The Theodicy of Barack Obama's Eulogy for Rev. Clementa Pinckney
Christian Worship
Why does God allow evil to prevail? On June 17, 2015, Dylann Roof, a 21-year-old white male, entered the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, and was welcomed into a prayer service that had already begun. At the end of the service Dylann stood, spoke his intentions, and then shot and killed nine members of that church, including Rev. Clementa Pinckney—while they were praying. He aimed his gun at one more but had no more bullets, so he turned and left the bloody scene without remorse. How were the members of that church, any church, supposed to make sense of such an atrocity? Much the same way they had for the centuries of horrific oppression they had already endured.
Nine short days later, Barack Obama, the sitting president at the time of the shooting, delivered a eulogy1 encompassing the rich traditions of the Black Church and their struggle with evil. The eulogy blends aspects of Irenaean theodicy with an anti-theodicy of mystery to advocate for a practical theodicy, i.e., actions to sustain us all in these violent and troubling times. This essay will first explore Obama’s faith and his relationship to the Black Church. I will then expound on the eulogy’s text to understand its possible intentions of theodicy. Finally, I will examine what this address meant to the millions of Americans who watched the eulogy on TV.
Barack Obama had much in common with the millions of Americans watching that day. Like many of them, Barack Obama was not raised as a Christian, or in any religious tradition for that matter; yet his mother had instilled in him an extremely high regard for relational justice at all levels; personal, local, national, and international. He did not become a Christian until, as an adult, he worked with Black churches to organize social justice operations and saw the Word manifested in their lives. The Black Church, historically, and out of need, has provided more than just spiritual care; it had to support the whole person including political, economic, and social support. It was in that context that Barack Obama was able to put his ideals to work within a spiritual setting. After a time, he realized his calling to use his whole person, his gifts and passions, for God and was baptized at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago.2 Based on this history of faith, it seems that Barack Obama advocates a practical theodicy, one that acknowledges suffering but does not blame God or attempt to explain the why of evil. Instead, he very practically calls the community to action to resist and change.
Before reading this eulogy, I did not know that Rev. Pinkney was not only a preacher. He was also a politician serving South Carolina from 1997 to 2015, when he was slain, as a congressman and senator. It makes sense then that Obama would choose to deliver his eulogy. He and Rev. Pinckney were cut from the same cloth; they are both devout Christians and politicians.
The eulogy was delivered at 2:49 pm at the TD Arena at the College of Charleston in South Carolina. President Obama began with, “Giving all praise and honor to God” (Obama 1). Then, in response to the evil that the President described as a violent act meant to terrorize and oppress, he addressed the mystery of suffering and evil, “Oh, but God works in mysterious ways. God has different ideas” (Obama 3). Many Christians say that God works in mysterious ways. Though not directly taken from scripture, the saying does reflect a faith that understands that God’s thoughts are beyond our understanding. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord” (Isaiah 55:8).3
But it was not why God allows evil that prompted that quote. President Obama, having been moved by the forgiveness extended toward the murderer, could only think of one word to describe what was happening. Grace. Amazing grace. He brought up the hymn of the same name that was written by John Newton, a former slave ship captain,4 and spoke its lyrics aloud. “Amazing grace! How sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now I’m found; was blind but now I see” (Obama 3). This hymn is based on two parables of Jesus, the lost sheep (Luke 15:4-7) and the lost coin (Luke 15:8–10). It also famously includes the miracle he performed when healing the blind man who had been blind from birth. When the Pharisees questioned the formerly blind man, he answered, “I do not know whether he [Jesus] is a sinner. One thing I do know, though I was blind, now I see” (John 9:25).
President Obama was blind but could now see for his eyes had been opened to see the mystery of forgiveness. There is much that scripture has to teach us about the mystery of forgiveness. Immediately following the Lord’s Prayer, we have specific instructions straight from Jesus’s mouth to forgive. “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matthew 6:14-15). Yet even those who walked with him were stunned by his command to forgive, even with repentance. “The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith!’” (Luke 17:5). Radical forgiveness is the result of radical faith, the kind of faith Jesus had when he hung on the cross and said, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34a). Two days after that horrific shooting, family members came in tremendous faith to Dylann Roof’s hearing with mercy and forgiveness on their lips that shook the earth and ripped open the sky.
It was indeed a mystery; not many could understand it. How could that church, those members, and afflicted families possibly forgive the horrendous actions of Dylann Roof? He had taken away nine of their beloved members, including their pastor, leader, and benefactor. That young man murdered innocent people while they were praying! Surely, President Obama’s heart was moved to action by the forgiveness and grace that was extended to a terrorist by a wounded congregation. He saw God’s grace in the ability of the people to forgive.
