Monday, April 30, 2007

Obama Gets Religion




Most Conservative Evangelicals I speak with express grave concerns with Obama. Their concerns are so grave, they even utter the hitherto unspeakable: "I'd prefer Hillary Clinton to Obama."

Those are mighty strong words. But apparently Obama's people are on top of this image problem with Evangelicals. Today's NYT has an article regarding Obama's conversion testimony and his relationship with his spirtual mentor, the right Reverend Wright. There are several comforting quotes...here are a few:

"He had sampled various faiths but adopted none until he met Mr. Wright, a dynamic pastor who preached Afrocentric theology, dabbled in radical politics and delivered music-and-profanity-spiked sermons."

"On the Sunday after the terrorist attacks of 9/11, Mr. Wright said the attacks were a consequence of violent American policies. Four years later he wrote that the attacks had proved that “people of color had not gone away, faded into the woodwork or just ‘disappeared’ as the Great White West went on its merry way of ignoring Black concerns.'"

"Mr. Obama has written that when he became a Christian, he “felt God’s spirit beckoning” and “submitted myself to His will and dedicated myself to discovering His truth.” While he has said he shares core Christian beliefs in God and in Jesus as his resurrected son, he sometimes mentions doubts. In his second book, he admitted uncertainty about the afterlife, and “what existed before the Big Bang.” Generally, Mr. Obama emphasizes the communal aspects of religion over the supernatural ones."

So, to all my radical, right-wing, fundamentalists friends who were afraid that Obama wasn't one of you.... Doesn't that make you feel all better?

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