Obama’s Church Fires Back
File; Barack Obama with Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. (AP Photo)
The Chicago church attended by Barack Obama is fighting back against media coverage of its controversial pastor, issuing a statement on Sunday, saying reports on the inflammatory remarks by Rev. Jeremiah Wright are an attempt to attack “the history of the African American church.”
“Reverend Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr.’s character is being assassinated in the public sphere because he has preached a social gospel on behalf of oppressed women, children and men in America and around the globe,” the leaders of Trinity United Church of Christ wrote Sunday in a statement distributed to the media.
Claiming that Wright’s 36 years as pastor of the church — the largest United Church of Christ congregation, with 8,000 members — is being demeaned, Rev. John H. Thomas, UCC general minister and president, said, “It saddens me to see news stories reporting such a caricature of a congregation that has been such a blessing to the UCC’s Wider Church mission … It’s time for us to say ‘No’ to these attacks and declare that we will not allow anyone to undermine or destroy the ministries of any of our congregations in order to serve their own narrow political or ideological ends.”
Neither Wright nor Obama was present at the church on Sunday, but all of talk news has been on the subject of the pastor, whose many sermons have been captured on video and replayed across television and the Internet over the past few weeks.
Some of the more flamboyant sermons have included statements saying that the U.S. created the AIDS virus to kill African Americans and that the United States was asking for the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks because it had supported “state-sponsored terrorism” against black South Africans and Palestinian
Obama’s campaign has tried to distance the candidate from his Wright, the man who coined the phrase “the audacity of hope” that became the title of Obama’s bestselling book.
Speaking in a conference call on Sunday, Obama’s advisers acknowledged that the pastor was supposed to appear at the announcement of Obama’s presidential campaign last year, but was cut from the program in part because they knew he was controversial and didn’t want him to become a target or distraction, both of which he nows appears to be.
But even as attention is focused on Obama, Hillary Clinton’s supporters have refrained from pouncing on the opportunity to link Obama to his 20-year-long spiritual adviser.
“I mean, as you know, I prefer Senator Clinton for a whole lot of reasons, but I don’t cast aspersions on Senator Obama for what somebody else said,” Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told “FOX News Sunday.”
Calling Trinity’s social justice and outreach programs “inclusive and global” Moss added that not much has changed since the era of Martin Luther King’s sermons for equality. He claimed that African American churches, “born out of the crucible of slavery and the legacy of prophetic African American preachers since slavery” continue to treat marginalized victims of social and economic injustices in the face of prejudice.
“This is an attack on the legacy of the African American Church which led and continues to lead the fight for human rights in America and around the world,” he said, adding “The African American Church community continues to face bomb threats, death threats, and their ministers’ characters are assassinated because they teach and preach prophetic social concerns for social justice. Sunday is still the most segregated hour in America.”
Click here to read the Trinity United Church of Christ statement.
FOX News’ Caroline Shively contributed to this report.
Obama+Wright+Hitler=Un-Holy Trinity United Church of Hate. You should have your church listed on the Southern Poverty Law Center’s list of Hate Groups. Jews are “bloodsuckers”, Jeremiah Wright Jr. In the film clip today I saw a girl from the congregation, wearing a long bright blue robe, holding her hand and arm out, reminisint of the Heil Hitler during Hitlers reign. Reverend Wright said, “Hitler was a great man”. 20 years, tapes while in college. “Satan is a Lier” and so is Obama. According to Larry Elder author, “Stupid Black Men”, Obama is Lying, not telling the truth. Time and time again we see politicians getting CAUGHT lying. Obama will be CAUGHT too. There will be undisputeable evidence that will show up just like those tapes of Reverend Wright. Someone out there has a tape of Obama and Michelle inthralled in a demonic like fit of ectasy during one of Wright’s HATE sermons. I understand the “Conservative Black Church”. I attended on in Inglewood, California. Dr.Fredrick Price’s church. Never did I realize that there were “Hitleresque” type Hate Church’s like that of Reverend Wright’s and Obama’s. I was completely in disbelief. The fact is Obama has had Reverend Wright’s SEED of HATE planted in him for 20 years now. Wright’s SEED of HATE is going to FULL BLOOM out of Obama sooner or later. Probably after he get’s elected. He did not want this to come out. He would not care AFTER he was elected President, but it is out now too early and he is going to be able to ESCAPE the TRUTH about the HATE SEED, there will be evidence. There is no way that Obama is capable of representing the entire population of the US with it’s diversity. He is lop sided. His Church is more Satanic that Christian. His congregation acts as though they are whailing in Pergatory, filled with Demonic possession and in great need of an Excorcism. Obama has this very same hate flooded regularly live and in person and via tapes of his 20 years of close relationship with Wright and the Church of Satan he belongs to.
Of course the church is firing back. How come then, does Obama have to defend this raving pastor. The truth is finally starting to come out and the “truth will set you free”. America, wake up and smell the coffee. Obama doesn’t want his records out anymore than he wants Rezco, his pastor, earmarks, or anything else to come out for that matter. Doesn’t he know by now if, it’s negative information, all he has to do is look sweet and repute, denounce or deny it and the media won’t bring it up again. What a plague on all of us, the mainstream media. FOX is turning out to be more fair in this election than nearly all the rest. Come on media, OB’s not on the level on the Rev. Wright issue or anything else it now seems. He only speaks the truth when he gets caught in a lie or half truth. How much more is lingering out there for Republicans to mo-up the floor with him if, and that’s a big “IF”, he gets the nomination. God help us if he does! Our country needs “US” to stand-up for her now. Our future lingers in the balance of the impending primaries & general election. We need a President to restore our standing at home and abroad. We need Hillary, not inexperience and a very questionable past, and certainly not Senator more of the same, McCain.
