Barack Obama's latest campaign challenge is the recent revelation of tapes showing Obama's pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, engaged in strong anti-American and otherwise inflammatory rants during some of his sermons over the past few years.
"God damn America," rails Rev. Wright on tape. And it goes downhill from there.
I am a staunch supporter of freedom of speech, so why do I find these comments inappropriate? The answer is simple: Because they were said from the pulpit.
This is a lesson in the consequences of mixing religion and politics. We should have already learned those lessons from the other side, with the rise to political power of the so-called "religious right" over the past decade. Preaching politics from the pulpit is wrong no matter which side of the political fence you're on.
This nation's founding fathers were well aware of the problems that can arise when you mix politics and religion, and they deliberately worked to separate the two, for the preservation of both.
[...] 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.
That is good enough for me. After all, a church is more than just its pastor -- it's a community. And, when you have a 20-year history with a community, your ties to that community transcend the occasional off-color remark by one church leader.
I know very few churchgoers who will agree 100% with every word of every sermon. Don't Obama's critics feel the same way, or are they mindless sheep who blindly and unquestioningly accept, and live by, every word that they hear from the pulpit of their choice?
Now, in closing, here is the good news: With these questions about Obama's brand of Christianity, maybe the right wing (and the Hillary campaign) will have to stop suggesting that Obama is a Muslim.
http://www.maryshawonline.com
Mary Shaw is a Philadelphia-based writer and activist, with a focus on politics, human rights, and social justice. She is a former Philadelphia Area Coordinator for the Nobel-Prize-winning human rights group Amnesty International, and her views appear regularly in a variety of newspapers, magazines, and websites. Note that the ideas expressed here are the author's own, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Amnesty International or any other organization with which she may be associated.
1. I don't see a problem with the particular remarks referenced. The only ones I think questionable are the ones comparing Obama and Clinton, since they skate awfully close to the legal 501(c)(3) line. The Gospel is not partisan, but it does have profound political implications. Yesterday was Palm Sunday, when Christians commemorate Jesus' ride into Jerusalem with people hailing him as a king, a direct confrontation with Roman rule. When he got there, he overturned the tables of the money changers, hardly the act of someone who believes that religous leaders should keep out of the public arena and be safely "religious." And you might try reading the Old Testament prophets, including Wright's namesake Jeremiah. They said some very strong things against those holding power. It's a fallacy that Christianity should just be about being nice and what happens after death. It should be prophetic.
2. Wright was well known for controversial prophetic statements. Obama worshipped at his church for 17 years. For him to claim ignorance of the way Wright speaks is just not credible. Obama is a craven, opportunistic politician. His response to criticism of his pastor that had the potential of being politically disadvantageous for Obama's outsize ambitions was to throw his longtime pastor under the train. Obama's statement is despicable. We don't need another politician of his ilk in the White House. Obama is completely lacking in political courage.
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Bill Samuel (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 227 comments)
on Monday, March 17, 2008 at 1:24:32 PM
Instead of throwing the preacher under the train, if Obama did not agree with the fella's remarks, he should have left his church years ago. His staying in the church and putting Wright on his campaign and naming a book after one of his sermons, suggest to me that he agrees with Wright. I no longer trust Obama. His race for the nomination as well as his run for the White House is effectively DONE. We should nominate Hillary--looks like now she has the best shot at beating McCain.
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Merylr (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 18 comments)
on Monday, March 17, 2008 at 11:13:20 PM
You wrote: "I am a staunch supporter of freedom of speech, so why do I find these comments inappropriate?"
His freedom of speech is not contingent upon whether or not you or anyone else finds his comments approrpriate or inappropriate. That's the whole point of freedom of speech. It's not to protect the speech that people like, it's to protect the speech that people don't like.
Now, as to the rest of the paragraph, you're right: he shouldn't use his pulpit that way. I mean, to a point, I think it's okay for a pastor to encourage his flock to be actively involved in politics, but not to go so specific as to tell them who to vote for.
But Democrats do it all the time, they always have politicians in the pulpit and it never gets this attention. I think this time it's because of what he said.
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shielah jones (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 54 comments)
on Tuesday, March 18, 2008 at 9:41:25 AM
