Pastor’s teachings shouldn’t widen racial divide (OBAMARAMA CONTINUES UNABATED)

By all indications, we are closer this week to Barack Obama’s announcement that he is running for president. He and his wife Michelle are featured on Ebony magazine’s February cover. His book, "The Audacity of Hope," hit the New York Times’ best-seller list and with Democrats winning the U.S. Senate majority, he is highly sought for political talk shows.

Along with all the speculation comes increased curiosity about Obama’s background and influences. The night he won his U.S. Senate seat, Obama thanked his campaign staff generically and immediately recognized his longtime spiritual advisor, the Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright, Jr., pastor of Chicago’s Trinity United Church of Christ. Dr. Wright inspired the title of Obama’s second book.

In 1993, Ebony recognized Dr. Wright as one of the nation’s top 15 most influential black pastors. Having pastored Trinity since 1972, Wright’s fiery preaching and community outreach has pushed its membership to nearly 10,000. Chicago personalities such as Oprah Winfrey and local news host Cheryl Burton commonly fill the pews. More than 10 percent of Trinity’s congregation can be found in the upper income bracket.

Obama and Wright, now 65, met 20 years ago when Obama began a Chicago community outreach program after graduating from law school. Boosted by the '60s social upheaval, Wright began in the early '70s to weave political themes into his Sunday sermons. His teachings emphasized pride in African heritage, a philosophy known as "Afro-centricism." Wright is now internationally renowned for his unique brand of "Afrocentrist Christianity."

Wright is a guest lecturer at universities around the world on the topic of European writers revising history to deny African-Americans deserved pride in their African origins. In an attempt to correct what black activists consider historical misperception, Wright passionately emphasizes Africa as the heart of human civilization.

"He gives a contemporary, African-American, Afrocentric flavor to the traditional black shout," one religious scholar said about Wright’s preaching. "A Wright sermon is a four-course meal: spiritual, biblical, cultural, prophetic."

"Afrocentricity" means that Africa and persons of African descent must be seen as proactive subjects within history, rather than passive objects of Western history, writes black scholar Cane Hope Felder.

This emphasis on the black community’s societal contribution is an intrinsic part of Wright’s ministry. Trinity is unique among UCC churches in its motto: "Unashamedly black and unapologetically Christian," and in its promotion of a 12-point church doctrine adopted in 1982 requiring members to donate to black causes and black leaders who uphold "Black Value System" teachings.

On the other hand, Wright doesn’t hesitate to criticize fellow blacks he views as "political go-alongs." Condemning black conservative pastors who worked with George W. Bush on faith-based initiatives, Wright says "cooperation preachers," betray black liberation efforts. He calls anyone who voted for Bush "stupid," and scorns the rise of blacks to national prominence such as Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, Secretary of Education Rodney Paige, former Secretary of State Colin Powell and current Secretary of State Condeleeza Rice — simply because they were appointed by Republican administrations.

Recently I questioned whether a man with such close ties to a church and spiritual advisor that teaches Afrocentricity — Sen. Obama — would feel compelled to politically advocate hot button issues such racial quotas and affirmative action if he were to be elected president./p>

A Trinity member responded, "I am offended by your insinuation that people cannot be proud and embrace their ethnic heritage without being blinded to the needs and concerns of others.

"For you to suggest that only members of non-denominational/multicultural congregations are open-minded enough to be president is highly misguided and inflammatory," she wrote.

This lady was understandably offended when I visited her church out of curiosity and came away with questions about the church’s teachings. Those questions became the subject of a column in a city known for its racial strife.

Racial division bothers me. As a firm believer in a creator and His wisdom and creativity, I believe we are all here because the creator allowed us to be. I revere Him and His design of each human. Skin color means no more to me than hair color does. God alone determines who our parents are and when we are allowed to be on this earth.

Elevation of any race over another, especially when preached from a pulpit, should disturb us all. We should question the wisdom and sensitivity of anyone — including Barack Obama — who can sit under angry teaching year after year and still look to the divisive messenger as a spiritual adviser.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. cautioned against teachings of racial supremacy. Two months before the historic march on Washington and his famous "I Have a Dream" speech, King told thousands at a Detroit rally, "I can understand from a psychological point of view why some caught up in the clutches of the injustices surrounding them almost respond with bitterness and come to the conclusion that the problem can’t be solved within, and they talk about getting away from it in terms of racial separation. But even though I can understand it psychologically, I must say to you this afternoon that this isn’t the way.

So were the words of a man whose leadership rightfully shamed a nation into birthing dramatic social changes that would ultimately bear racial justice through the passage of civil and voting rights legislation.

As Obama challenged the nation to set aside differences in his 2004 Democratic National Convention speech, he, too, should contemplate any of his own blind spots.

With all the challenges facing America in the next decade, racial division shouldn’t be one of them.

Fran Eaton a south suburban resident, a conservative activist in state and national politics and an online journalist. She can be reached at featon@illinoisreview.com.

War on Iraq IQ Test

REV. JEREMIAH WRIGHT / Trinity Pastor's Page 23feb03

Take the War on Iraq IQ Test
Do you know enough to justify going to war with Iraq?

