Rhetoric Race and Religion
A recent Gallup poll notes that “a combined 75% [of Americans] believe the Bible is in some way connected to God”; 28% believe that the Bible should be taken literally, and about half understand and interpret the Bible as the inspired Word of God. But to what extent do preachers see the whole Bible—all thirty-thousand-plus verses—as the inerrant or inspired Word of God?
We’re all familiar with the humorous argument that if we’re prepared to use the Bible to condemn homosexuality we’ll have to stop eating lobster too, so clearly some portions of the Bible have been abandoned. A recent event, however, highlights the fact that biblical images of harlotry and its relationship to patriarchy remain firmly in place.
Rev. Dr. Jamal-Harrison Bryant, the pastor of Empowerment Temple AME in Baltimore, Maryland has recently found himself on the homiletical hot-seat as his direct quote of the Chris Brown song made its way into a sermon he preached entitled “I’m My Enemy’s Worst Nightmare” with a scripture text of Matthew 27:19. Rev. Bryant goes through his usual homiletic approach opening with social commentary before getting to the crux of his theological argument. However, his social commentary in this sermon engaged in the worst that Christian thought from the black religious context has to offer.
Rev. Bryant broached the subject of gender and sexuality like a proverbial bull in a china shop. With quoted statistics that could have used some serious academic support, Bryant worked in heavy generalizations about gender roles that reeked of Christian patriarchy and asserted that there are more black lesbian girls now than there are black gay boys because “the Enemy had now shifted its attack toward black girls.” He referred to some black men attending church as “sanctified sissies.”
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