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.
Reverend Jeremiah Wright is a HUGE CONCERN for the American People that are deciding their vote.
Reverend Jeremiah Wright is a HUGE CONCERN for the American People!
I think that the pastor should be arrested for preaching hate speach to the people especially if they are federally funded in anyway. He is digusting…..poor,poor him!
Fox News (and the entire media) is literally “losing it.” Witness: Chris Wallace rants on Fox News Sunday regarding Senator Obama and his preacher during an interview with Senators Dodd and Schumer. Question: Is Fox News (and the entire media) besides itself because it is slowly realizing that it is losing control over public opinion and over the outcome of elections? How about this nefarious bunch spending constructive time to forcefully discuss its hypocritical role and its unholy allegiance to known and unknown patrons in order to manipulate U.S. and world politics? If this will not suffice to fill the appetite for “fixed news,” what about discussing at length the multiple and gigantic problems currently facing the U.S?
i believe that the pulpit’s ministry is to preach the word to the saved and the unsaved. the gospel of Jesus Christ and not to us curse words as this pastor - was he called by God?- is doing. the pulpit is not a forum to condone the president or the government. what does monica and bill clinton have to do with saving that poor soul? we need to realize that yes we are in a crisis in this country . but all we could do is to pray to JESUS to guide the heads of state. we are in the richest countries of the world - look at the benefits that we have here. we are not in poverty stricken africa… we are not in iraq or iran.
This one thing I do know and if you read the KJV Bible you will find that “blood may definitely be on your hands.”
May God have mercery on Mr. Wright, I will not even call him a preacher. He is a false prophet if anything at all. Someday he will stand before God and have to answer for the hate he is demonstating toward whites. Now lets take him back a ways and teach him a little history. His own people sold blacks into slavery. To add to this the whites of today had nothing to do with what happen a 100 years ago.
In fact if he checks his hostory he will find that the whites in the north faught to free those blacks that where sold into slavery.
Now Mr. Wright, repent and give your heart to God.
wright should be saying “GOD BLESS AMERICA” for being fortunate enough to live in a country that will not jail, or censor, or kill him for his stupid comments. Just because his comments are not illegal, he shouldn’t be surprised for the backlash. he needs to realize that he has to take responsibility for his words. Could that be the problem why his congregation thinks everyone is out to get him–It’s all about ACCOUNTABILITY stupid!!!
People should be judged on their own character, not on someone elses! Obama did not make any of those comments, and he said he disagrees with them! You people were just looking for somthing to discredit him. If you were juged on the merits of your own drunk, crackhead, redneck sister, do you think that would be fair? Of course not! But does that mean that you are going to dissown her? That is just stupid. This Country is so racist and stupid! We will fall; it only a matter of time. A country of idiots!
What I don’t understand is why the blacks think they are oppressed? If their parents would stay together and the men of the families would instill ambition and goals in their children’s lives they wouldn’t be oppressed. They are their own worse enemies. Black women have baby after babies with no means of support. They are not the exception to the rule but most black women are content to live on welfare and keep having babies. No wonder they feel oppressed but don’t blame me or my race for their inability to make something of themselves. I came up in foster homes, I applied myself, got OJT in a hospital setting (medical transcription) and helped to support my family. I NEVER took welfare and never expected anyone else to support me but my husband. He also had a bad childhood but supported himself since he was 13 by selling handmade wallets to tourists. Where there is a will there is a way. I’m sick of hearing all the nonsense like Mr. Wright voices. The black people are their own oppressors. Mr. Obama says he has disdain for his white relatives. Maybe he would’nt be where he is today if they hadn’t raised him. I don’t care what color anyone is, it’s their character and how they lead their lives. I’m tired of hearing them complain about imagined wrongs. They don’t have a market on bad childhoods, bad families, but you suck it up and do the best you can. Those of you who have never served your Country, have no right to make disparaging remarks about Her. If you are black, get some backbone and show white america you have brains, not just brawn. Go to http://www.ATLAH.org.and see what Rev. Manning has to say. Bill Cosby was one of the first to say, the problems you have are your own making. Have some morals, men take care of your wives and children. YOUR ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THEM and what they are and become, not the white race. You have as many opportunities that I had so use them. Get educated and then become a person of pride for who and what you are. Stop being a victim you are better than that. God Bless all my black brothers and sisters and anyof you who are different from me but just as valuable as I am. Martin Luther King said it best, Judge a man by his character not the color of his skin. Mr. Wright should read all of Dr. King’s I have a dream. Dr. King was revered. He was human and made mistakes like we all do but he was a great man, not a great black man but a great American man.
Why do Obamas’ Church keep calling Blacks..African Blacks? What about Irish Whites, German Whites, English Whites etc. I have been to many Churches with Black/White Pastors. They
preached love thy neighbor, judge not lest thy be judged. Where confusion is at God is not
there. God is not an author of confusion.