But to what end was this radical forgiveness? President Obama answers this question as he enters into an Irenaean-like discourse describing what he imagined this amazing grace of forgiveness was for. He suggested that evil is allowed because we need to learn and grow as individuals, communities, and nations. “As a nation, out of this terrible tragedy, God has visited grace upon us, for he has allowed us to see where we’ve been blind” (Obama 3). He even pointed out some of the positive responses that had been prompted by the tragedy, particularly Nikki Haley’s removal of the Confederate Flag from the South Carolina State House. “We see that now” (Obama 3). Haley’s eyes had been opened to how so many were negatively affected by the flying of Confederate colors and what remembrance it brought to mind.
Pivoting into a practical anti-theodicy, President Obama said that the grace lessons are not only for the comfort of our souls but they are also meant to generate concern and motivate action. He calls for our resistance to evil. “But I don’t think God wants us to stop there. For too long, we’ve been blind to the way past injustices continue to shape the present” (Obama 4). The next few sentences, beginning with “Perhaps we see that now” (Obama 4), bring up multiple ways we can see how racial injustice has shaped and is shaping our present. But, as President Obama proceeds, the action that he calls us to is not for improving race relations. “None of us can or expect a transformation in race relations overnight” (Obama 4). The action he calls us to is to rally together once more to create legislative policies to reduce the occurrence of gun violence.
Before shifting into his closing remarks, President Obama reiterates what brought him there to speak in the first place, the amazing grace of the family and church members in their overwhelmingly radical forgiveness. “It would be a refutation of the forgiveness expressed by those families if we merely slipped into old habits” (Obama 5). And a few sentences later, he segued into the most memorable part of his speech by breaking into song. He sang “Amazing Grace” in a slow rhythmic cadence reminiscent of a traditional Black preacher. After the first line, others with him stood up and joined him in singing the remaining lines of the first stanza. He ended the eulogy with the closing phase that all successful politicians from the 21st century use, but with a slight twist that matched his theme: “May God continue to shed His grace on the United States of America” (Obama 6). Did Barack Obama, the politician, believe people would be moved to finally address gun violence with serious legislation? I don’t know. But I am sure he had hoped that out of the millions watching, someone, somewhere would be moved to respond in some practical way to resist this evil and others like it that were sure to follow.
Some of the millions moved to action were also African American Christians like Erica Williams who responded by writing an opinion piece for Time.5 She acknowledged that the eulogy given by President Obama gave America a chance to attend Black church. But the reason she wrote the opinion was not to comment on his content or style; she wanted to let America know that the Black church was much more than emotional theatrics and listed five things America may learn from the Black church. Fifth on the list was an example representing practical theodicy: “How to fight a righteous fight,” where she noted “like Rev. Clementa Pinkney did, work every day to combat injustice armed with faith and sharp, strategic action. From time immemorial, the black church has known how to fight and has been inherently activist and political, even in its very formation.”6 Like President Obama, Williams sees the Black church as a pragmatic religious organization that is determined to see justice done.
Also among the millions was a Jewish citizen, Barry Glassner, who published an opinion in the Chronicle of Higher Learning,7 an independent news source for academia. He wrote that he was confused by President Obama’s use of the word grace. Rather than sulking in anger, his ignorance triggered a quest to understand the theodicy, or anti-theodicy, being conveyed by the president’s words (without using the word theodicy, of course). Was it Irenaean theodicy? “Is President Obama saying, I wondered, that grace caused this terrible event?”8 He was not convinced that it was. Perhaps it was something more practical. “Or maybe he’s saying that this occurred so that we as a people would be moved to take positive action in new ways?”9 He just could not understand because his Judean background excluded the concept of grace. But after his study, he was apt to report that it was not necessary to be of the Christian faith to benefit from grace and was grateful that President Obama had introduced him to the concept via his powerful speech.
Also, among the millions affected by the president’s powerful speech, was an atheist, A. D. Coleman, who wrote a resonating rebuke in The Humanist10 that called for reason, not religion. Though he was very proud of what President Obama had done, he wished the president had not done it. He felt that Obama had risen to the moment, as no one else but him could have done, believer or not. He was so pleased with President Obama’s response that he compared it to an impossible like-manner response from any of the Republicans currently holding public office. But he would rather it not be necessary to stoke the spiritual fires in most Americans. “The short-term ‘healing’ effected by Obama’s sermonizing will only have the long-term consequence of reinforcing faith-based irrationality throughout Christendom, and I consider that a bad thing.”11 Coleman believes faith is not the solution, but the problem, especially in what he perceived was an Irenaean theodicy. “Because I have no respect for the belief system on which he called for his rationalization of Dylann Roof’s murderous rage and its outcome.”12 He said this in response to Obama claiming that God works in mysterious ways. Coleman believes reason is the best way to help others move forward, especially when everyone is watching.
