It is especially stunning that the pastor of a presidential candidate would continue to make himself the center of political controversy. In Dallas, he spoke for 45 minutes about his “public crucifixion.” During the Bill Moyers interview on the Public Broadcasting Service and in other recent appearances, he has repeated the comments that got him in trouble originally. He praised Louis Farrakhan, leader of the radical group, Nation of Islam, as one of the great leaders of the 21st century; he repeated his accusation that the U.S. spread AIDS to blacks and that U.S. “militarism” is “terrorism.” He declared that the U.S. was “capable of doing anything.” In fact, he called the U.S.A., the U.S. of K.K.K.A. He wrote an entire sermon on the thesis, “God [D--n] America.”

When Barack Obama tried to distance himself from such ranting, Mr. Wright implied that his former parishioner denounced him for political reasons. This week, Mr. Wright spoke out again –– this time creating a media circus in a major national arena –– just as the original furor over his sermons was somewhat receding from public discourse.

In his remarks at the National Press Club, Mr. Wright accused those who criticize him of not understanding the black church or the African American spiritual traditions. He defended his tirades –– that are solidly rooted in the Marxist Liberation Theology that focuses on class struggle and economic determinism and calls for the “destruction” of the “white enemy” –– as an essential aspect of the black religious experience.

Plainly, Mr. Wright distorts Christianity. In Christ, there is no black or white. There is only one way of salvation in the gospel and that is through Christ and Him crucified. The Scriptures are clear that “doing good” is not enough; the heart must be in “right accord” and we do the right thing because our faith requires it of us, not to earn our way into someone’s good graces.

The Scriptures are clear about the responsibilities of Christian ministers: Saint Paul in I Corinthians 9:16 in reference to the high calling of the preacher states, “Woe is me, if I preach not the gospel.” A preacher’s first and most compelling responsibility is to preach the gospel –– which does not mean merely teaching a doctrine and certainly does not mean stirring up negative emotions and producing destructive behavior and attitudes –– it means proclaiming Jesus Christ in words and actions. Jesus Christ described himself as “the same yesterday, today and forever.” So, the black church is not different from any other church. All Christians are called to be instruments of Christ’s presence and to be “salt and light” in the world; in other words, to spread truth and to call for repentance so that Christ can forgive and transform those who believe.