The Blog Formerly Known As Vote '08

The past few days have seen new questions raised about Barack Obama’s pastor, the Reverend Jim Wright, a man who married Obama & his wife Michelle & baptized his two children. Wright has spewed some fiery - & anti-American - rhetoric from his pulpit. That rhetoric included a call for God to “Damn America” rather than “Bless America.”

Vote08 disagrees strongly with Wright’s views, but he is just as much an American as any other citizen & has a 1st-Amendment right to express those views, however hateful & wrong-headed they are.

Obama addressed the issue on Friday:

The pastor of my church, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, who recently preached his last sermon and is in the process of retiring, has touched off a firestorm over the last few days. He’s drawn attention as the result of some inflammatory and appalling remarks he made about our country, our politics, and my political opponents.

Let me say at the outset that I vehemently disagree and strongly condemn the statements that have been the subject of this controversy. I categorically denounce any statement that disparages our great country or serves to divide us from our allies. I also believe that words that degrade individuals have no place in our public dialogue, whether it’s on the campaign stump or in the pulpit. In sum, I reject outright the statements by Rev. Wright that are at issue.

Because these particular statements by Rev. Wright are so contrary to my own life and beliefs, a number of people have legitimately raised questions about the nature of my relationship with Rev. Wright and my membership in the church. Let me therefore provide some context.

As I have written about in my books, I first joined Trinity United Church of Christ nearly twenty years ago. I knew Rev. Wright as someone who served this nation with honor as a United States Marine, as a respected biblical scholar, and as someone who taught or lectured at seminaries across the country, from Union Theological Seminary to the University of Chicago. He also led a diverse congregation that was and still is a pillar of the South Side and the entire city of Chicago. It’s a congregation that does not merely preach social justice but acts it out each day, through ministries ranging from housing the homeless to reaching out to those with HIV/AIDS.

Most importantly, Rev. Wright preached the gospel of Jesus, a gospel on which I base my life. In other words, he has never been my political advisor; he’s been my pastor. And the sermons I heard him preach always related to our obligation to love God and one another, to work on behalf of the poor, and to seek justice at every turn.

The statements that Rev. Wright made that are the cause of this controversy were not statements I personally heard him preach while I sat in the pews of Trinity or heard him utter in private conversation. When these statements first came to my attention, it was at the beginning of my presidential campaign. I made it clear at the time that I strongly condemned his comments. But because Rev. Wright was on the verge of retirement, and because of my strong links to the Trinity faith community, where I married my wife and where my daughters were baptized, I did not think it appropriate to leave the church.

Let me repeat what I’ve said earlier. All of the statements that have been the subject of controversy are ones that I vehemently condemn. They in no way reflect my attitudes and directly contradict my profound love for this country.

With Rev. Wright’s retirement and the ascension of my new pastor, Rev. Otis Moss, III, Michelle and I look forward to continuing a relationship with a church that has done so much good. And while Rev. Wright’s statements have pained and angered me, I believe that Americans will judge me not on the basis of what someone else said, but on the basis of who I am and what I believe in; on my values, judgment and experience to be President of the United States.

Michelle Obama also distanced herself from Pastor Wright in a recent New Yorker profile :

“You know, your pastor is like your grandfather, right? There are plenty of things he says that I don’t agree with, that Barack doesn’t agree with…So, you know, you make choices, and you sort of-you can’t disown yourself from your family because they’ve got things wrong. You try to be a part of expanding the conversation.”

Despite all this, there’s still a good chance this remains an issue for some time.

Newsweek magazine has an article on what it’s really like inside this church.

Obama explained the issue more on Hannity & Colmes:

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John McCain has a few supporters from the pulpit whose views may be considered anti-American.

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Should McCain be held to the same scrutiny, & disavow any ties with this man?

Or what about this man, who’s also endorsed McCain, Pastor Rod Parsley? Here’s what he’s recently said, that can be construed as incendiary, responding to charges he violated tax code by advancing political causes from the pulpit:

The secular media never likes it when I say this, so let me say it twice. Man your battle stations! Ready your weapons! They say this rhetoric is so inciting. I came to incite a riot. … Man your battle stations. Ready your weapons. Lock and load–for the thirty, forty liberal pastors who filed against our ministry with the Internal Revenue Service. … Let the struggle begin. Let it begin in your heart today with a shout unto him who has called us to war–not only that, he has empowered you and I to win.

What do you think? Do you think an individual should be held accountable to what that individual’s spiritual leader says? Has your priest, pastor, rabbi or minister ever said something from the pulpit that you disagree with?

& a much larger issue worth debating: which is more important, the private faith of a president or the president’s views on how practicers of all faiths (including no faith at all) should be handled in the public square?

Over the coming week, will take a closer look at this issue, & delve into the private faiths - & thoughts on religion in public life - each of our recent presidents have had.

View this post as a conversation-starter. Now it’s your turn to speak.

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