Proverbs 16:18