Lord, bless this troll and help him/her to begin to see the beautiful world that you created. Help him/her to see how wonderful it is to be part of something so positive and so meaningful. Help him/her to see the possibilities for a better life and a better America with Barack as our POTUS. Allow truthful thoughts to begin to take over their intellect. Help them to embrace that which is true, lovely, and of good report.
Amen
Today was the last straw for me. Granted, I never liked McCain and would never have voted for him. But today, I have come to firmly believe that he has no business running for POTUS. He has behaved in a very juvenile and contemptible manner for the past several weeks. He is just an older version of George Bush. He has the same frat boy attitude that gives the finger to civil decorum, actually serving the American people, and running the government efficiently. For the past two weeks we have seen what he is really made of. The over the top ridicule of every aspect of Barack's international trip. His accusing him of wanting to lose the war. His accusing Barack of not wanting to visit the troops in Germany. His deriding Barack for 200,000.00 Germans and Americans abroad coming to see him. His accusing Obama for being elitist for behaving like an adult. His accusing Barack of playing the race card when it was his campaign that was doing it. His reckless exploitation of non-political Americans (Britney and Paris) in an ad to bash Obama. His bullsh*t answer that he was trying to inject humor into the campaign. His making jokes while Americans are suffering from the high cost of food, gas, housing and while they are losing their homes and jobs at record rates. His mocking of energy conversation techniques, which are widely suggested by experts. But watching him at the Sturgis biker event is the final affront to common decency. Why would we want a misogynist simpleton like that - who would offer his wife to be ogled by thousands of beer drinking, sleazy, stinky, lascivious men?! There was nothing funny or cute about his suggestion of her entering such a base contest! Are the Christian right totally blind? If people like Dobson and Tony Perkins continue to defend him or bash Obama - who is actually a true believer and treats his wife with the utmost respect, tenderness, and kindness, which btw is mandated in the New Testament - they have also demonstrated that they know nothing about the Christian faith.
He, like Geroge W. Bush, is in the pocket of the big corporate fat cats and the few wealthy whose greed has driven this country into the ground. They have no commitment to the common good for the masses. They have no business running government. They belong in industry, not in government.
McCain makes me want to work so much harder to get Barack elected. McCain is very, very frightening.
I have been thinking about what a wonderful campaign season this has been. Granted it has been long and drawn out, but it has been wonderful. It has been wonderful because we have seen the American people come back to life after having their hopes, patriotism, and participartory spirit killed by the corrupt politics of our times. Barack Obama has been like a food program for a straving people. He has fed us with staples of true patriotism, with encouragment to take back our government, and with renewed hope in the future.
We have seen whites, blacks, hispanics, first Americans, and various Asians take a step toward uniting as one American people. We have never been called to this before! We have been called to tell the truth about our own bigotry and narrow mindedness. We have been called to political adulthood. Could things be any better?
In the next few weeks and months our resolve, unity, and new life will be tested sorely by the opposition. I want to be the first to say that I will not allow myself to be shut out of the democratic process again. I will not allow myself to be divided from my fellow Americans based upon race, creed, gender, sexual orientation or religious beliefs again. I will make new friends and become a friend to many.
I will hold my representatives accountable to the people on every level - from state representatives to national. No longer will they be able to go into backrooms and make deals against my interest. I will no longer settle for voting for the lesser of two evils for president. I am ready to take back my government. I am ready to take back my life. I am ready to take back the dream of a united, United States.
I am ready are you? Get ready!
I have acknowledged on other postings that I am a former Trinity UCC member and deacon. I am now an ordained minister and a doctoral student in Theology at Boston University. I have studied Black Liberation Theology, Latin American Liberation Theology, Feminist Theology, Womanist Theology and Political Theology. What i want to do is give some background for these approaches to theology and reframe the question of Rev. Wright's sermons from one of race to one of church and state.
First, these aforementioned theologies are not anti theologies. They are theologies, which sprung up over the past 35 years in seminaries and universities in order to address and give voice to specific needs of these groups. Traditionally, theological discourse both in the academy and the church, has been dominated by European and American white men. Latin Americans, Blacks, (other peoples of color), and Women have felt oppressed and have not been included in the conversations about God. They have not been seriously considered or given space to shape the dialogue throughout the history of the Western church. What these groups have in common is that they hold to a fundamental premise that all theological reflection should begin with experience. Therefore, they advocate that the experiences of women, latinos, blacks, and others is the appropriate starting place for discussions of how God works in the world. In fact, liberation theologies acknowledge that traditional theology too begins with experience, but that experience was primarily of white men's experiences, but claimed to speak for all people. Liberation theologies suggest that theologies that do not begin at experience and do not advocate for the poor, marginalized, disenfranchised are, in fact, unfaithful to God's will.
