It's been forty years since we have heard redemptive language in the political arena. The last person to tell the truth in these terms was Martin Luther King, Jr. Like King, Obama did not flinch from addressing the lingering pain and anger of racism in America. He didn't merely recite a list of black grievances, but he gave expression to white frustrations and fears as well. Like King, Obama understands how questions of race are bound up with religion and religious identity. It's no accident that the current controversy arose in a congregation. Historically, the only institution in which blacks could express their rage--and their hope--has been within the confines of the sermon and the exuberant worship of the black church. There is no wall of separation between religion and politics in the black church or, outside the courts, anywhere else in American life.
Like King, Obama has an expansive and generous view of religion. God really is no respecter of skin color. The great themes of love, justice, and hope apply to all, not to a chosen few. Obama's message is disarmingly simple and historically vexing: Our God-given unity as a people is greater than the prejudices and fears that divide us.
--Richard Lischer is the James T. and Alice Mead Cleland Professor of Preaching at Duke Divinity School and the author of THE PREACHER KING: MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. AND THE WORD THAT MOVED AMERICA (Oxford University Press).
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