Obama on 60 minutes

[Madwand1]

I looked at the church's web site, and frankly, it disturbed me. I think, from my perspective, that it's wrong for a church to be racial, to promote a race that also happens to not be mine, and so would exclude me from membership. Similarly, I would reject any church that would accept me because of my heritage, but might reject others, for example my wife.

But that church doesn't belong to Obama, he belongs to it, and that community is not mine; I know little of it. So I looked some more, and found in particular the following:

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1546579-5,00.html

It is only in retrospect, of course, that I fully understand how deeply this spirit of hers [his mother] guided me on the path I would ultimately take. It was in search of confirmation of her values that I studied political philosophy, looking for both a language and systems of action that could help build community and make justice real. And it was in search of some practical application of those values that I accepted work after college as a community organizer for a group of churches in Chicago that were trying to cope with joblessness, drugs, and hopelessness in their midst.

My work with the pastors and laypeople there deepened my resolve to lead a public life, but it also forced me to confront a dilemma that my mother never fully resolved in her own life: the fact that I had no community or shared traditions in which to ground my most deeply held beliefs. The Christians with whom I worked recognized themselves in me; they saw that I knew their Book and shared their values and sang their songs. But they sensed that a part of me remained removed, detached, an observer among them. I came to realize that without an unequivocal commitment to a particular community of faith, I would be consigned at some level to always remain apart, free in the way that my mother was free, but also alone in the same ways she was ultimately alone.

In such a life I, too, might have contented myself had it not been for the particular attributes of the historically black church, attributes that helped me shed some of my skepticism and embrace the Christian faith.

For one thing, I was drawn to the power of the African American religious tradition to spur social change. Out of necessity, the black church had to minister to the whole person. Out of necessity, the black church rarely had the luxury of separating individual salvation from collective salvation. It had to serve as the center of the community's political, economic, and social as well as spiritual life; it understood in an intimate way the biblical call to feed the hungry and clothe the naked and challenge powers and principalities. In the history of these struggles, I was able to see faith as more than just a comfort to the weary or a hedge against death; rather, it was an active, palpable agent in the world.

From this and other material in his essay, I believe that he was at least in part genuinely drawn toward this church because of a wish to belong. That's what he says. I guess further that he has a wish to clearly appear to belong to the black community, to show them that he's not an outsider. This church makes that clear. Probably little else does besides the color of his skin, which for people who look a little deeper is not conclusive.

I don't agree with the particular presentation that the church makes. I think churches should talk about divinity, not the color of skin and the merits of a particular race or heritage, but the reality is such that church and culture and heritage and race are intertwined, and that a minority may need positive reinforcement, acceptance and affirmation, so that it doesn't feel inferior. It may also need a representative leader to show them that he accepts them.

Beyond the church that he belongs to, I find Obama's politics to be more classically liberal and encompassing rather than exclusionary and racist. These charges may in part be valid against the church, or at least seem that way, but they don't stick to him. You know that if he was himself producing the material of this church, it would be different. You know that he doesn't carry some sort of absurd black supremacist agenda. Try to understand further this "unequivocal commitment to a particular community of faith".

 

[Arkaign]

Obama is a non-player, just like Rudy. Get ready for two more blithering morons, just like Bush/Kerry in '04. There is some law against a Presidential candidate being able to hold an IQ greater than 75 I think.

 

[judasmachine]

Originally posted by: spidey07

Originally posted by: Aimster
They addressed pretty much all the issues..

They "championed" his agenda is all they did without exposing the slime of his past and his church.

You frighten me when you say that...

They did mention the blow (just like bush), and his middle name being Hussein.

 

[dmcowen674]

Originally posted by: spidey07

Originally posted by: UberNeuman
spidey07 - Obama becomes President in 2008 - tell me, what happens then?

There is a military coup.

By who, rich Republicans with AK47's???

 

[International Machine Consortium]

Yeah, they'll be setting up roadblocks with their 7 series Bimmers. :laugh: :laugh:

 

[imported_Shivetya]

Originally posted by: piasabird
Carter had more experience to handle the job of president than Obama!

no he didn't, we just wanted him OUT of our state

 

[imported_Shivetya]

Originally posted by: DeathBUA

Originally posted by: spidey07

Originally posted by: dahunan
What is it that you hate about this Black Man? You sound obsessed and disturbed

I don't hate him at all. His credentials and accomplishments are stellar. It's his church that I disagree with - it's like the KKK but reversed.

You rail his church but at the same notion some of the ideals preached by some of the neo-con evangelical churches is just as bad. Oh wait if you check out his church it's not like the KKK reversed, it absolves for black empowerment, are you so scared of that? Definitely a little less harmful than some of the other churches out there. Jesus Christ man if all you can do is rail against his church then just STFU.

one person's actions do not excuse anothers, never have and never will.

 

[Pandaren]

Originally posted by: spidey07
This should be a good showing by the liberal media. They probably won't bring up his church or his shady background.

What do you say they just use the entire show as a campaign parade? Or will it offer a fair and balanced perspective?

Are you going to provide any links or evidence? What a frakkup of a post.

 

[Thump553]

Originally posted by: spidey07
This should be a good showing by the liberal media. They probably won't bring up his church or his shady background.

What do you say they just use the entire show as a campaign parade? Or will it offer a fair and balanced perspective?

This post is a classic case of irony-a highly biased poster complained about the "liberal media's" bias before he even sees the show he's complaining about. The sad thing is the poster is probably totally clueless about the blinders he has put on his thought processes.

 

[Pandaren]

Originally posted by: Thump553
This post is a classic case of irony-a highly biased poster complained about the "liberal media's" bias before he even sees the show he's complaining about.

I'll put it more bluntly. The OP is a blithering idiot.

 

[thraashman]

I definately don't see how his church is like a reversed KKK. They definately seem to be a bit separatist though and focus too much on race in my opinion. But I'm not a minority, so I don't really need to congregate with my race to try and bring it up. I'm white, my race is already at the top in this nation. A group of minorities working together for empowerment to reach equality financially and socially instead of just legally is one thing. Having a group of the majority get together to empower the race that is already on top can only really be done by keeping down the minorities.