To recap, Black Liberation Theology is not racist it merely asserts the necessity to address the issues and concerns of the black experience in theological discourse. It argues for a lens for understanding and talking about God from the vantage point of those who have been oppressed and marginalized both in the church and in society due to their being black. All Liberation theologies also critique the systems, which govern and influence the lives of their constituents. Feminist critique patriarchy and gender issues, Latin Americans critique the Catholic church and the many governments of South America who with the aid of North American foreign policy oppress their people. Black Liberationists critique white supremacy and its lingering affects in society and the world and the Evangelical Church for its complicity with it. Womanist critique class, race, patriarchy, and white supremacy. They all engage in a critique of academic theology. Their critique is based upon the understanding and belief that God is on the side of the oppressed, marginalized, and disenfranchised of the society. All liberation theologies begin with this premise about God. I want to be clear, to say that God is on the side of the oppressed is not to say that God does not care about those who are not oppressed, but it is to say that God will hold the rich and powerful accountable for how they treat those less fortunate. It is to say to the poor, marginalized and oppressed that God cares for you and your condition on this side of heaven. It is to debunk the idea that poor and oppressed should only look for relief from God in eternal life, but that God wants a better life for you now.
Trinity UCC has attempted to apply the insights of Black Liberation Theology to the practice of the black church. Many have heard, that Trinity UCC uses the motto "Unapologetically Christian and Unashamedly Black." What they (former we) are saying when they make this statement is that they celebrate their African heritage and will not be compromised on faith in the Christian gospel. This statement actually came to be from the time when the Civil Rights Movement of the 60's began to turn militant (after the death of MLK). Many black militants were saying that Christianity was a religion for the white man and that all people from Africa should be Muslim. Rev. Wright and the members of Trinity refused to accept this and therefore wanted to make clear that they were fully committed to their Christian faith and also proud of their heritage. These are not exclusive statements nor are they meant to be racist in any way. They are instead postive statements about being proud and thankful for who and what God has made us. They in no way are saying that others should not be thankful and proud of who God made them. In fact, liberation theology affirms the importance of human dignity. The question is whether whites can recognize the right and the need of people of color to name themselves, speak in positive terms about those things about themselves, which have been rejected in this culture, and whether blacks and people of color can love themselves without hating others. Rev. Wriight's ministry at Trinity has been focused upon lifting up the African American community. Teaching and preaching about self help, self reliance, self idenity, and self love. He, like so many other African American ministers, felt the need to help his members develop a postive self image and to understand how to live faithful lives without shame and without being victimized by race. I have said this before, but it is worth saying again, whites are welcome at Trinity. Trinity has white membership, hispanic membership and Asian membership. It is an affirming community that celebrates life. Anyone who visits finds this to be true. Yet it does reserve the right to be a blessing to the African American community in ways that others cannot.
A further goal of liberation theologies is to be more faithful to what we see in the biblical texts. The Bible is a profoundly political book. I say this because throughout the Bible we see the formation of a nation, the oppression of a nation, the wars to protect and expand the nation, the kings and prophets who are prominent in the nation. The Bible, especially the Old Testment (Hebrew Bible), is filled with stories of prophets who judged the nation and its leaders because of their/its unfaithfulness to God. God's concern, according to the prophets, was always for the oppressed, poor, marginalized, widowed, and orphaned who were victimized by the more powerful and wealthy. When we come to the New Testament we see Jesus who continued in this same vein of judging the government and the religious leaders for their misdeeds. To damn or condemn (theologically speaking they are the same word) is a purely religious act and statement. It is not a political statement per se. The concern is not damnation of a party or person, but of the collective evil done on behalf of the American people by their governement. Conservative Evangelicals and their pundits are being disingenuous when they focus on the, so called, vile language he uses. The word damn belongs to the Christian church in the first place. It means to judge or condemn as guilty in the sense God's endless punishment. The culture has taken and removed the religious meaning from it. Evangelicals should know this.
