The Character Assassination of Jeremiah Wright

From FOX News:

The Chicago church attended by Barack Obama is fighting back against media coverage of its controversial pastor, issuing a statement on Sunday, saying reports on the inflammatory remarks by Rev. Jeremiah Wright are an attempt to attack “the history of the African American church.”

“Reverend Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr.’s character is being assassinated in the public sphere because he has preached a social gospel on behalf of oppressed women, children and men in America and around the globe,” the leaders of Trinity United Church of Christ wrote Sunday in a statement distributed to the media.

Claiming that Wright’s 36 years as pastor of the church — the largest United Church of Christ congregation, with 8,000 members — is being demeaned, Rev. John H. Thomas, UCC general minister and president, said, “It saddens me to see news stories reporting such a caricature of a congregation that has been such a blessing to the UCC’s Wider Church mission … It’s time for us to say ‘No’ to these attacks and declare that we will not allow anyone to undermine or destroy the ministries of any of our congregations in order to serve their own narrow political or ideological ends.”

I buy the notion that Wright and the Trinity United Church of Christ have done some good things. It's unfair to assume it's all hate and conspiracy theories all the time.

However, the church can't claim to be victimized by the media.

Wright's words and the congregation's reaction to his words speak volumes.

Americans saw clips of Wright's sermons. We heard him speak. We heard the congregation cheer.

If the caricature fits, wear it.
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Read the Trinity United Church of Christ statement: "An Attack on Our Senior Pastor and the History of the African American Church"

“Dr. Wright has preached 207,792 minutes on Sunday for the past 36 years at Trinity United Church of Christ. This does not include weekday worship services, revivals and preaching engagements across America and around the globe, to ecumenical and interfaith communities. It is an indictment on Dr. Wright’s ministerial legacy to present his global ministry within a 15- or 30-second sound bite,” said the Reverend Otis Moss III, pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ.

Wright is being held accountable for some absolutely horrible statements that he made. That's reasonable.

He's not being attacked unfairly. He's having to take responsibility for his own words.

Some of his words happen to be divisive and ugly and inexcusable. Obama agrees.

Does the church consider Obama to be one of the attackers?

Either you're with us or against us -- is that what this is?