Jeremiah's Complaint: Politics and the prophets of doom

http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0909-36.htm

On September 7, 2005, Bill Moyers gave an address to Union Theological Seminary entitled “9-11 and the sport of God” wherein he discussed the Jewish, Christian and Muslim prophetic traditions of evil raining down upon the corrupt nations of the world. Among other things, Mr. Moyers said,

“Let's go back to 9/11 four years ago. The ruins were still smoldering when the reverends Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell went on television to proclaim that the terrorist attacks were God's punishment of a corrupted America. They said the government had adopted the agenda "of the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians" not to mention the ACLU and People for the American Way.”

Rev. Wright, agree with him or not, delivered a number of sermons preaching within this tradition, showing that the right-wing fundamentalists have opposite numbers on the left whom MSM seldom publicizes. Consider that the Old Testament or Torah has many prophecies speaking of not only how Pharaoh will be laid low but of the devastation God is planning to bring down on the nations of Judah and Israel, the kingdoms of his own chosen people (see, e.g., Jeremiah 12 :10 “Many shepherds will ruin my vineyard and trample down my field. They will turn my pleasant field into a desolate wasteland, parched and desolate before me. The whole land will be laid waste because there is no one who cares. (NIV).” Read the entire chapter to get an even more extreme statement of how angry God is and what he plans to do about it. Back in those days, I doubt that you invited one of the prophets to your dinner party unless you wanted to get a non-PC earful of harsh and frightening predictions and judgments. I think it’s important for all of us to keep this in perspective when we condemn Sen. Obama or any candidate because his minister or supporter preaches hellfire and damnation from his or her socio-political point of view.