My second point is more broad and relates to this whole question of whether Barack Obama attended a church that in some way would make him unpatriotic or a closet racist. I have already debunked the idea that liberation theologies advocate an anti white or anti any group stance. They do not. They are attempting to balance the theology which has masquaraded as orthodox. But the real question in this debate about his pastor and church has to do with, in my view, the whole notion of separation of church and state. We continue to hear pundits, politicians, (I heard Bernie Frank say this on Bill Maher), and right wing Christians say that Rev. Wright's sermons soundbites are un-American and un-patriotic. The truth is that Christians are supposed to be "pilgrims," "sojourners," and "not at home in this world." Our allegiance is supposed to be to God first and foremost. The minister, as the person called out of the masses of believers to serve God and lead the people is supposed to be even more so. I say this because the critique of Rev. Wright as un-American or Un-patriotic assumes that a Christian minister's first allegiance is to be the country or government. It is not. Ministers are called to stand in the place of the Old Testament prophet and declare "thus saith the Lord." We are to stand on God's side against the culture or government when it strays from God's truth or will. But this is not so for politicians. Polititians are servants of the state. They have a responsibility to the state that ministers do not. This is an issue that our country attempted to settle with the inception of the constitution and the notion of separation of church and state. Barack is well aware of the fact that his faith should inform his life, but that he cannot impose his faith upon the state. Certainly, he is not the first politician to be Christian. The church is always to be free to exercise its role as critic for God. The church is to be free to exercise its role as administrator of the laws, armies, and etc.
We have conflated the idea of faith with government over the past several years. We can thank the Republican party for this. By their very hypocritical and manipulative exploitation of conservative Christians, whose main concern was abortion and gay marriage, they have managed to usurp our understanding of Christianity and replace it with American Civil Religion where the cross of Christ has been replaced by the flag and more recently the flag lapel pin. The American public has slowly bought the idea that to be Christian is to be uncritical of the "sacred government" when lead by the Republican party. Since 9/11 they have been going about the work of merging the two and we have bought it! Evangelicals have sold their birth rights, have voted against their own best interest (since most are poor and women) and given themselves over the the state.
We have also blurred the idea of separation of church in state in that we are not seeing that Rev. Wright is exercising the very duty of the clhurch that the separtion of church and state was designed to protect. The church was to call the state into question and hold it accountable for its deeds. It was not supposed to become an arm of the state. The state was to guard against the church's encroachment upon it and the church is to have the right to be the church.
Finally, the statement "God damn America, if she continues..." is taken right out of the Bible playbook. The Bible is repleat with the prophets of Israel who condemned their leaders and their government for the evil they did in the name of the people and in the name of God. Rev. Wright is doing the same. This is not an issue of patriotism - my country right or wrong. It is an issue about whether we are people of faith and whether our faith will hold others accountable for their evil and give our government a pass for its.
I think this debate needs to come out of the racial construction, which has been set up by the news media and pundits and place it squarely where it belongs as a faith issue, better yet, a separtion of Church and State issue. Then it becomes a question of Barack's integrity as a politician. He has served the state of Illinois for eight years and in the senate for three years. Surely we have enough of his record to determine whether he is a closet racist with un-American tendencies! He has demonstrated an ability to worship at Trinity UCC for some twenty years and maintain a concern for the people of Illinois - not just blacks. Have his political leanings been for the poor, marginalized, disenfranchised? Probably, but that is consistent with the democratic party platform. In fact, democrats should recognize that we have largely advocated for a government that is concerned about what liberationists say God is concerned about, dignity and rights for all of God's people, individually and collectively.
Let's stop making this a black and white issue and place this debate in its proper context - as a debate about the separation of church and state.
I too am a former Trinity UCC member. I attended from 1990 to 1996 and only left because I moved to Richmond, where I attended The Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University. I was a deacon and Rev. Wright helped me to acknowledge my call to ministry. My heart breaks to see this wonderful church and its pastor maligned in the media over the past few weeks.
I just wanted to respond to all the very skewed reporting on who Rev. Wright is and what Trinity UCC church is like.Trinity is an absolutely amazing church. It is full of celebration, love, and faith. The music ministry is simply celestial. Before attending Trinity, I had never been to a church like it, and I have not found one like it since. It is the kind of church that gives one a little glimpse of what it might be like in heaven. It is extremely diverse with members from all over the world, all ages, all classes, all levels of education. Trinity members are doctors, lawyers, social workers, teachers, university professors, psychologists, bus drivers, housekeepers, nurses, and every manner of vocation. While it is a predominately African American church, it is very welcoming to persons of any race or ethnicity. We had hispanic members, white members, and Asian members. There were very few Sunday mornings where we would not entertain visitors from other UCC and UCC affiliated congregations from around the world and I witnessed Rev. Wright make every effort to make them comfortable and feel welcome. Because Trinity is the largest church in the denomination, many would come to visit to see what made our church so vibrant. I believe with all my heart that they went away filled with a sense of welcome, joy, and Christian fellowship.
