The fact is that Rev Wright is not back, he never left. It always upsets White folk when they see a Black preacher in a fancy house. driving a fancy car. Preachers are supposed to be like Jesus, poor and humble. Black people are not supposed to be rich: it raises suspicions when one is spotted that is not some sort of musician or ballplayer.
But the truth is that there is a huge contradiction in the US between Christianity and capitalism. Jesus told all his listeners to become disciples, to "give all they had to the poor, and follow me". Of course, it is rather fortunate that everyone did not do this, because if they had, they would all have starved to death, barring, of course, some sort of major miracle. So the goal of a proper and successful Christian would be to be leading an army of destitute people about the countryside or from town to town, preaching here and expanding the flock.
NOT an American ideal. A swarm of destitute people is not something any Americans considers to be desirable. Look what happens when one middle class person suggests that "spreading the wealth around" might be a GOOD thing: not even bankrupt plumbers want to hear about it.
The ideal of capitalism is to own stuff: he who dies with the most toys, wins. This is the opposite of Christianity. But the one thing that Americans allow is that we allow preachers to do pretty much what they want with the money they receive, be it cash, checks or property: they make out their own taxes, and the government has them on a very lax honor system. Rev. Wright is a piker compared to Father Divine, Elisha Muhammad, Louis Farrakhan or Adam Clayton Powell, and they, in turn are pikers compared to Oral Roberts, Pat Roberson or the rest of the Trinity Broadcast preachers. And the champions of all are entire sects: the Witnesses, the Assemblies, the Temples, the Tabernacles, the Scientologists and the Mormons. And there are thousands of Baptist freelancers, and of course, the Holy Father of the Holy Mother Church himself. And the IRS tends to ignore them all: they can declare their income to be whatever they wish: they can claim that their mansion is a parsonage that they are required to live in, and non-taxable. They can claim that their Bentley is needed to visit the poor of body and spirit and also deductible, and unless some other crime occurs, the government ignores it all.
There was that flap when Tammy Bakker and her hubby went bankrupt and some parishioner-investors filed suit, and there was a preacher's wife who chose to burn down the mansion where some Tampa preacher was diddling his mistress, and the law had to get involved, and the newspapers tagged along. And who can ever forget Jimmy Swaggert and all those tears?
But until the IRS gets serious with the big guys, which will never happen, you will have to just put up with the odd flashy Black preacher.
