In Christ vs In the World

Father Michael Pfleger makes me sad. He makes me sad because I know he has access to the knowledge and tradition of the Church, but it doesn't sound like he's sharing it. It sounds like he's sharing something else.

So these racist, black "church" diatribes sound atrocity stories. The Jews had atrocity stories about the Romans; in modern day times Muslims have atrocity stories, many of which quite obviously never happened, about Israel. Atrocity stories spread like wildfire within communities. Ultimately, what these stories do is provide a sense of justification; after all, if your enemy is killing your babies, or torturing small woodland creatures, surely whatever sins you commit in the midst of being oppressed don't count.

But Christ met the message of the atrocity story, not with condemnation of the Romans, but with the firm message to the the Jews to repent:
(Luke 13)

1Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2Jesus answered, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? 3I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. 4Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish."