http://www.townhall.com/columnists/AmandaCarpenter/2008/03/14/rev_jeremiah_wright%E2%80%99s_hope_speech

Here is a profile on Obama and his church published in the Christian Science Monitor last July

http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0716/p01s01-uspo.html

Albeit, this matter has been construed as a ‘right vs. left’ issue or even a ‘religious’ one, by asking conservatives to be ‘gracious’ and move on, it has deflected from its primary point.

The contention was and is **the influence** exerted by a pastor who uses religion to cover his political agenda on candidate Barack.
Both democrats and conservatives alike are wondering what kind of lessons - 20 years under the wings of such a ’spiritual’ leader - have been imparted to Obama.
Because he is running for the highest position in the country it’s a fair and must-know question.
Obama ‘came out’ yesterday, claimed he “didn’t know” before this week and ”denounced” the inflammatory remarks. Wasn’t that wonderful? Some said. Why are we still talking about it? Others chimed in. Let’s forgive and forget. Hmm…

Red flag. Yesterday’s ‘denouncing’ session created more questions and suggested a huge credibility issue.
Very little disagreement that Obama is a very smart, highly educated, articulate individual, though, lacking political experience.
Therefore, how are we supposed to believe that he NEVER heard those incendiary speeches when he was in church? That Rev.Wright’s hateful sermons were in perfect sync with Barack absences from the services? For the sake of discussion, let’s say the cop-outs are plausible.

Notwithstanding, there is NO way that for two decades Obama was absolutely ignorant of Rev. Wright’s beliefs! In light of the mentorship and close relationship, he couldn’t be telling the truth. Could he?
It takes an average person, going to church once a week, for a month, to get a feel for what that church or the pastor believe. Twenty years without a clue? Perhaps, Barack is not as smart as previously thought.

Barack, had nothing but praise for Rev. Wright influence on his life. He married him, baptized his daughters, he was a friend and a mentor… Then, yesterday he attempted to distance himself from a burning building. The news of the real Rev. Wright should have gotten him angry for being duped. However, he wasn’t angry, he didn’t even come across shocked; he was simply doing “damage control.”
I understand that his supporters choose to believe that Rev. Wright only taught Obama ’spiritual’ things and that his other real beliefs never entered into the picture; or that others, for whatever reason, want to put this behind, without taking a deeper look. However, this man’s spiritual and political beliefs are so closely intertwined that it is impossible to separate them.
Go ahead, keep your head in the sand, but don’t ask the rest of us to follow suit and most of all don’t infer that by engaging our brains, questioning and drawing very logical conclusions we lack grace and forgiveness.

Let’s take his condemnation of his former pastor’s words at face value and move on. If we who lean to the right can’t do that for a religious liberal how do we ever expect those on the left to do it for us and our religion?

I see the flip side of that though. Is it always wrong that the right gets leaned on for excusing too much of radical right wing fundamentalist Christian leaders? I don’t think so. And I don’t think it’s right to give left wingers a pass either. Both forms of politicized religion need to be marginalized, and that will only happen if moderates/centrists hold politicians equally accountable for keeping a LARGE distance between themselves and those who use religion to justify a radical political agenda (of one form or another.)

He thinks the world is out to get him and so do you. Actually he probably has more to base that opinion on than you do.

If my father were a murderer, would I be suspect for practicing my spiritual beliefs and forgiving him of his sins? How about if I just continued to visit him in prison? Would that mean that I like murderers, or that I think it’s ok to murder people?

It’s not the most accurate analogy, since Obama was not that close to Wright. But your point is that he was close enough to have had some of Wright “rub-off” on him. I say if you must judge, judge him by his own words. Has Obama ever said or acted in a way to make you believe he should be suspect of thinking the same way?

As far as Wright’s words being “against one’s core beliefs”, if one believes in forgiveness and compassion, then wouldn’t turning your back on an entire church for the words of one angry pastor be turning your back on those very same beliefs? If every responsible member of a church stopped attending whenever one member (of even the highest standing) committed a hypocritical sin, no organized religion would have survived until today.

How can anybody be expected not to even associate themselves with anyone who might have a less-than reputable opinion? Especially politicians who must, by their very nature, be associated with many more people than the average individual…

I have searched high and low for the Rev Wright’s sermon “The Audacity of Hope” - but I can’t find it anywhere - if someone has a lead please pass it along. If enemies are going to use inflammatory rhetoric that Obama has no control over as a subject of attack, I would like to read that sermon since it inspired Obama enough to write a book. That’s the sermon we should all be talking about because then the words, passion, and thought process are irrefutable.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1985853/posts

If we who lean to the right can’t do that for a religious liberal how do we ever expect those on the left to do it for us and our religion?

Well put.