Pastoral Input & Elections
I am increasingly uncomfortable and pissed off at the amount of time the media is spending on Barack Obama’s pastor, Jeremiah Wright.
I go to church every week. I have for several years, after about a decade of never going to church. I was raised in a home where I went to church every week.
I have yet to sit in a church and agree with the religious leader speaking. It just hasn’t happened to me.
For 2-3 years my husband and I sat in a church where we, or at least I, disagreed with nearly everything the pastor said. Nearly everything. We kept going back because his brothers and parents went there and we were in it for that communal bond.
The message was even offensive to me most of the time.
We moved to another church where the message was less offensive, but I still didn’t agree with much of what I heard.
We currently sit in a church where I don’t agree with that much of the message, but find it’s the most progressive, and least offensive, of the three denominations in town that we have to choose from.
I guess I take issue with the fact that people are allowed to judge what I believe based on what comes out of the pastor’s mouth. I can’t control what he’s saying, or what he believes, so I don’t want to be judged or condemned by it.
I read an article about evangelical Rev. John Hagee that John McCain was wooing so he could get the conservative vote. That guy, the article said, attributed Hurricane Katrina to God’s Judgement against an unholy and sinful city. He talks about Nation of Islam and going to go to holy war, as if it’s inevitable and desirable. He condemns Catholics and homosexuals. He preaches that the Qu’ran calls the Nation of Islam to kill Christians and Jews (I don’t believe this.) When I read about the guy and his religious-political beliefs I am reminded of Nazi Germany’s religious political propaganda.
The thought of a Presidential Candidate (McCain) wooing any pastor who desires a Holy War with the Middle East terrifies me in a crap my pants kind of way.
I want the antithesis of that - peace and religious tolerance.
Thank God for the Separation of Church and State. It’s the only thing protecting us from all these crazy extremist pastors and their “rightness” and holy wars and prejudiced and bigoted views of “what God wants.”
Tags: barack-obama, blog fabulous, empowering families, empowering women, john-mccain, reverend wright, so sioux me, tracee siouxRelated Stories
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11 opinions for Pastoral Input & Elections
Violet
Apr 29, 2008 at 12:43 pm
I am one of those people who was pretty unhappy to find that he stayed in that church. Do I think it means he and Rev. Wright are the exact same? No. But I think it shows lack of character and judgement. I’d think the same thing about McCain or any other candidate who did something similar.
Probably my biggest complaint though is the double standard. He can associate with people who say things like this and excuse it, and yet Geraldine F. makes a comment that his race has something to do with why he was propelled forward in the campaign and she is branded a racist by him. This is a woman who has fought her whole life for civil rights.
I would never go to a church where I didn’t agree with their message, let alone adopt the minister as a mentor. I left the church I grew up in because I didn’t agree. I even stood up in a church meeting and openly called out the speaker for being wrong once (sorry mom).
Of course, I will probably be called a racist just for saying this. Double standard.
I’ll still vote for him. I think there is more to him than just this incident. But that doesn’t mean I have to eat shit pie and call it lemon meringue. I think he was wrong.
Tracee
Apr 29, 2008 at 1:05 pm
“But I think it shows lack of character and judgement.”
I guess I’m taking this statement personally. Myself and lots of other people sit in churches where they do not agree with its leaders. They do it for tradition. They do it for community. They do it to keep peace with loved ones. They do it because it’s socially expected of them.
I do it because there is no church on the planet that is aligned with my religious beliefs.
Participation in a Church is incredibly important to my husband, and therefore the peace in our marriage.
It pisses me off to be held to this arbitrary standard of “character and judgement.” Show me the church or the pastor who shares my religious views and I’ll sit there - as it stands that Church just doesn’t exist.
I’m not taking responsibility for the words out of anyone else’s mouths.
Ashley
Apr 29, 2008 at 1:26 pm
I think anyone would be hard pressed to find another human being - let alone a pastor - who we agree with totally when it comes to spiritual things. God made us different, talks to us individually and leads us from place to place, which leads to different experiences. I think most of us just find the best fit we can. Once you have children and a family you might go to a church for the awesome Sunday school program, you might go there to appease family - or you might go there to ‘Gasp’ be with God.. No other person on the planet - or their views- can stop me from doing that no matter what the name of building is.
Violet
Apr 29, 2008 at 1:29 pm
I guess it’s good you didn’t grow up in Nazi Germany or the Deep South then!
I think many of those people stayed quiet for the same reasons. For tradition. For community. To keep peace with loved ones. Because it was socially expected of them.
I’m not judging him on the remarks of his pastor. I’m judging him on his actions. They were a mistake in my opinion. He thinks so also going by the speech he made earlier today.
And I don’t believe you. If your pastor stood up on Sunday and said that all girls should not be educated past 7th grade or should start wearing burkas, you would be out the door even if it meant you had no religion.
Violet
Apr 29, 2008 at 1:34 pm
Also the relationship was WAY closer than pastor and congregate. Obama names Wright as his personal mentor and one of the most influential people in his life. He married the Obamas and is the godfather to their two children.
Ashley
Apr 29, 2008 at 1:39 pm
Maybe he’s gone in an extreme direction lately maybe.
Tracee
Apr 29, 2008 at 1:41 pm
No really.
The church we went to was shockingly misogynistic. So much so that it took me a long time to believe that they were daring to even say the crap they said. I didn’t do nothing. I talked to the pastors and what not to confirm that they really were saying what I thought the were saying. Sometimes I spoke up. But most of the time I sat there SEETHING. Arguing with my husband about whether we should stay there or not.
You can’t argue with people who believe God’s on their side. That’s one thing I’ve learned by living in the Deep South - don’t engage the religious crazies. There’s no point.
People have a right to go to church for cultural reasons - Theology is beside the point for many people.
Aside from that, I didn’t find Wrights comments nearly as alarming or anti-American as I find Hagee’s beliefs and comments.
Violet
Apr 29, 2008 at 1:42 pm
But I’ll STILL vote for him if he is the nominee. This is one mistake, and I think it was a mistake, but I believe Obama is a good man who can do great things for our country. Whatevs, Hill has made some mistakes also.
It made me feel much better when Obama finally denounced Wright today. About time.
Tracee
Apr 29, 2008 at 3:25 pm
I just rounded up all the people who I agree with 100% of the time and all the people who want to take responsibility for what I say on Blog Fabulous and So Sioux Me.
Here I sit - alone. No friends, family, pastors, or fans left. Hummm.
(I saw him denounce what Wright said weeks ago on The View.At least to my satisfaction.)
I don’t like what they did to Geraldine Ferraro either.
Still want to see an EQUAL media uproar about McCain’s connection with Hagee.
Rebecca
Apr 29, 2008 at 4:09 pm
Tracee,
You couldn’t possibly be talking about my old church. :)
I think there has been a certain uproar about Hagee. Not nearly as much as the Wright controversy, though. I find Hagee particularly disturbing considering I remember watching him on tv as a child. (Not by choice, obviously.)
Tracee
Apr 30, 2008 at 6:08 am
I could be talking about that church. And they LOVE Hagee, I’m sure, and that guy is scary.
No holy wars for me please.
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