Obama's Church: Not Your Average Christian Church, page 1

Originally posted by jsobecky
However, a closer look at this church reveals that it is strongly dedicated to Black values and traditions, and imparts political messages to it's members.

Well, Jsobecky, let's be honest, there's not going to be a single Democrat presidential candidate you'll like, except one that's unlikely to win. I don't intend that as an attack, but rather I know you well enough by now to say you're a rather conservative Republican, which is fine by me, but it does seem a tad hypocritical of a Republican to single out a church affiliation as a flaw, or to decry an organization that promotes the interests of black people, when again, let's be honest, the modern neo-conservative republican has been working for the white christian corporate interests for most, if not all, of Bush's administration. Again, please note the use of "modern" neo-con. We're all aware that Republicans freed the slaves, and that the Dem leader filibustered against school integration, but today's Republican has been a far different animal than their more noble ancestors.

Now, I personally don't endorse Obama or any other candidate yet, because I don't know enough about any of their foreign and domestic policies to know if they'll be a good leader for the country. I used to not care, I used to think the President was little more than a figurehead, and I'm pretty sure a lot of people felt that way, which is how we ended up electing Bush and finding out just how much power a president could wring out of the system. Who knows, maybe it had to happen to wake people up to the return of checks and balances in our government.

That aside, I don't have a problem with any candidates religion so long as they realize the "religion of their office" comes first. That is, they give the priorities in decision-making to the Constitution, and to defer to the interests of the voters.

As a mission for a church congregation, there are far worse things than being dedicated towards the advancement of people of color in a world controlled by the white man. If such a congregation has managed to produce an honest, up-front, black Presidential candidate who actually has a shot at winning, then I'd say that church is doing a damned fine job of accomplishing their task, and that they're a pretty successful model for other minority organizations to try and emulate.

I think it's fair to say Obama's religious affiliation is no more of a risk than any other candidates, because ultimately, as Bush has demonstrated to the nation, it's a really bad idea for the President to try and change the office to fit his feet, rather than try and fill the shoes of the office, and if it does influence his decisions...meh... there are far worse things than having someone in office who gives more than lip service to minorities.

Personally, though, until Obama proves otherwise, I will just consider him the byproduct of a church that performed it's mission statement VERY well, rather than trying to paint him as a bigot, as you seem to be attempting.