Who is Senator Obama trying to fool? Now he wants to do damage control by denouncing his pastor, but he still attends church there. I am SHOCKED that it took over a month for Senator Obama to finally say something about his pastor. This is the same pastor that Senator Obama supports through his regular tithing! The Senator’s family donates thousand of dollars to this church annually. That means he support his pastor’s RACIAL overtones and revolutionary statements of overthrowing America. Who does Senator Obama trying to fool and what is he trying to hide? Why is he openly, freely, and devotedly donated all that money to a cause if he doesn’t believe in it? Why is Senator Obama lying to America? This is as bad as Senator Obama still accepting all that money from his crooked land developer that he supposedly hasn’t seen nor talked to in years? HE’S JUST TRYING TO DO THIS BECAUSE HE NEEDS THE CHRISTIAN VOTE! HOW CAN HE CALL HIMSELF A CHRISTIAN WHEN HE SUPPORTS A CHURCH THAT OPENLY PREACHES THE DESTRUCTION OF AMERICA AND CHRISTIANITY! GO TO HIS CHURCH WEBSITE AND SEE FOR YOURSELF!
c’mon, when are we going to let go. All this type of comments by this preacher or any other individual does nothing except continually fuel the fires of racism. I am a white man who has never been racial. Any racial bone in my body has been brought about by the ignorance of people like this man and any other individual who keeps racism alive.
What Obama says about 20 years with Rev Wright simply doesnt cut it. Its what Obama “DOES” about it. He’s still a member of the church. Go figure.
Rev. Wright, this church and Obama can deny whatever they want…the video of Rev Wright, his connection with Louis F. and the whole racist, anti-white attitude says it all. Obama should step out of this elections, shame on you, Barrack Obama for trying to put your :Black America” into play. You are no MLK and you never will be. He believed in equality not superior beings. This attitude reminds me of Hitler. Shame on you and your church.
“Claiming that Wright’s 36 years as pastor of the church — the largest United Church of Christ congregation, with 8,000 members — is being demeaned, Rev. John H. Thomas, UCC general minister and president, said, “It saddens me to see news stories reporting such a caricature of a congregation that has been such a blessing to the UCC’s Wider Church mission … It’s time for us to say ‘No’ to these attacks and declare that we will not allow anyone to undermine or destroy the ministries of any of our congregations in order to serve their own narrow political or ideological ends.”
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H E L L O !
It “saddens” the Reverend Thomas that such a caricature of this congregation has been attacked??
Attacked??? Do you mean reported on Sir?
Do you mean that what we see in these videos simply did not take place?
Was it all made up??
Did this image of Jeremiah Wright ranting against white America and damning America simply go by your radar while you sought other offenses?
Sir, WE ARE Offended!!
WE are offended with a congregation of any peoples who can shout “AMEN” while a so called preacher is spewing so hate toward the rest of America.
Wright was a Marine!!! What did he miss in the Corp? Did he forget about Pearl Harbor?
What the hell was he teachimh his flock in the name of Christ?
I guess that all of his rants were taken “out of context” when he preached: God Damn America, AIDS was created to kill blacks by the gov’t, 9-11 was pay back for all of this country’s bad deeds…yada, yada, yada!
The guy is a sicko, and those that follow and believe his hate speech as sickos for buying that trash.
Sen. Obama’s choice to associate, and subsequent choice not to disassociate during twenty years of repulsive preaching, is very relevant to his campaign to be elected POTUS. In this same campaign the charge was made that Gov. Romney may let his church be his guide to running this country (although it had no effect on his running MA). Do we really want someone like the Rev. Wright having close and personal, even confidential access, to the POTUS? I know not. Would we want David Duke, as an example, to have access to the POTUS - no way.
Sen. Obama wants to be transracial and cites a history of good judgment. This transracial judgment that joins him with a church that puts Africa (which is a continent, not a country) before this country, it chooses and promotes only black issues, this ’scholarly reverend’ marries them, baptizes their children and assists in writing his autobiography (should be ‘The Audacity of My Associations) and on a day for mourning 9/11 he blasphemies our country (but not, apparently, his country). This active association with Rev. Wright’s teachings clearly demonstrates that his judgment is not the ‘Change’ that We the People can endorse or associate with. We have not known who Sen. Obama really is, until now. Likewise, we have not known what his ‘Change’ was to be, until now. Sen. Obama may consider himself ‘holy’, but his background clearly spells ‘holey’. Sen. Obama is trying to close the sale on himself, and a vote to purchase his product is only buying the Jonestown Kool-Aid. The side effects of his prescription for change will felt by all. Those that would support Sen. Obama are those that only hear, see and speak evil of our country - which they denounce by their monkey see monkey do personalities. As for associations and endorsements - Sen. McCain should firmly and unequivocally shun Pastor John Hagee and his repulsive teachings. Moreover, politics and religion should not and do not mix - one should not endorse the other; it’s oil and water.
Need I mention his disrespect for our Flag and Patriotism? Need I mention his wife suddenly and for the fist time in her adult life, being proud of this (note - not her) country? Need I mention the association of his church, and by proxy himself, to Louis Farrakhan (there are no ‘ministers’ in islam)? Sen. Obama’s choices of association - his wife, religious mentor and religious mentor by proxy, are of great concern. Think about these things before you vote in your primary and then your general election. This is the greatest country; the good far outweighs any bad and surpasses every other country in Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness - our Freedoms. Don’t settle for undefined false ‘change and unity’; demand Patriotism - love and respect for you and our country. This is not just a country - it is my country, your country and our way of life!
Absolutely unbelievable….