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.
How can a person who bases his campaign on change and UNITY possibly have anything to do with this church and their minister who spews venom and lies about our country and white people.
For us to believe that Obama has never been in church in the past 20 years while this hate monger said these things is to say the least , a joke.
How could anyone vote for a person who associates with this idiot?
***SORRY PASTOR - YOUR VIDEOS ARE THERE FOR THE VIEWING - YOU PREACHED IT, YOU SAID IT AND NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOU TRY TO GET OUT OF IT, YOU REPESENT ONE SECTOR OF THE WORLDS PEOPLE, YOU JUST HAPPEN TO BE IN AMERICA ABLE TO DO IT. IT IS OK - YOU ARE NOW FOUND OUT AND BELIEVE ME, YOUR LIFE WILL CHANGE WITHOUT DOUBT. YOU WILL SEE HOW OTHERS WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED RADICALISM TOWARD CERTAIN PEOPLES AND ISSUES LIKE YOU HAVE NEVER SEEN BEFORE.***All you have to do to preach is read the Bible, tell the people what Jesus said and teach them how to pray for their blessings. It is so easy to be a minister to masses. Jesus probably didn’t even wear shoes, I wonder the quality of your garments!!!
Hatred is as hatred does, regardless of the color of the hater’s skin. Obama has lost my vote. I cannot vote for a man that has spent his life following and taking advice from those who preach hate and exclusion.
Heaven forbid that a Black minister or anyone for that matter would exercise their constitutional right to dissent and criticize America. America remains in denial about it’s racist, sexist, militant, genocidal, profiteering (anything for a buck) history. Deja Vu Vietnam - when the “Love it or Leave it” red necks wrapped themselves in the flag and did what they could to oppress the dissent of the real Americans. Americans who cared enough about the ideals of our founding fathers to exercise their First Amendment rights. Americans who opposed the dirty war in Vietnam. Americans who marched and protested for civil rights for everyone and were beaten and sometimes killed by ignorant racists. American women who were beaten and jailed for having the gall to demand the right to vote. I just wish Obama or Clinton or McCain would stand up and say it like it was and still is. Much of White America is hateful, sexist and racist. Too many Americans are still hateful, sexist and racist.
America is the number one arms merchant in the world. “Collateral damage” is just a euphemism for killing innocent people. Our military does engage in “state sponsored terrorism” either directly or indirectly through our proxies (e.g., Israel, or pick a dictatorship ally of America). If you don’t believe it, then get off your couch and go to Iraq, East Timor. or Israel and see for yourself.
Our not so lily white history of discrimination and violence is a factor in this election. It’s ugly, but it will continue so long as we deny its existence.
The guy’s an ignorant nut job.
Barack Obama has called this “pastor” his spiritual mentor and has been a member of this church for twenty years. There is absolutely NO WAY he didn’t 1) know the pastors beliefs and 2) agree with them.
Think about your own church and pastors views. Could you sit under his teaching and preaching for twenty years, and go as far as publicly calling him your “spiritual mentor” without having the same views? I sure couldn’t do it and I don’t think anyone else could either.
Someone is your “spiritual mentor” because you want to follow them and their beliefs, not because you want to learn to disagree with them.
The idea that he believes people are stupid enough to believe he didn’t know his pastors nut job beliefs and didn’t agree with them is not only not believable it shows his contempt for the intelligence level of his supporters and American voters.
If he were alive I guess Adolph Hitler should blame the Media as well, after all wasn’t he just defending the poor oppressed Nazis as well ???
LOLOLOL
Both Hitler and Mr Wright do have one thing in common though, a deep Anti Semitic hatred.
Obama is toast. He might as well pack his bags now. This evil minister that preaches hate and racism, is well known to those that attend that church, especially ones that have been there for twenty years. This scandal about Obama’s church shows that Obama himself either agreed with the man or used horrific judgment in attending that church.
I have always voted democrat, and I am supporting Hillary, but if Obama is anywhere on that ticket, I will vote for McCain.
Geri
Wright and Obama look a lot alike. Hmmm.
I am a Republican and as big a conservative as you will find. I think to hold Obama responsible for words and or actions of his pastor is absolutely ridiculous. I am Roman Catholic, should I be responsible for the views or opinions of my priest? I think not
Have you noticed the irony of millionaire blacks raving about the slavery of their ancestors without which history they themselves would be living in a mud hut in Africa wondering where their next meal is coming from? How about a little critical thinking in place of emotional knee-jerks!
And FoxNews, please proofread your on-line articles - this one has at least two glaring typos. When you tell the truth (and you do) please don’t distract the reader with brainless blunders. O’Reilly would give you detention!
God Bless You all at FoxNews,
Nancy
Weatherford, TX