My take on Obama's creepy, race based church: UPDATED

Pajamas Media's Burt Prelutsky asks a good question, "Why isn't Barack Obama’s faith-based problem making national headlines and the nightly news?"

I've brought it up, and so have a few mainstream media outlets, but not lately.

Keep in mind that the title of Obama's best-selling book, The Audacity of Hope, comes from a sermon given by the pastor of Obama's church.

But here's what Prelutsky has to say:

Why is it, I wonder, that nobody is asking Barack Obama about his religious convictions? From what I've gathered, they're far more fascinating than Mitt Romney's.

For over 20 years, Sen, Obama has been a faithful member of Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ. The other day, I paid a visit to Trinity's website. There I read that the vision statement of the TUCC is based upon something called the systematized liberation theology that began in 1969 with the publication of Dr. James Cone's book, "Black Power and Black Theology." Dr. Cone believes that black Christians should not follow the "White Church," as it had failed to support them in their struggle for equal rights in America. I suspect that most white Christians would disagree.

Trinity United boasts that it is a congregation "Unashamedly Black and Unapologetically Christian." What’s more, "It is a congregation with a non-negotiable commitment to Africa. We are an African people, and remain true to our native land, the mother continent, the cradle of civilization."

Its pastor, Reverend Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr., has referred to "white arrogance" and "the United States of Whiter America." To my ears, that sounds unashamedly black, but I'm not so sure about the unapologetically Christian.

Prelutsky goes on to say that last year TUCC's magazine, The Trumpet, chose to honor that bigot, Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, as its 2007 Lifetime Achievement Trumpeter Award for Social Justice. He is unapologetically black, but also unapologetically not Christian.

Here is my contribution to the discussion. Obama grew up in secular households and was churchless until he came to Chicago. While a community organizer, he worked for a group that was funded by some South Side Chicago Catholic churches, including the one your humble blogger was baptized. But Obama chose not to become a Catholic.

There is no shortage of churches on the South Side. There are big churches, like TUCC, medium sized ones, and a whole bunch of storefront houses of worship. But Obama chose to join the race-based Trinity United Church of Christ.

Why? It's a fair question to ask.

Around this time last year the Chicago Tribune wrote about Obama's church and its controversial covenant and raised some of the questions Prelutsky did. Free Tribune registration is required for the link.

Obama's staff no doubt read the article, which led Obama to commit this audacious act of rudeness. He had invited the Reverend Wright to give the invocation at Obama's presidential announcemnt in Springfield last February, but disinvited Wright--the night before the event.

Rolling Stone Magazine's Ben Wallace-Wells wrote about Obama's church last winter. Here's what he found:

The Trinity United Church of Christ, the church that Barack Obama attends in Chicago, is at once vast and unprepossessing, a big structure a couple of blocks from the projects, in the long open sore of a ghetto on the city's far South Side. The church is a leftover vision from the Sixties of what a black nationalist future might look like. There's the testifying fervor of the black church, the Afrocentric Bible readings, even the odd dashiki. And there is the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, a sprawling, profane bear of a preacher, a kind of black ministerial institution, with his own radio shows and guest preaching gigs across the country. Wright takes the pulpit here one Sunday and solemnly, sonorously declares that he will recite ten essential facts about the United States. "Fact number one: We've got more black men in prison than there are in college," he intones. "Fact number two: Racism is how this country was founded and how this country is still run!" There is thumping applause; Wright has a cadence and power that make Obama sound like John Kerry. Now the reverend begins to preach. "We are deeply involved in the importing of drugs, the exporting of guns and the training of professional KILLERS. . . . We believe in white supremacy and black inferiority and believe it more than we believe in God. . . . We conducted radiation experiments on our own people. . . . We care nothing about human life if the ends justify the means!" The crowd whoops and amens as Wright builds to his climax: "And. And. And! GAWD! Has GOT! To be SICK! OF THIS SHIT!"

Uh, the Reverend Wright is spewing this shit in a church?

UPDATE 7:15PM CST: Wow, where do I start? Well, if you are an enthusiast of reading personal attacks against me, such as expressing doubt about the effectiveness of my Catholic baptism, then the below comment thread is for you.

The Times of London reports on the "dirt" being tossed at Obama. The article seems to get much of its inspiration, which the venerable publication cites, from the mysterious Hillary is 44 site.

Okay, let me make it very clear right now that I have not been in contact with anyone from that site, nor do I know who is behind it.

And finally, if you live outside of Illinois, you probably do not know who Michael Madigan is. He is Speaker of the Illinois House and Chairman of the Illinois Democratic Party. On a good day, and there have not been many of those lately, he keeps a safe distance from his fellow Democrat, Governor Rod Blagojevich. Madigan's daughter is the state attorney general. He could be the most powerful Democrat in our blue state.

Bill Baar over at Illinoize posted a recent Fox 32 Chicago YouTube video in which Madigan is interviewed. When asked about Tony Rezko and Chris Kelly, another Blagojevich crony--he was indicted on various fraud charges last month--Madigan responded:

I made a decision very early on in the Blagojevich adminsistration not to get to be closely associated with what they were doing.

When asked why, Madigan chuckled and responded:

Take a look at what happened.

Barack Obama was a state senator "very early on in the Blagojevich adminstration."

2nd UPDATE January 16:

Obama issued a statement on Farrakhan yesterday:

I decry racism and anti-Semitism in every form and strongly condemn the anti-Semitic statements made by Minister Farrakhan. I assume that Trumpet Magazine made its own decision to honor Farrakhan based on his efforts to rehabilitate ex-offenders, but it is not a decision with which I agree.

H/T: Solomonia

But the issue of Trinity United won't be going away. An Investors Business Daily editorial adds more fuel to the fire.

Thanks for the link:

The Bench

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