Barack Obama officially resigned from Trinity United Church of Christ, the former home of Pastor Jeremiah Wright.
From ABCNews:
Sources tell ABC News that Obama felt that as the campaign continued, the media would continue to focus on the church, to the detriment of the church community, that Obama would be held responsible for what happened in the church, and that the Church would be held responsible for his campaign. It would be best, Obama felt, to simply cut ties. He has not yet joined a new church.
The church has responded:
“Trinity United Church of Christ was informed that Senator Barack Obama and his family will no longer be members of our church. Though we are saddened by the news, we understand that it is a personal decision. We will continue to lift them in prayer and wish them the best as former members of our trinity community. As in the prayer for the ephesians, our entire trinity family ask that the nation entrust Barack, Michelle, Malia, and Sasha, to God’s care and guidance, so that Christ may continue to dwell in their lives, in their hearts, and in their work. We ask now for god’s peace to be with them. ‘Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more and all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.’
Ephesians 3:20”
– Rev. Otis Moss III
All this raises a few important questions (some of which are raised by Dave Silverman):
- How long will Obama be “unchurched”?
- Which church will he join now?
- Will his new church be the same type? Same denomination? Black church? White church? Multiracial church?
- Is there any church he can join where offensive things are not said?
- Who’s more grateful that he’s leaving: Obama himself or the other churchgoers at Trinity who had to deal with the media frenzy firsthand?
- Does his leaving the church help him politically at all at this point? (In other words, hasn’t the Rev. Wright scandal already had its full impact?) Shouldn’t he have left twenty years ago?
- Where on earth will his morals come from now?!
I wonder how large the exodus would be if other people left their church when their pastor said something offensive — now or in the past — on multiple occasions. I can’t imagine everyone agrees with everything they hear in church…
Wouldn’t it be nice if Obama just didn’t go back at all?
That’s unrealistic, of course. (You can bet there are people in the South who currently think he’s an unchurched Muslim.) He’ll join another church shortly. And then we’ll find out all the crazy things the new pastor has said…
And the cycle will go on.
(via the wonderful georgia10 at Daily Kos)
[tags]atheist, atheism[/tags]
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