Well, they both support wacky religious characters. Sung Chi-li and Jeremiah A. Wright are both charlatans in the pulpit as far as I’m concerned.
Has Fruitcake Frank Xie denounced Song Qili, though?
Do you think Obama is being genuine in his denouncement? Obama has belonged to Trinity Church for more than two decades. He was married by Wright, and his two daughters were baptized by him. Furthermore, Obama credits a sermon of Mr. Wright’s, “The Audacity of Hope,” with drawing him to Christianity, and he used those words as the title of his second book.
Since he arrived at Trinity in 1972, he has built a 6,000-member congregation through his blunt, charismatic preaching, which fuses scriptural analysis, black power, Afrocentrism, and social justice. For nearly as long, his sermons have been inflamattory, divisive and destructive. However, Mr. Obama has only started to distance himself from Mr. Wright since running for president. The denouncement Obama gave a few days ago is just political maneuvering for the Pennsylvania Primary. I thought Obama was supposed to be above all this. 
Do you think Obama is being genuine in his denouncement? [/quote]
Better than not denouncing him, right? Fruitcake Frank hasn’t even done that. 
Do you think Obama is being genuine in his denouncement? [/quote]
Better than not denouncing him, right? Fruitcake Frank hasn’t even done that. [/quote]
Yeah, you would think Candidate Hsieh would want to disassociate himself with someone who claims he can be in two places at once and who claimed to levitate above a Taipei Rapid Transit train.
Here’s a bit about Song Qili rickross.com/groups/sung.html
Does Wright claim to have any supernatural powers ?
Where in the hell did this thread come from? I want to read the first part.
The link is in the first post.
Do you think Obama is being genuine in his denouncement? [/quote]
Yes.
Do you think Obama is being genuine in his denouncement? [/quote]
Yes.[/quote]
Well, you know what PT Barnum said, right? There’s a sucker born every minute. Personally, if I attended Catholic mass, and the priest started preaching hatred against my country and its institutions, I would find another preacher in a different parish ASAP. That Obama kept the same preacher for almost two decades and had him baptize his two children speakes volumes, don’t you think? A denouncement during a highly competitive nomination race doesn’t mean much to me. He should have left the Church years ago. It is not like these statements by the preacher are anything new. He’s been saying them for ages.
Kind of ironic that Wright’s message of hatred was instrumental in getting Obama to leave a religion of intolerance, a jihad without end, spread by the sword, and maintained by the sword throughout its history.
Not to defend Obama, but sometimes one is too busy to find a new church. Or perhaps one has made a lot friends in a particular church, and can tolerate some differences of opinion with their leadership.
I know I’ve been part of the same church since I was 7 years old, and I don’t agree with everything my pastors says.
But then again I’ve never been asked to denouce him either.
[quote=“ac_dropout”]Not to defend Obama, but sometimes one is too busy to find a new church. Or perhaps one has made a lot friends in a particular church, and can tolerate some differences of opinion with their leadership.
I know I’ve been part of the same church since I was 7 years old, and I don’t agree with everything my pastors says.
But then again I’ve never been asked to denouce him either.[/quote]
I don’t agree with the Catholic Church on every single issue. However, in all my years attending mass in Canada and the Uk, I’ve never heard the priests or bishops slam Canada, Alberta, or the UK. If they did, a lot of the congregation would be offended. As soon as Obama entered public service, he should have disassociated himself with the messages of hate espoused by his pastor. That he is only doing it after it has emerfed as a campaign issue and before the few last all-important primaries says a lot, don’t you think? I mean, when you stay in a Church for two decades, when you get the pastor to marry you, and when you get him to baptize both of your kids, those are pretty strong ties. He must have approved of the pastor’s message for a long time. Now that it is politically expedient to denounce him, Obama has done it. And people think he is bringing a new message and style to Washington? 
He’s not the first politician to have shady ties (Truman with Pendergast etc.), but at least Truman was loyal to his friend. If Barack changes his colors so quickly, how are we to think he would react in crisis situations?
Obama hasn’t denounced the man, but part of his message. Read his speech. It was a classy and convincing distancing of himself from Wright’s wrong messages but most definitely pays respect to his legacy as a preacher and spiritual guide to Obama.
I just read Wright sermon on hope and it is pretty powerful and does not denounce the US. Instead it calls for hope in a violent, mixed-up world. If the majority of Wright’s sermons were on such messages, and so well put, I can see why Obama continued to go to his church.
My father, like most, has some pretty wacky ideas about the world. I was perfectly happy to have him attend my wedding. And if I were to ever run for public office I would hope I would not have to denounce him for the positive influence he has had on my character because some of his politics don’t match mine.
Is this a reference to Christianity or Islam? Tough to make the distinction.
Is this a reference to Christianity or Islam? Tough to make the distinction.[/quote]
I don’t recall Jesus ever fighting in numerous battles as the head of an army. Or marrying underaged girls.
But a majority of his sermons were not just full of hope. They were also full of hate. I’m particulary bothered by Obama’s excuse. Sure, we all have “black sheep” in our extended families, but for certain positions we want the best people possible, do we not? I don’t want “black sheep” to be my pastors, family doctors, mentors etc. Even after all these comments were made, Obama still donated US$22500 to the Church in 2006. If my priest said, “God damn Canada,” or made pro-Palestinian references, or accused my government of making the AIDS virus, I would walk out of the Church immediately and would definitely not donate a large sum of money to him. Furthermore, I would not call him a “friend” or a “great leader.”
youtube.com/watch?v=qpzHQ_PC1uI
Talking politics in a pub and listening to outrageous remarks by friends and family is one thing. Hearing them from your pastor is a different ball game altogether. He is in a high profile position of leadership within the community. He has the power to shape impressionable minds.
[quote=“Barack Obama”]
I don’t think my church is actually particularly controversial. Rev. Wright is like an old uncle who says things I don’t always agree with. Everyone has someone like that in their family. [/quote]
Despite your ideological differences with him, I’m glad you still respect your father. My parents and I agree on more things than we disagree on. While they disagree strongly with my foreign policy positions and with some economic (but not all) positions, I am as much of a social liberal as they are. However, you did not choose your father. Obama selected his pastor. Huge difference IMHO.
no, not Jesus.
The original quote. You stated throughout its history…
Do you really want to get into a tit-for-tat over the use of violence and intolerance in the name of God?
Aren’t most religious sermons by their nature “inflammatory, divisive and destructive?” Believers vs. non-believers, heaven and hell, and all that stuff? Isn’t someone usually on the outside? Even the Universalists would exclude atheists to some degree, yes?
When I am told that I have eternal damnation to look forward to, I must admit feeling a bit inflamed upon, divided and destroyed. :help: 
Well, the silver lining for Obama is that with all of this talk of Obama’s pastor, Obama’s pastor, Obama’s pastor, perhaps the rumors that Obama is really a Muslim who got secret underground training from a madrassa in Indonesia will be put to rest. Better to be thought of as an un-American Christian than an un-American Muslim, I guess.
Does anyone still remember what Franky Hsieh said about Song 7-powers when that news broke out decades ago ?
-.- btw who cares what Frank’s religion belongs to ? do you do you ?
as long as he doesnt claim to have power to be at 2 places at once, or ability to heal/cure cancer.