Redmond: Yeah. It makes great sense to me, Dr. Mohler, for your common understanding of the African-American church. If you move away from the popular health and wealth movement that characterizes so much of the African-American mega-church movement … the next largest groups that you are going to see are the remnants of the 1960s African-American or Black Liberation Theology and the message that you’re going to get is some sort of over-coming or getting out of oppression. We still need to be free, but not spiritual freedom. The message of social freedom and empowerment comes Sunday after Sunday after Sunday.

I would agree that Jeremiah Wright is right in the mainstream of the African-American culture of preaching—if you take away from that subset all of the health and wealth preaching that comes every Sunday.

Mohler: You’re suggesting that the first thing to get over is the fact that an awful lot of the African-American preachers—especially the names they might recognize like Creflo Dollar and T.D. Jakes—they’re really offering some form of the health and wealth and prosperity gospel. You’re not going to hear a blatantly political message from them.

Redmond: No you’re not. You’re going to get a new form of liberation theology. Their form of it is American prosperity—God is going to bless you materially. God is going to bless you with houses and cars and great health. God does not want you to suffer financially or physically—that’s their own form of liberation that overlooks an entire social context or anything institutional. Other than that what you’re going to get is this grand empowerment message that says, “We are great people and we need to overcome these structures that are trying to keep us down socially and economically.”

In addition to being one of Salem’s nationally syndicated radio talk show hosts, R. Albert Mohler, Jr. is the president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky  and recognized as one of America’s leading theologians and cultural commentators. For an extensive library of ministry resources from Dr. Mohler, including his daily blog, visit www.albertmohler.com.