William Smyth
Rookie
- Nov 6, 2009
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What facts have I left out? Trinity UCC is the largest congregation in a predominately white denomination. It is a fact. Has been for years. I've read several of Rev. Wright's books and watched many of his sermons and speeches. Since early 2007, I've watched numerous services from Trinity that are streamed over the internet.I love how you leave out all the facts. You come off as being someone who has absolutely no knowledge on this situation......... In his book President Obama mentioned that he followed the teachings of Martin Luther King , thats paraphrasing. Dr. King who I greatly admire by the way, dreamed of an all inclusive society where a person was judged on their the content of their character and not on the color of their skin. Given that the Rev. Wright from his serom(s) while trying to uplift the black community which I admire as well, appears to teach the opposite of Dr. King. which I do not agree with. What I had said when it comes to the President. is that generally people are the sum of all their experiences and having been subjected to what I term to be a "seperatist" doctrine the President at the very least was introduced to it and as such it became part of his life experience as was his readings about Dr. King. I am a big believer that when our society STOPS judging people by the color of their skin no matter what the agenda then we will see one another for what we really are and thats human beings. While I do understand how someone can admire Rev. Wright for the deeds of the church because thats easy to admire, I for one do not agree on the Rev(s). divisive comments which seem to show a desire to keep people seperate based on the color of their skin.
Rev. Wright is not a separatist. If he was, he either would have convinced the church to leave the UCC or he would have left himself. The UCC is a predominately white denomination. Why would anyone preaching hatred towards whites or black separatism stay within the UCC? Not only did Rev. Wright stay in the UCC, but he created its largest congregation. Trinity UCC is also one of the largest (if not the largest) financial supporter of the UCC. Trinity's membership in the UCC and their financial support is totally voluntary. Trinity does have white members in spite of its location within an overwhelmingly black neighborhood and its use of African cultural traditions. Almost every Sunday there are visiting groups from the greater Chicago area. Many of these groups are predominately white. Why would these groups continually return if the congregation was hostile toward them or the sermon attacked them? I read lots of testimonials by white people talking about how wonderful and welcoming their experiences at Trinity where.
Rev. Wright from the National Press Club.
The prophetic theology of the black church has always seen and still sees all of God's children as sisters and brothers, equals who need reconciliation, who need to be reconciled as equals in order for us to walk together into the future which God has prepared for us.
Reconciliation does not mean that blacks become whites or whites become blacks and Hispanics become Asian or that Asians become Europeans.
Reconciliation means we embrace our individual rich histories, all of them. We retain who we are as persons of different cultures, while acknowledging that those of other cultures are not superior or inferior to us. They are just different from us.
We root out any teaching of superiority, inferiority, hatred, or prejudice.
And we recognize for the first time in modern history in the West that the other who stands before us with a different color of skin, a different texture of hair, different music, different preaching styles, and different dance moves, that other is one of God's children just as we are, no better, no worse, prone to error and in need of forgiveness, just as we are.
The following is from an article by Martin Marty, professor emeritus at the University of Chicago Divinity School.SenseCommon said:Rev. Wright is a known separatist who preaches hate speech. He's a race baiter along the lines of Al Sharpton, and Jessie Jackson. His goal is to keep the races separate by provoking feelings of discontent among them.
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Trinity focuses on biblical teaching and preaching. It is a church where music stuns and uplifts, a church given to hospitality and promoting physical and spiritual healing, devoted to education, active in Chicago life, and one that keeps the world church in mind, with a special accent on African Christianity. The four S's charged against Wright segregation, separatism, sectarianism, and superiority don't stand up, as countless visitors can attest. I wish those whose vision has been distorted by sermon clips could have experienced what we and our white guests did when we worshiped there: feeling instantly at home.
Yes, while Trinity is "unapologetically Christian," as the second clause in its motto affirms, it is also, as the other clause announces, "unashamedly black." From its beginning, the church has made strenuous efforts to help black Christians overcome the shame they had so long been conditioned to experience. That its members and pastor are, in their own term, "Africentric" should not be more offensive than that synagogues should be "Judeocentric" or that Chicago's Irish parishes be "Celtic-centric." Wright and colleagues insist that no hierarchy of races is involved. People do not leave Trinity ready to beat up on white people; they are charged to make peace.
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Can you provide an example of the "white hate material", you are the only person I've ever seen reference this.SenseCommon said:President Obama has publicly condemned Rev. Wright on numerous occasions for his hate speech. So have Anti-defamation organizations.
Rev. Wright is known to have distributed white hate materials among his followers. His views on white people as the enemy are very clear.
As I noted previously, I've done lots of research. I've read lots of accounts of people who have attended services at Trinity. I've read conservative evangelical Stephan Mansfield's book, "Faith of Barack Obama". Mansfield actually visited Trinity. Search Booktv for Stephan Mansfield and you can find video of him talking about his experience at Trinity.SenseCommon said:I suggest you read, learn the facts, and understand the man we are talking about. I live on the south side of Chicago. I know this mans voice all too well. I live the hate he preaches. So sitting in the bleachers in whatever far away state you live in, defending this man, is pathetic!
I've taken the time to determine for myself if the criticisms of Rev. Wright stand up. While I might not agree with everything that Rev. Wright believes, I know that it is not hatred that he is preaching.
The following is one example of how Rev. Wright's ministry has changed people's lives for the better. This appeared in the Wall Street Journal.
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Soon after abuse and neglect put her on the street at age 16, Ms. Hill met her future husband, Curtis Hill, another homeless teenager. They found jobs, rented and then purchased a home and started a family. Ms. Hill became a paralegal, her husband an office-equipment technician. When their firstborn, Curtis II, was 9, Ms. Hill vowed to expose him to church.
Going to Trinity changed the family. "My parents had been known for their New Year's Eve party, freely flowing with libations," recalls Curtis II, now 27. "But the church turned them into different people."
Ms. Hill credits the sermons of Mr. Wright with instilling in her a sense of social responsibility. Following her daytime work at a law firm, she began attending graduate classes at a local seminary. Deciding that God was calling her to the street rather than the pulpit, she established In His Grip Ministries and opened her family's door to prostitutes, drug dealers and the homeless -- anyone seeking a warm meal, a break from the cold or a gift on Christmas Eve. When a local gang firebombed Ms. Hill's car, she put on its burnt shell a poster that said, "and God still loves you," a move that ultimately led the gang to befriend her.
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