1. Q: What percentage of the world's population does the U.S. have?
A: 6% [correction - 4.8% of world's population - 6.2 billion vs. 280 million]
2. Q: What percentage of the world's wealth does the U.S. have?
A: 50% [correction - 22% of global GDP]
3. Q: Which country has the largest oil reserves?
A: Saudi Arabia
4. Q: Which country has the second largest oil reserves?
A: Iraq
5. Q: How much is spent on military budgets a year worldwide?
A: $900+ billion
6. Q: How much of this is spent by the U.S.?
A: 50% [explanation - military expenditures for FY2003 may be $460-470 billion including $378.5 billion for the Pentagon, $15.4 billion for nuclear weapons programs, $3.8 billion for foreign military assistance, $1.4 billion for military-related activities of other agencies, $32 billion for military retirement benefits and health care for current employees, $30 billion for the CIA, plus funding for the Homeland Security Department]
7. Q: What percent of US military spending would ensure the essentials of life to everyone in the world, according the UN?
A: 10% (that's about $40 billion, the amount of funding initially requested to fund our retaliatory attack on Afghanistan)
8. Q: How many people have died in wars since World War II?
A: 86 million
9. Q: How long has Iraq had chemical and biological weapons?
A: Since the early 1980's.
10. Q: Did Iraq develop these chemical & biological weapons on their own?
A: No, the materials and technology were supplied by the US government, along with Britain and private corporations.
11. Q: Did the US government condemn the Iraqi use of gas warfare against Iran?
A: No
12. Q: How many people did Saddam Hussein kill using gas in the Kurdish town of Halabja in 1988?
A: 5,000
13. Q: How many western countries condemned this action at the time?
A: 0
14. Q: How many gallons of agent Orange did America use in Vietnam?
A: 17 million.
15. Q: Are there any proven links between Iraq and September 11th terrorist attack?
A: No
16. Q: What is the estimated number of civilian casualties in the Gulf War?
A: 35,000
17. Q: How many casualties did the Iraqi military inflict on the western forces during the Gulf War ?
A: 0
18. Q: How many retreating Iraqi soldiers were buried alive by U. S. tanks with ploughs mounted on the front?
A: 6,000
19. Q: How many tons of depleted uranium were left in Iraq and Kuwait after the Gulf War?
A: 40 tons
20. Q: What according to the UN was the increase in cancer rates in Iraq between 1991 and 1994?
A: 700%
21. Q: How much of Iraq's military capacity did America claim it had destroyed in 1991?
A: 80%
22. Q: Is there any proof that Iraq plans to use its weapons for anything other than deterrence and self-defense?
A: No
23. Q: Does Iraq present more of a threat to world peace now than 10 years ago?
A: No
24. Q: How many civilian deaths has the Pentagon predicted in the event of an attack on Iraq in 2003? A: 10,000
25. Q: What percentage of these will be children? A: Over 50%
26. Q: How many years has the U.S. engaged in air strikes on Iraq? A: 11 years
27. Q: Were the U.S and the UK at war with Iraq between December 1998 and September 1999?
A: No
28. Q: How many pounds of explosives were dropped on Iraq between December 1998 and September 1999?
A: 20 million
29. Q: How many years ago was UN Resolution 661 introduced, imposing strict sanctions on Iraq's imports and exports?
A: 12 years
30. Q: What was the child death rate in Iraq in 1989 (per 1,000 births)?
A: 38
31. Q: What was the estimated child death rate in Iraq in 1999 (per 1,000 births)?
A: 131 (that's an increase of 345%)
32. Q: How many Iraqis are estimated to have died by October 1999 as a result of UN sanctions?
A: 1.5 million
33. Q: How many Iraqi children are estimated to have died due to sanctions since 1997?
A: 750,000
34. Q: Did Saddam order the inspectors out of Iraq?
A: No
35. Q: How many inspections were there in November and December 1998?
A:300
36. Q: How many of these inspections had problems?
A:5
37. Q: Were the weapons inspectors allowed entry to the Ba'ath Party HQ?
A: Yes
38. Q: Who said that by December 1998, Iraq had in fact, been disarmed to a level unprecedented in modern history.
A: Scott Ritter, UNSCOM chief.
39. Q: In 1998 how much of Iraq's post 1991 capacity to develop weapons of mass destruction did the UN weapons inspectors claim to have discovered and dismantled?
A: 90%
40. Q: Is Iraq willing to allow the weapons inspectors back in?
A: Yes
41. Q: How many UN resolutions did Israel violate by 1992?
A: Over 65
42. Q: How many UN resolutions on Israel did America veto between 1972 and 1990?
A: 30+
43. Q: How much does the U.S. fund Israel a year?
A:$5 billion
44. Q: How many countries are known to have nuclear weapons?
A: 8
45. Q: How many nuclear warheads has Iraq got?
A: 0
46. Q: How many nuclear warheads has US got?
A: over 10,000
47. Q: Which is the only country to use nuclear weapons?
A: the US
48. Q: How many nuclear warheads does Israel have?
A: Over 400
49. Q: Has Israel every allowed UN weapon inspections?
A: No
50. Q: What percentage of the Palestinian territories are controlled by Israeli settlements?
A: 42%
51. Q: Is Israel illegally occupying Palestinian land?
A: Yes
52. Q: Which country do you think poses the greatest threat to global peace: Iraq or the U.S.?
A: ????
53. Q: Who said, "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter"?
A: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr

Members of Trinity are asked to think about these things and be prayerful as we sift through the "hype" being poured on by the George Bush-controlled media.

Rev Jeremiah A Wright, Jr.

War on Iraq IQ Test - written by: Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, placed the following 'War on Iraq IQ Test' on the Trinity "Pastor's Page" for Sunday, Feb. 23.

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