Hi John!
To be honest, I cannot even begin to understand WHY Barack Obama would choose such an environment to worship within the Christian Faith! I may be Jewish but I do understand Christianity . . . from all the information I have read concerning this 'WHY,' seems to be past any definition of the Judaic/Christian ethic.
Christianity does NOT embody hatred or Evil and there is no way to reconcile the 'teachings' of the Reverend Wright with anything other than absolute disregard for Christian ethics. Again, that question as to why Barack Obama chose to disassociate his family from the precepts that belong to Jeremiah Wright when he began campaigning for the presidency needs to be considered!
20 years at the Trinity United Church of Christ on Chicago's south side, has a long history of what even Obama's campaign aides concede is "inflammatory rhetoric," including the assertion that the United States brought the 11 September 2001 attacks with its own "terrorism."
In a campaign appearance, Senator Obama said, "I don't think my church is actually particularly controversial." He said the Reverend Wright "is like an old uncle who says things I don't always agree with," telling a Jewish group that everyone has someone like that in their family.
The Reverand Wright married Obama and his wife Michelle, baptized their two daughters and is credited by Obama for the title of his book, "The Audacity of Hope."
An ABC News review of dozens of the Reverend Wright's sermons, offered for sale by the church, found repeated denunciations of the U.S. based on what he described as his reading of the Gospels and the treatment of black Americans. "The government gives them the drugs, builds bigger prisons, passes a three-strike law and then wants us to sing 'God Bless America.' No, no, no, God damn America, that's in the Bible for killing innocent people," he said in a 2003 sermon. "God damn America for treating our citizens as less than human. God damn America for as long as she acts like she is God and she is supreme."
In addition to damning America, he told his congregation on the Sunday after 11 September 2001 that the United States had brought on al Qaeda's attacks because of its own terrorism.
"We bombed Hiroshima, we bombed Nagasaki, and we nuked far more than the thousands in New York and the Pentagon, and we never batted an eye," the Reverand Wright said in a sermon on 16 September 2001. "We have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and black South Africans, and now we are indignant because the stuff we have done overseas is now brought right back to our own front yards. America's chickens are coming home to roost," he told his congregation.
Educational background? Jeremiah Wright left Virginia Union University in Richmond, to join the Marine Corps. He was trained as a cardiopulmonary tech as part of the medical team charged with the care of President Lyndon B, Johnson. Before leaving the position in 1967, the White House Physician, Vice Admiral Burkley, personally wrote Wright a letter of thanks on behalf of the United States President.
In 1967 Wright enrolled at Howard University in Washington, D.C. and earned a bachelor's degree in 1968 and a master's degree in English in 1969. He also earned a master's degree from the University of Chicago Divinity School and holds a Doctor of Ministry degree from the United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio, in 1990. Wright holds a Doctor of where he studied under Samuel DeWitt Proctor. Proctor was a mentor to Martin Luther King, jr.
This man is knowledgeable in both religion and politics so how do these puzzle pieces fit together? How old was Barack Obama 20 years ago? Old enough to recognize the difference between the ethics of Christianity and the abusive derogating racist rhetoric of Jeremiah Wright!
John, I suggested once before that you consider an 'open question forum format' that allows a way to 'vote.' AOL continues to provide multiple questions and a way to conduct a 'survey' of the votes recorded . . . please give this some thought.
Barack Obama is the President of the United States of America and there is no way that his association with Jeremiah Wright did not influence his thinking patterns . . . the Obama administration has proven that OUR COUNTRY has changed direction. Obama's Narcissistic personality is nothing more nor less than a 'match' for dictators from the PAST, are we going to accept this or begin ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS?
"The Audacity of Hope?" or The Audacity of America's Demise?!
John, the references are correct and encompass my own opinions . . . there is a difference. If you chose to verify the information, please do and I have no objection to you adding a part or all of this to your own questions and posts.
hs
