Obama's left his church. Well, I guess it's like cutting off a gangrenous limb -- get rid of the limb before it infects and kills the entire person (or, in this case, candidacy).
I'm curious, though. If Obamessiah finds the church THAT objectionable, why is he leaving now, after 20 years, only after the media's raised a loud and sustained furor about the (frankly, disturbing and distressing) things being shouted from the pulpit? I mean, COME On, I'm naive, but I'm not that naive.
Listen up -- and the Il Barista and La Parisienne will probably agree -- if you have a real and deep, irreconcilable problem with a church, the sanest thing to do is leave, not hang around.
6 comments:
There's a line in Ridley Scott's Kingdom of Heaven where the Patriarch of Jerusalem advises Balian to surrender the city, agree to become Muslim and repent later.
There is a line in Ridley Scott's Kingdom of Heaven that fits Sen. Obama perfectly. The Patriarch of Jerusalem advises Balian to make a deal with Saladin, "Convert to Islam...repent later."
Obama's abandonment of his BLT church is repulsive and goes to his character. No wonder Obama would pull out of Iraq to leave the weak population to its own devices; he is such a coward. I have no respect for him.
Ummmm, dealing with your church community can be a bit harder than just leaving. It can be a little like leaving your family. Let's consider a few other cases. Bill Clinton had a drub-abusing brother, George Bush has a kinda dim brother named Neil who got himself embroiled in the S&L scandal. One of Reagan's kids had severe problems I think. You can't dump them even if you disagree with them.
I think Obama's church is kind of like that for him. They may rave a bit and say dumb things but for Punahou and Harvard Law-educated Obama who was brought up in part in strange lands I think the church aand it's strange pastor were a way of connecting to the community he decided to join - the American black religious community, particularly the inner city community.
I am a Roman Catholic. I don't believe every lunatic pronunciamato which comes from the weird men in skirts (i.e. the Curia or Opus Dei), but I consider myself no less a Catholic despite that. Neither I nor the church should not be judged solely and unkindly because of those people.
Sometimes you have to stick with your own - no matter how stupid they can be. I honor Obama for sticking with his church in the same way I honored Reagan for not disowning his son Michael when he was having troubles. I see it as a sign of character in both men.
Maybe. I've been in a church that was OK and then started sliding toward lunacy. I left. So did my friends.
It's one thing to leave the CHURCH as a whole, but as far as I'm concerned, there's nothing to stop me leaving a particular congregation if I think it's just too goofy to tolerate. I may be a Protestant, but I don't feel any obligation to put up with the shenanigans of all who call themselves Protestants.
When I was a teenager I lived on an isolated island resort community with a winter population of 500 people. There were 2 churches and much of the island social life revolved around the churches, a Lutheran congregation and a evangelist Baptist sect as I recall. As I mentioned before we were Cathoics but that wasn't an option except in summer when a priest made a weekly visit to hold mass in a small unheated chapel.
My mother and I elected to take part in both communities rather than remain isolated. I joined the Luther League and the Bethel youth group and had a very rich social life as well as one conversion attempt from a kinda weird Bethel man. ;)
In fact I was elected President of the Luther League as a senior (for about 15 minutes) before Pastor vetoed it (a relief for both of us). It was half a joke - but only half a joke. I was touched by the regard of my Lutheran friends. The Bethels were different but nice, and I may have enjoyed my time with them more than with the others. They certainly knew how to have fun - and my best friend was a Bethel.
Perhaps that experience allows me to understand belonging to an awkward religious community the way Obama does. One looks at such a community as a continuum, and an occasional raving sermon from a minister whom in other respects seems an admirable man probably appeared of small importance to Obama when vieewed from the shared goals both men faced.
Perhaps the best thing about Obama is that he really seems to believe in shared goals, even across party lines. He really tries to be non-ideological and post-partisan & that is the best thing about him. So why should we abuse him for bringing those values into his private life as well?
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