Barack Obama Condemns Reverend Jeremiah Wright's Sins

It is never easy to condemn the positions of those we have good reason to respect. Senator Obama finds himself in that position today. In his first ever column for the Huffington Post, Senator Barack H. Obama comments on the inflammatory rhetoric and sins of the former pastor of his church in Chicago.

Acropolis Review calls on Reverend Jeremiah Wright to reflect on the anger and pain he has caused to millions of his fellow Americans and to atone for his sinful statements in keeping with the example given by the late Pope Jan Pawel II and other spiritual leaders who have left their mark on the conscience of time. Reverend Wright would do well to request permission to perform his first act of atonement in one of the historic colonial era churches of Philadelphia. Such an act of penitence is of an urgency that surpasses the magnitude of the breach he has widened.

Senator Obama has asked all of his supporters nationwide - from California to Texas to Georgia to New York - to share this video with their fellow Americans.

In light of the well known fact that Sunday in America remains the most racially segregated of the week, we may be beginning a long overdue national discussion of the costs of failing to listen to each other. That discussion must be conducted with civility and candor. Although clearly outdated and incompatible with the gigantic cultural leap forward which has been confirmed by the many succcesses of Senator Obama's candidacy for the presidency in Iowa, South Carolina and Houston, the remarks of Reverend Jeremiah Wright which are in controversy are representative of a different chapter in the American historical context of centuries past. Senator Barack Hussein Obama is a graduate of Harvard and is the descendant of parents representing two races which have long had less than a perfect marriage in our historical experience. As with the Puritans and Congregationalists who heretically but constructively challenged the dominance of the Church of England and later founded Harvard and Yale to educate ethical, free-thinking citizens, for indisputably good reasons the African-American Christian tradition has been marked through centuries by currents that have challenged the power of the status quo, sometimes through the use of potent rhetoric which has at times worried those interested in a conservative approach to the status quo. Historically, those worries have proven ill founded. In contrast, the American Presbyterian and Episcopalian denominations have at moments occupied positions of relatively comfortable participation in some of the influential institutions in our American cultural heritage - confirmed by at least one far right wing commentator who recently penned a lamentation concerning the demise of the Puritans and the ascendance of Enlightenment governed approaches to religion in our national politics. The comparatively comfortable participation of these denominations in our national life has long been expressed by a liturgical tradition that respects the imperatives of proximity to power and the sobriety of discourse such proximity entails. Balancing the competing influences of our diverse religious currents is one of the reasons the Founders of the United States were so sensitive to the properly restricted power of religion in our national politics.

After the test of courage faced by Senator Obama when he delivered his now famous 2002 speech against President George W. Bush's and John McCain's ill advised and costly national security miscalculations which resulted in a search for weapons of mass destruction and Usama bin Laden in the wrong country, this may be the greatest test of leadership Senator Obama has ever faced. Senator Obama's remarks below concerning the role of his faith in the definition of the brand of political leadership he offers the nation are a necessary beginning but only a beginning:

The pastor of my church, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, who recently preached his last sermon and is in the process of retiring, has touched off a firestorm over the last few days. He's drawn attention as the result of some inflammatory and appalling remarks he made about our country, our politics, and my political opponents.

Let me say at the outset that I vehemently disagree and strongly condemn the statements that have been the subject of this controversy. I categorically denounce any statement that disparages our great country or serves to divide us from our allies. I also believe that words that degrade individuals have no place in our public dialogue, whether it's on the campaign stump or in the pulpit. In sum, I reject outright the statements by Rev. Wright that are at issue.

Because these particular statements by Rev. Wright are so contrary to my own life and beliefs, a number of people have legitimately raised questions about the nature of my relationship with Rev. Wright and my membership in the church. Let me therefore provide some context.

As I have written about in my books, I first joined Trinity United Church of Christ nearly twenty years ago. I knew Rev. Wright as someone who served this nation with honor as a United States Marine, as a respected biblical scholar, and as someone who taught or lectured at seminaries across the country, from Union Theological Seminary to the University of Chicago. He also led a diverse congregation that was and still is a pillar of the South Side and the entire city of Chicago. It's a congregation that does not merely preach social justice but acts it out each day, through ministries ranging from housing the homeless to reaching out to those with HIV/AIDS.

Most importantly, Rev. Wright preached the gospel of Jesus, a gospel on which I base my life. In other words, he has never been my political advisor; he's been my pastor. And the sermons I heard him preach always related to our obligation to love God and one another, to work on behalf of the poor, and to seek justice at every turn.

The statements that Rev. Wright made that are the cause of this controversy were not statements I personally heard him preach while I sat in the pews of Trinity or heard him utter in private conversation. When these statements first came to my attention, it was at the beginning of my presidential campaign. I made it clear at the time that I strongly condemned his comments. But because Rev. Wright was on the verge of retirement, and because of my strong links to the Trinity faith community, where I married my wife and where my daughters were baptized, I did not think it appropriate to leave the church.

Let me repeat what I've said earlier. All of the statements that have been the subject of controversy are ones that I vehemently condemn. They in no way reflect my attitudes and directly contradict my profound love for this country.

With Rev. Wright's retirement and the ascension of my new pastor, Rev. Otis Moss, III, Michelle and I look forward to continuing a relationship with a church that has done so much good. And while Rev. Wright's statements have pained and angered me, I believe that Americans will judge me not on the basis of what someone else said, but on the basis of who I am and what I believe in; on my values, judgment and experience to be President of the United States.