Trinity is also a very active church. There were many activities and ministries where members could serve, fellowship, and grow in their faith. I found myself at the church at least 3 or 4 times a week in addition to spending all day Sunday. I would go to the morning service and after have lunch with friends from various ministries where I served, and then return for evening service. I didn't just do this to hear Rev. Wright, but to be part of this awesome faith community that made me know that I was loved, valued, and blessed.
Rev. Wright is a national figure among African American churches. He holds at least three graduate degrees, one from the University of Chicago. He is a sought after evangelist and if he wished, he could probably preach at a different church around this nation every week. He has an amazing sense of humor, he is an amazing orator, an excellent exegete of the biblical text, an accomplished musician, an author of several books, a historian, a poet, and yes, a culture critic. He speaks several languages fluently. I have never known anyone like him. He has a way of weaving all of these attributes, gifts, and accomplishments into his sermons. When he preaches, you always get the full essence of his person. The good, the raw, the sensitive, the comforting, the challenging, the great intellect, and the passion.
I know pastor Wright very well. I don't think very many members of churches with membership of 8,000 have the opportunity to get to know their pastor on a personal level. At Trinity you do. He had a way of making you feel that your were the only person in the sanctuary. He would often speak personally to members, during worship from the pulpit, telling the entire church of some accomplishment or even some (not too) personal challenge in their lives. And not just to those who had social status, but to children, teenagers, and single mothers. He was a father figure to so many in the church. He can be tender and he can also be a disciplinarian. He played with us, taught us, lifted us, blessed us. He embraced everyone especially, those who the world would reject, women in the ministry, gay people, people with HIV/AIDS, people with drug and alcohol problems. He had a way of making everyone know that God loved them, in spite of what the world may say about them.
At his leadership, Trinity has developed ministries that provide support for every aspect of the believer's life and every challenge that a believer may face. No one who joins Trinity misses the invitation to get involved and become a vital part of the ministry. But the ministry of Trinity was not just for its members. Trinity was a socially conscious church that served the surrounding community with the same passion and commitment. We had food distribution programs, housing assistance, literacy training programs, job training, sick visitation, gang intervention, and so much more.
I have tried to give you a glimpse of what Trinity UCC and its pastor was really like. I have done so because I have heard so many question how Barack Obama could attend a church where the pastor could say the things we keep hearing on the endless loop and sound bytes taken from his sermons. I have heard Rev. Wright make shocking statements, use hyperbole to extreme, challenge the veracity of politician's statements and motives, and critique our culture. I must say that though they may have been sometimes shocking - there was usually some kernal of truth. I also heard Rev. Wright preach tender, healing, loving sermons of forgiveness and hope for a new tomorrow. In fact, that is the vast majority of what he preaches. He is a liberations preacher and that means that he is always on the side of the oppressed and marginalized, just as Jesus was. Some may not like a pastor who speaks so frankly and even baudy, but many need someone to say it for them. He would take on the pain, anguish, hurt, anger of his members and offer us the opportunity to release and put it away. That way we could leave the church and go back out into the world with clear heads and hearts. These controversial statements exploited by the media do not define a ministry or a church and its pastor. These statements, in fact, do not adequately define Rev. Wright. He is a whole person, not just his messages. We measure a person's character by their whole lives not just a few opinions they may hold that we don't understand or with which we disagree.
I think that Rev. Wright's greatest accomplishment as a pastor is that he was able to be a real person in ministry. There is no pretense with him. He is not sanctimonious. He does not feign to be holier than his members. He offers an invitation to sinners, from a fellow sinner, to struggle together as we both seek God's will for our lives. I understand why it never occurred to Barack Obama to leave. It did not occur to him because Trinity nor Rev. Wright are the caricature you see on the news. Trinity is a wonderful church with wonderful people. Pastor Wright is a complicated person with the same struggles that we all have. I suggest you visit Trinity UCC even though Pastor Wright is no longer the pastor, you will see that it is not a scary place. It may put you out of their comfort zone, to break with tradition, to cross racial and denominational lines, but I assure you that, if you have an open mind and heart, you will come away with a different opinion than the television version. Christianity requires us to hold in tension the beautiful and the ugly about life. This is what Rev. Wright taught us and this is the message that I believe Barack is trying to live his life by. Don't believe what you see on television and don't buy that you have to forsake everyone who may be controversial. Let's not buy into the simple rhetoric of those who expect their pastors and leaders to be perfect.
