Why Does Obama’s Pastor Matter?
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Barack Obama, in a way that recalls John F. Kennedy, a politician to whom he’s frequently compared, has carefully controlled and burnished his image to create the impression of an independent figure, free from dogma and ideological entanglements. But there is one man who threatens to undermine Obama’s appealing narrative as a man above the ugly quarrels and divisive partisanship of the past: his longtime pastor and spiritual adviser, Rev. Jeremiah Wright.
So great is Obama’s respect for Wright, that the former sought the Reverend’s counsel before formally declaring his candidacy for U.S. President.
In Wright’s calculus, white America’s bigotry is to blame not only for whatever ills continue to plague the black community, but also for our country’s conflicts with other nations.
“In the 21st century,” says Wright, “white America got a wake-up call after 9/11/01. White America and the western world came to realize that people of color had not gone away, faded into the woodwork or just ‘disappeared’ as the Great White West kept on its merry way of ignoring black concerns.”
Remarkably, no mention of jihad—the ageless Muslim tradition of aggressive, permanent warfare whose ultimate aim is to achieve Islam’s dominion over the human race at large—managed to find its way into Wright’s analysis. Rather, he assured us that the 9/11 atrocities were ultimately traceable to the doorstep of U.S. provocations. In fact, Wright apparently sees no reason to suspect that Islam may be incompatible in any way with Western traditions.
“Islam and Christianity are a whole lot closer than you may realize,” he has written. “Islam comes out of Christianity.”
Apart from America’s purported racism, Wright also despises the nation’s capitalist economic structure, viewing it as a breeding ground for all manner of injustice.
“Capitalism as made manifest in the ‘New World,'” says Wright, “depended upon slave labor (by African slaves), and it is only maintained by keeping the ‘Two-Thirds World’ under oppression.”
This view is entirely consistent with Rev. Wright’s devotion to the tenets of liberation theology, which is essentially Marxism dressed up as Christianity. Devised by Cold War-era theologians, it teaches that the gospels of Jesus can be understood only as calls for social activism, class struggle, and revolution aimed at overturning the existing capitalist order and installing, in its stead, a socialist utopia where today’s poor will unseat their “oppressors” and become liberated from their material (and, consequently, their spiritual) deprivations.
An extension of this paradigm is black liberation theology, which seeks to foment a similar Marxist revolutionary fervor founded on racial rather than class solidarity. Wright’s mentor in this discipline is James Cone, author of the landmark text Black Power and Black Theology. Arguing that Christianity has been used by white society as an opiate of the (black) masses, Cone asserts that the destitute “are made and kept poor by the rich and powerful few,” and that ” no one can be a follower of Jesus Christ without a political commitment that expresses one’s solidarity with victims.”
Many of Wright’s condemnations of America are echoed in his denunciations of Israel and Zionism, which he has blamed for imposing “injustice and … racism” on the Palestinians. According to Wright, Zionism contains an element of “white racism.” Likening Israel’s treatment of Palestinians to South Africa’s treatment of blacks during the apartheid era, Wright advocates divestment campaigns targeting companies that conduct business in, or with, Israel.
Given Wright’s obvious low regard for the U.S. and Israel, it is by no means surprising that he reserves some of his deepest respect for the virulently anti-American, anti-Semitic Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.
“When Minister Farrakhan speaks, Black America listens,” says Wright. “Everybody may not agree with him, but they listen
His depth on analysis when it comes to the racial ills of this nation is astounding and eye opening. He brings a perspective that is helpful and honest. Minister Farrakhan will be remembered as one of the 20th and 21st century giants of the African American religious experience. His integrity and honesty have secured him a place in history as one of the nation’s most powerful critics. His love for Africa and African American people has made him an unforgettable force, a catalyst for change and a religious leader who is sincere about his faith and his purpose.”
In addition, voters should examine carefully the question of whether Obama shares Wright’s socialist economic preferences. They ought to be aware, for instance, that the Democratic candidate is on record as having said that his religious faith has led him to question “the idolatry of the free market.” Moreover, Obama’s voting record and his issue positions show him generally to favor high spending and increased government intervention in all realms of life.
When Rev. Wright’s controversial statements and positions recently became more widely publicized, Obama said, “There are some things I agree with my pastor about, some things I disagree with him about.” It is the duty of every American voter to determine exactly where those agreements and disagreements lie.
Wild Thing’s comment……..
When I was a kid, my Father told me you are who you associate with. I thought of that as I read this article. The article is long and I only put snippets in this post. We all have seen the vidoe posted on here of his Pastor speaking, other posts about his church and what it stands for and against. How rascists it is and the Pastor leading the way.
This article goes even more in depth about Obama’s pastor and I agree, we need to know what about these things and what to expect if Obama wins. We know what Hillary is, we survived 8 long miserable years of she and Bill and their lies, corruptions, “gates”, FBI files on others, deaths surrounding them most mysterious and convenient to say the least.
But Obama is new, very new on the scene and the rise to his success has been paid for by the most vile man Soros that lives to destory America. I want to know all I can about my enemy.
….Thank you Mark for this article.
Michelle Malkin
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