Wednesday, January 09, 2008

Stunning

My sister passed this e-mail to me. It embellishes part of what I wrote in my previous post. The grammar and spelling issues in the e-mail are not mine or from my sister, but from the wisdom of the person who composed it:

ur country needs to pay attention to the upcoming election!!!! See below:
> Subject: OBAMA'S CHURCH
>
> Obama mentioned his church during his appearance with Oprah. It's the
> Trinity Church of Christ. I found this interesting.Obama's church:Please
> read and go to this church's website and read what is written there. It is
> very alarming.Barack Obama is a member of this church and is running for
> President of the U.S. If you look at the first page of their website, you
> will learn that this congregation has a non-negotiable commitment to
> Africa. No where is AMERICA even mentioned. Notice too, what color you
> will need to be if you should want to join Obama's church... B-L-A-C-K!!!
> Doesn't look like his choice of religion has improved much over his
> (former?) Muslim upbringing. Are you aware that Obama's middle name is
> Mohammed? Strip away his nice looks, the big smile and smooth talk and
> what do you ! get? Ce rtainly a racist, as plainly defined by the stated
> position of his church! And possibly a covert worshiper of the Muslim
> faith, even today. This guy desires to rule over America while his loyalty
> is totally vested in a Black Africa!I cannot believe this has not been all
> over the TV and newspapers. This is why it is so important to pass this
> message along to all of our family & friends. To think that Obama has even
> the slightest chance in the run for the presidency, is really scary.



Trinity has this posted on their website:

We are a congregation which is Unashamedly Black and Unapologetically Christian... Our roots in the Black religious experience and tradition are deep, lasting and permanent. We are an African people, and remain "true to our native land," the mother continent, the cradle of civilization. God has superintended our pilgrimage through the days of slavery, the days of segregation, and the long night of racism. It is God who gives us the strength and courage to continuously address injustice as a people, and as a congregation. We constantly affirm our trust in God through cultural expression of a Black worship service and ministries which address the Black Community.

The Pastor as well as the membership of Trinity United Church of Christ is committed to a 10-point Vision:

  1. A congregation committed to ADORATION.
  2. A congregation preaching SALVATION.
  3. A congregation actively seeking RECONCILIATION.
  4. A congregation with a non-negotiable COMMITMENT TO AFRICA.
  5. A congregation committed to BIBLICAL EDUCATION.
  6. A congregation committed to CULTURAL EDUCATION.
  7. A congregation committed to the HISTORICAL EDUCATION OF AFRICAN PEOPLE IN DIASPORA.
  8. A congregation committed to LIBERATION.
  9. A congregation committed to RESTORATION.
  10. A congregation working towards ECONOMIC PARITY.
Trinity Church is an active congregation within the United Church of Christ. They fully participate in the life of the denomination and Jeremiah Wright is a colleague and friend of many within our denomination and has spoken at many functions that were racially mixed or almost all Caucasian. What is written in this e-mail is grotesque and untrue.

First, this is not and never has been a 'covert' group worshiping Islam. Wright is, as he states, unapologetically Christian.

Secondly, when they say that they are committed to a Biblical Education, everything, and I mean everything they do there includes Bible Study time. Choir rehearsal is broken into two parts. Part one, Bible Study, and then Part two. They do it this way so no one can come late or leave early.

The commitment to being African is very much based upon the fact that the ancestors of the African American population did not migrate to the United States on their own free will. Being an Italian American there are distinctly Italian traditions my family brought over and still resonate and live within the family. When the African folks were brought here, they were stripped of their culture. Wright's concern is that unless you help people connect with from whence they came, they will never have a complete identity. He is trying to enable folks to see from whence they came and take pride in that.

If you don't like Trinity United Church of Christ, do not attend. If you disagree with their approach, do not attend. But do not pass on things that defame a church in such an irresponsible fashion.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

As I’ve said elsewhere, in my view, the most alarming parts of Obama’s Church’s “10 Point Vision” are 4 and 10.

“4. A congregation with a ‘non-negotiable’ COMMITMENT TO AFRICA” (emphasis in the original).

If I offer to sell you my car for $30,000 and I tell you that the price is “non-negotiable” that means that either you pay me $30,000 or there’s no deal–take it or leave it. “Non-negotiable” leaves no room for ambiguity. “Non-negotiable” means non-negotiable.

Therefore, since there’s NO DISPUTE that he’s a member of the “congregation”, and that the congregation has a “non-negotiable COMMITMENT TO AFRICA”, it is impossible for him to faithfully take his Oath of Office as a United States Senator, President, or any other public office for that matter. Toward that end, there can be little doubt that the interests of the United States and the interests of any one of the nations of Africa, or any other nation, are perpetually in dispute, at one level or another. By definition, you can’t have both a non-negotiable commitment to the United States and to the continent of Africa.

If the words “Black” and “Africa” were replaced on Obama’s Church’s website with “White” and “Germany”, this man would be labeled a “White Separtist” by the media, and his political career would immediatly be over.

“10. A congregation working towards ECONOMIC PARITY”

By definition, economic parity means communism–plainly.

So, in sum, Mr. Obama belongs to a Black Separatist Church that is working toward communism. It’s their words, not mine.

This ought to do a lot to allay the fears of people who believe that Obama is a left-wing radical (sarcasm intended).

John Manzo said...

If you don't like Trinity United Church of Christ, do not attend. If you disagree with their approach, do not attend. But do not pass on things that defame a church in such an irresponsible fashion. If you don't want to vote for Obama, don't. But your ignorance of this church is mind boggling.