Welcome! I'll try to make this blog as interesting as possible, but please pardon me if your eyes glaze over every now and then! These are truly my opinions, and hopefully will spark debate and reflection (depending on subject matter, of course!).
To start, that is not me above and to the left. That is the Reverend Jeremiah Wright, man of God, man of Controversy. Here's what I posted at ABCNews.com inspired by the report of his address to the National Press Club:
In one of the soundbites that was broadcast by you in your report on Reverend Wright's address to the National Press Club, Wright playfully (??) chided a reporter for not have listened/seen the entire sermon that was in question. Well, he doesn't have to chide me; I watched Bill Moyers Journal on Friday night -- the entire show -- encouraged by ABC's plug at the end of a WNN news item about Wright's interview with Moyers. Although they didn't include the entire "God damn America" sermon (wasn't it given the Sunday after 9/11?), the longer excerpt (about 3 min.) put the Reverend's remark in a completely different context -- a context which greatly increased my respect for this man of God. I'm not up on my theology of the United Church of Christ, but I'm pretty sure that his words and his work reflect the UCC's commitment to social justice. He speaks not only for the black church, but for a significant chunk of Christians as well concerned with feeding the poor and housing the homeless, among other things. Barak Obama need not distance himself too far from Wright's comments. In fact running away only sends the message that he is a wimp, concerned with image rather than issues. Obama needs to explain further what of the Reverend's words he agrees with (the UCC based points mentioned above would be a good start) and criticize the way the message is presented by one who maybe is a bit too "in your face" for White America. We need to remember: Style and Substance are two separate things.
In the Moyers interview, Wright came across as a Christian fully committed to social justice. Although he spoke a lot about and from the viewpoint of the contemporary African-American church, his philosophical and theological points were often those of the United Church of Christ -- a denomination that rejoices in it's diversity, accepting members of all colors and orientations.
Yes, there are many that would decry how he disseminates his message, but few can argue with the content -- when it is properly taken in context. For example, take the sermon given the Sunday after 9/11 in which he states that U.S. government should share some of the blame for the attacks. Well -- doesn't he speak at least some truth in that statement? God supposedly rained down fire and brimstone and plagues and frogs and bloody rivers on those who would have destroyed rather than built up. The fact is that our government hasn't done enough to build up this world of ours. I could go into an extended tirade about this, but the arguments for the U.S. being more of a World Team player are out there already. This is the core of the Reverend's message regardless of how he presents it. And the core speaks truth.
