Andrew Sullivan is a bright guy, but he’s missing the heart of the problem many of us have with Barack Obama’s choice of pastor:
The appeal of that church to Obama was not anger or racism or the ugliness in some of Jeremiah Wright’s tub-thumping. What Obama discovered — as a previous atheist — was the spiritual power of Christian hope.
No, he didn’t. Jeremiah Wright’s theology is a social gospel based on a biblical narrative of “survival, and freedom, and hope” that culminates in a Jesus whose mission was to free the oppressed from physical and political bondage. Inspiring, uplifting, and absolutely wrong.
If Wright is right, why didn’t Jesus kick the Romans out of Jerusalem — or at the very least least abolish slavery in the empire?
The power of Christian hope is in freedom from the spiritual bondage that has enslaved mankind since the Fall. That’s the essence of Christianity, and it’s the only triumph that matters.
Sen. Obama’s decision to worship under Jeremiah Wright for two decades indicates a spiritual depth that’s limited to a hunger for inspiring tales of the underprivileged succeeding against all odds through faith and perseverence. Except for the sense of self-righteousness that comes from hearing those stories in church, Obama might as well watch Hoosiers.
One final note: It’s only going to take about a minute’s worth of Jeremiah Wright on YouTube for many white voters — Democrats, too — to make up their minds about Obama. I predict here and now that Hillary gets the nomination and goes on to become the next president of the United States.
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Obama-Clinton, Clinton-Obama – either dream team is McCain’s worst nightmare. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama can easily make that nightmare a reality for him right now. Here’s how:
Both publicly pledge that if are nominated for President, the other candidate will be their first choice for the Vice Presidential spot.
This immediately puts a stop to attacks on the other, or calling their ability into question. They can still debate the issues and clarify their differences, but the main focus of their anger and outrage can now be directed at the Bush-McCain policies of the past 8 years.
The enthusiastic support of the other is exactly what each candidate will need to win in the fal.. Each appeals to the voters the other has the hardest time attracting. If they combine their strengths – “hope” and “work” – they both will almost certainly be in a position to lead America out of the mess we are in
Posted on March 14th, 2008 at 7:58 pm
Your faith is admirable.
Posted on March 14th, 2008 at 8:57 pm
I couldn’t agree with you more, on this, Derek–and, IMO, you just nailed, the ‘religious philosophy’ of Obama’s reverend, to the wall–and, IMO, also, both Obama’s ‘full-blown campaign from nowhere’, and McCain’s same sort of ‘instant’, fully charged campaign, [only McCain's was a very oddly transfused back-to-life with lots of $$$], have been so totally, and deliberately manipulated from ‘behind’–and, as I, also, thought–”Hillary wins!”, is exactly what the ‘fish wrappers’ will all be saying, come the morning after the November ‘election’.
About reviving our country–in my humble opinion–we’d do well to begin collecting all sorts of memorabilia that says “U.S.A.” on it, and keep it in mint condition–because, probably sooner rather than later, unfortunately, it might be worth a ‘pretty penny’, once America becomes ‘absorbed’, amoeba-style, into that half-a-brain-cell connoction, better known as the “One World Gov.”, which is sponsored by another [non]brilliantly contrived notion, called the NWO[which, IMHO, really stands for 'No Way Out'].
Posted on March 18th, 2008 at 2:59 am
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