More preaching about chastity needed
In mid-March, the hate-filled talk of Barack Obama’s pastor received considerable publicity—both pro and con. A Cincinnati preacher who has frequently been in the headlines criticized the critics of Obama and his pastor. The following is John’s letter to the editor that was published on Saturday, March 22, in the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Editor:
The comments by Rev. Damon Lynch Jr. about Barack Obama’s pastor were illuminating. Critics “don’t understand the black experience in this country or the black church.” Perhaps, but I experienced ugly anti-Catholicism both in my Army days and in my working career. Yes, I was well behind the wave of widespread overt anti-Catholicism, but I have never heard of Catholic priests using their pulpits to wage verbal war on the anti-Catholics.
Preachers need to focus on chastity. The greatest source of new poverty is the family headed by a single woman with children. The out of wedlock birth rate for African-Americans is 70% nationwide and it is probably at least 95% in ghetto areas. And that’s after all the free contraception and low-cost abortion that their liberal helpers have made available. Some black leaders have pointed this out in a challenging way, but is the challenge of chastity being preached in the black churches? If not, isn’t it time for a change? One would think that “change-man” Obama would have long ago switched to a church that was making such a change. That he hasn’t says he really isn’t an agent of change where it can really help.
—John F. Kippley
John F. Kippley
Sex and the Marriage Covenant: A Basis for Morality (Ignatius)
Natural Family Planning: available at www.NFPandmore.org