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.
I know of pastors that have preached that AIDS is a curse from God (I don’t necessarily agree). But I know of no Christian church (or any other credibible institution) that offers that AIDS was “invented” to kill black people or that the US deserved to be attached on September 11, nor one that says it’s “candidate” (Obama) has some kind of social credibility over his opponent in the same party. Dr Wright’s rhetoric is clearly to create ill will and anger from the black community towards “rich white people” who are a proxy for white America in general. Sorry….Obama’s excuse doesn’t cut it (not even close), he disinvited Dr Wright to speak at the beginning of his campaign because he knew of Wright’s controverial nature. That’s evidence right there of Obama’s knowledge of his pastor’s nature. Nor does Wright’s “church’s” defense cut it. Wright’s rhetoric is indefensible, it’s divisive, spiteful and hateful. Obama’s got a lot of explaining to do and so far, it’s not working for him.
For all of those assailing Fox News in defense of Rev Wright, you don’t comment on the veracity of the report, the right or wrong of teaching hatred, or how divisive his sermons are; you merely “shoot the messenger”.
These folks remind me of those in the black community who rejoiced at the Not Guilty plea of OJ Simpson and justify the looting by blacks that are a fixture in news reporting following any natural disaster. It was unimportant that he killed two people and the evidence was overwhelming what was MOST important to these people was that a black man beat the white system. It is always the systems fault….lessons taught by the likes of Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, and Rev Wright.
Very Sad.
Obama resents his mother’s white race.
Hitler resented his mother’s Jewish race.
Obama will be the next Hitler if he becomes President and his message of hate will prevail.
Fox News need to be taken off the air.
This kind of hate is out of place in any context. It is worse then shameful the racism that blacks have endured earlier in this country and to be sure still endure to a much lesser extent today. Every class, race, religious affiliation endures some prejudice today although none as much as blacks and even American Indians have endured.
And prejudice exists in EVERY race, it is a flaw of human nature in some people. The reverend not only is guilty of spreading hate he is abysmally ignorant of American principles. He cannot separate the ideals of America put forth by the founding fathers (equality among others) with the flawed implementation of these ideals.
I cannot believe that Obama does not know his pastor’s views quite well and that he shares at least some of his pastor’s philosophy especially when taken together with his wife’s comments.
I could never vote for him, although I am an Independent and can and have voted both sides of the aisle. I could certainly vote for either a black man or a woman whose experience and philosophy merits the vote.
One thing no has mentioned is that Trinity United Church of Christ has 4 services where the Rev. Jeremiah Wright preaches different sermons at each service. Therefore, no one can prove that Obama was in the services that were in question. Even if Obama was in the church that day, he could have been leaving one service or waiting on another service to start. It’s time to get over this as religion and politics don’t mix so LET IT GO!! We have to view a person based on what he has to say as we have all been a part of organizations and churches where we didn’t agree with everything that was said during a service, meeting, etc. but ask yourself, did you leave the church or organization? NO, I can answer that for you. Once again the media and people who don’t know the real story has formed their opinions. I agree with Al Sharpton who said to go to Chicago and spend a couple of days at Trinity to see what it’s all about before making these statements. Have we forgotten that this IS supposed to be America where you have freedom of speech?
I have in the past been an Obama supporter. I am having mixed feeling about this situation. On one hand, I understand that Obama was not present for these sermons but then He knew that his Church gave a known racist a lifetime acheivement award. Also, the comments were not Christian remarks. African-American are not opressed. Look, at Obama, Oprah. They do not look like oppressed African-Americans. Everyone is their own person and you have to make lemonade with whatever lemons God gives you.
I feel so sorry for the poor white person that might have wandered into that church simply seeking God. Is there a sign on the front of the church “For Blacks Only”?? Whited people not welcomed…even though we as a congregation do not know you we will judge you by your skin color!!!
I feel that Mr. Wright’s comments have set back racial relations in the U.S. by 50 years. It is absolutely stunning to realize these anti-white sentiments exist among such a large congregation.
What do Mr. Wright’s comments have to do with the love of Jesus? I have a friend who happens to be a black preacher and is one of the most loving, Christian, inclusive people I know.
When Michelle Obama made her comments about just now being proud of being an American, I tried to somehow rationalize those comments in my mind, but if she has been hearing comments like these from the pew every week, then maybe she has absorbed the tenor of Mr. Wright’s sermons.
I am a mixed-race female raised in an impoverished family. It is not an candidate’s ethnicity or gender, but where they stand on issues that determines my voting preferences. Frankly, I’m tired of all the whining. I, as do many other Americans, have valid reasons to add my voice to those who have been maligned and mistreated. I simply choose to jump off the waaambulance and move on. If Americans really want to make the suffering of minorities an issue then we must consider more than just Black Americans. We must also consider Irish Americans, Asian Americans, German Americans, Polish Americans, Jewish Americans, Native Americans….etc. Until we value human life of every ethnicity, age, and gender we will accomplish little in uniting Americans. As long as we continue to place our individual rights above the common good, we will accomplish little in uniting Americans. Until we learn to sacrifice for future generations as our grandparents and great grandparents did, we will accomplish little in uniting Americans. Until we learn to value life above power and money we will accomplish little in uniting Americans. It is challenging to navigate through the rhetoric to find the truth in the political arena. We owe it to ourselves, our children, our nation, and our world to engage our brains and dig deeper than the charisma, the media, and the vague promises, to the facts, the records, the platforms, the issues. We live in a country where we still have the great privilege of casting our vote and being heard. I have lived in other countries. I have felt the sting of religious persecution. America is by far the best place to live.