Friday, November 7, 2008

In his Timely Re-emergence on Thursday, Rev. Wright Takes a Shot at the Media

Given the hate-mongering misogyny that emanated from Trinity UCC during the Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s tenure there, it’s hard to take seriously anything Wright says months after Barack Obama separated himself from his former pastor. Nevertheless, Wright has managed to make a public appearance at a forum in Connecticut just two days after the election, knowing full well he’d steal at least part of the limelight from Obama.

Rev. Wright’s credibility for me was permanently damaged when I first watched the video of his vicious trashing of Hillary Clinton from the pulpit of Trinity UCC. Later on, I was shocked by Father Pfleger’s scornful mockery of Clinton from that same pulpit.

The Rev. Susan Thistlethwaite, president of the Chicago Seminary (UCC) and also a member of Trinity, was not to be outdone by Wright or Pfleger. Rev. Thistlethwaite abused her office in her post at On Faith (Washington Post) in which she used a Bible story to demonize Sen. Clinton even further.

Not one to miss an opportunity, Wright used his recent appearance to take a shot at the media. Gregory Hladky of the NY Times reports:

‘“In response to questions from the audience, Mr. Wright, who has made few public appearances since his controversial remarks prompted Mr. Obama to distance himself from him in the spring, said the news media had taken many statements from his sermons out of context in an effort to damage Mr. Obama. ‘Their intent was to use me as a weapon of mass destruction to destroy that man’s candidacy,’ he said.”’

As a seminary graduate who has served as an ordained minister, it’s my understanding that any church that supports a political candidate from its pulpit could lose its tax-exempt status. I wonder how Trinity UCC stands on that issue.

3 comments:

  1. Not only does Wright build himself a ten-million-dollar house in a white community, he counsels a couple with a troubled marriage and winds up marrying the woman (in the process breaking up his own marriage, too) and now has broken up another marriage by having an affair (with a white woman, yet!). Makes me wish I had gone into religion as a trade -- it seems failureproof. (No offense, but really! It's possible to be too forgiving.)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi G.,

    Thanks for stopping by. It's good to hear from you again.

    Your comment about Rev. Wright is mind-blowing. How did you find out about all of this?

    Best,

    Virginia

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi, Virginia.

    The stuff about Wright's new house is all over the Web. I'm not sure how it was financed -- the purchase was $1.6 million, but there's a $10 million line of credit attached, which he can spend if he wants to. As a private entity, his church is not obliged to reveal details. Indisputably, it is in a largely white neighborhood; I recall articles saying a gating community bordering a golf course. I didn't save anything about the house to my hard drive.

    On the hanky-panky and homewrecking scandals:

    http://www.nypost.com/seven/05042008/news/nationalnews/baracks_rev__stole_a_wife_109298.htm
    Barack’s Rev. ‘Stole a Wife’
    Ex-Hubby: He Counseled Us, then Wed Her

    http://www.nypost.com/seven/09092008/news/nationalnews/o_pastor_in_sex_scandal_128142.htm
    O Pastor in Sex Scandal
    Rev. Wright Done Me Wrong: Church Lady

    Where do I find this stuff? During the primary season and the GE, I checked in daily at The Real Barack Obama (formerly Rezko Watch), HillBuzz, and No Quarter, among many others. The Real Barack Obama is topnotch; they really like doing research and have a lot of links.

    ReplyDelete