Only a few were watching on June 17, 2015, when Dylann Roof, who had hoped to start a race war, entered the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, and shot and killed in cold blood, nine good, God-fearing people. Cynthia Hurd. Susie Jackson. Ethel Lance. DePayne Middleton-Doctor. Tywanza Sanders. Daniel L. Simmons. Sharonda Coleman-Singleton. Myra Thompson. And Rev. Clementa Pinkney. The church responded, not like Roof had expected, but like the historic Black church they descended from, they responded peacefully in forgiveness and not violence, prompting President Barack Obama to deliver a eulogy that embraced the rich traditions of the Black church and their significant struggle with evil. His eulogy blended the anti-theodicy of mystery with Irenaean theodicy to advocate for a practical anti-theodicy, i.e., vital actions to take, such as seeing the world through unblinded eyes, to help us through these violent and troubling times. Barack Obama’s faith and his relationship with the Black church gave ample explanation as to why he would deliver such a speech that affected not only the members of Emanuel A.M.E. Church but millions of Americans watching on TV.
Out of the millions, I too was watching, and like everyone else, was moved by the singing of “Amazing Grace.” I stood up to my feet while tears streamed down my face. Why does God allow evil to prevail? I was raised in the Black church. I came to Christ in the Black church. It is then not unusual that my theodicy was formed by the traditions of the historic Black church. There is mystery, oh, such wonderful mystery. Who can understand God? His ways are truly mysterious. Yet, like Augustine, I believe humans are inclined to self-centeredness and self-protection that, too often, leads to violence. But unlike Augustine, I do not believe it is because the fall in the Garden of Eden led to an inherited human failure. The fall left us vulnerable in a world defined by danger and lack. That belief leans my theodicy towards Irenaean, because the only way, it seems, that humans can be motivated to resist evil, is to experience, or witness, the trauma of our neglect for caring for each other the way we are supposed to. And so, I am also practical, because there is hope in the power of the resurrected Christ to transform us into organized resistance. We can join together in communities of worship to lament and pray. We can repent and be forgiven for our selfishness while opposing the continued self-centeredness of others. We can be merciful and forgive the evil that comes against us. For if we do, perhaps the amazing grace released from our radical forgiveness will move presidents to speak out on our behalf.
Barack Obama, “Eulogy at the Funeral Service for Pastor Clementa C. Pinckney of the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina,” Daily Compilation of Presidential Documents, June 26, 2015, 1–6, https://research-ebsco-com.ezproxy.pts.edu:2443/linkprocessor/plink?id=17513feb-4c42-3f24-83fb-c9bbe7c4284f. All successive citations are in-text.
Barack Obama, “The Audacity of Hope,” Crown Publishing Group, New York, 2006, 195-226.
All bible references are from The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version, Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989.
John Newton, “Amazing Grace how Sweet the Sound,” Hymnary, https://hymnary.org/text/amazing_grace_how_sweet_the_sound.
Erica Williams Simon, “5 Lessons America Can Learn From Black Churches,” Time.Com, June 30, 2015, N.PAG, https://research-ebsco-com.ezproxy.pts.edu:2443/linkprocessor/plink?id=3ffec907-e8a8-3757-bac2-ebe9ce182a23.
5 Lessons America Can Learn From Black Churches.
Barry Glassner, “The Uses of Ignorance,” Chronicle of Higher Education 62, no. 9 (October 30, 2015): 18, https://research-ebsco-com.ezproxy.pts.edu:2443/linkprocessor/plink?id=16ca2c6e-7509-30e5-b8c9-be87a6899c3c.
The Uses of Ignorance.
The Uses of Ignorance.
A.D. Coleman, “POTUS at the Bully Pulpit,” Humanist 75, no. 5 (September 1, 2015): 6–7, https://research-ebsco-com.ezproxy.pts.edu:2443/linkprocessor/plink?id=75245207-765d-3491-bcca-a5c4fe7d3344.
POTUS at the Bully Pulpit.
POTUS at the Bully Pulpit.
Great essay! Makes me want to go back through my seminary papers (I only finished 13 credits 😬) to see if there are any gems like this in there.