I am a former member of Trinity United Church of Christ. I am a minister of the gospel. I know Rev. Wright personally. I do not know Barack personally. I have heard many messages preached by Rev. Wright, some fiery and some tender - all sound and theological and biblically refined. He is a historian, a theologian, pastor, and frankly a friend to many ministers and theologians around this nation, both African American, White and Jewish. He has mentored countless ministers. He has served in the U.S. Marines, he has at least to Masters degrees, a Doctorate (or two) from Howard Univ., University of Chicago, and others. He is an accomplished musician and writer. He has pastored Trinity United Church of Christ for over 30 years. He is actually one of the kindest and most compasionate men I know. He is also one of the most passionate believers and advocates for justice that I know.
Rev. Wright's statements have been taken out of context. He is being crucified in the media for being a prophet. It is clear to me that the vast majority of the American population is totally unfamiliar with the Bible. I say this because, if the prophets of the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible) were taped and plastered on video on cable television - the American public would be condemning them the way they are condemning Rev. Wright. In fact, many of Jesus' on words would condemn him for being too inflammatory! Please read Amos and Ezekial, Malachi and Hosea. Prophets said and did outrageous things to make points. But the reality is that what he said was mostly true! Hillary is from a privileged class. She doesn't know what it means to work her way up the ladder and still have all of her accomplishments reduced to "luck" by Geraldine Ferraro. She is riding off of white privilege. The U.S. has insighted the anger and resentment of peoples all of the world. The 9/11 terrorists did act against us because of our foreign policy. Bill Clinton did exploit the African American vote and then signed the crack cocaine bill which led to an explosiion in African Americans incarcerated, pushed through welfare reform without a safety net, and basically ignored his responsibility to those who had voted him in. Wright's statements were speaking truth to power.
Barack, I believe in what you are trying to do to unite the country. I think it is time that we heal the sores of our past racism and disunity. We cannot heal them by denying them or silencing all those who remember and are still hurting from them. I am sorry to say that I think that you are showing a lack of integrity to be so dismisive of your pastor. You can disagree with his statements without marginalizing him to some "looney uncle." In fact, you shouldn't even answer these accusations against you since you did not make the statements. It is a straw man argument that the right wing is setting up - if you don't denounce and dismiss everything and everybody that makes them have to face their own demons - then you are somehow suspect. Why aren't Republicans responsible for Farwell, Haggarty, Robertson, Hagee, and so many others who made outrageous comments that were actually untrue or just ridiculous. They weren't because no one can control what another says or even believes. Stop letting your opponents set you up this way. You are being held to a different standard. One only for Barack Obama! Tell them you disagree, but leave it at that! John McCain said "they have endorsed me, but am not endorsing them" and nothing else has been said about it! By the way, you also shouldn't have asked for Ms. Powers resignation. She apologized for her statement and that should have been enough. It was a slip of the tongue and really not nearly as offensive as Ferraro's statement. Why do you let others off the hook for their attacks against you? Ferraro was speaking from the same place the Rev. Wright spoke - but just from the white perspective. If her statements weren't racist why are you allowing people to call Rev. Wright racist? As long as you fall for these tests they will keep bringing them.
You cannot take responsibility for what God has laid on Rev. Wright;s heart to say! Preacher's speak from a very different place than polititians. They are supposed to. The American public needs to learn this. Since we have the religious right dominating the conversation there is a need to hear other voices and other theological perspectives. Black preaching, when it is authentically Black, always speaks truth to power. Please, if you expect to unite this country, you will not do it by denouncing the pain and experiences or even the perspective of African Americans. Especially those who actually lived through Jim Crow and all the indignities of the 40's, 50's and 60's and let's face it 70's as Rev. Wright has. You are letting either your advisors or your fear of losing get in the way of what I know you know to be true. That pastor Wright is no racist, no lonney uncle, no evil hater of this country. He, in fact, loves this country more than many of those who would use him against you to destroy both him and you.
I really want you to win, but not if you have to empty yourself of all that has made you strong, true, good, and visionary. You cannot please everyone - but if you end up pleasing no one, you will have lost this race, lost your spiritual mentor (and hurt him very badly) and lost your own soul.
That's what I'm talking about!!
Why so many? I want all of my friends to keep the momentum going, to provide dialogues with each other on the best way we can insure Obama will go to the white house in January.
I'm trying to think of creative ways to keep our interest high even after the primaries and caucuses. I'm thinking of a "guitar hero" party to invite young people to get involved. Guitar hero is a hot game right now, why not sponsor a game day and have Obama materials to give out.
let me know what you think!
blessings,
Bryan
