For months presidential hopeful Barack Obama has been trying to dispel rumors that he is a Muslim. The good news for the Illinois Senator is that virtually everyone in the country now knows he’s a Christian. The bad news for Obama has been playing on YouTube and the cable news networks all week – video of his pastor condemning white America from the pulpit. The candidate’s opponents have used his connection to the controversial pastor to question Obama’s central message – that he can unite the country across racial and political lines.
Barack Obama has credited Reverend Jeremiah Wright for bringing him to faith in Christ. Wright has been his spiritual mentor for nearly 20 years, officiated at his wedding, and baptized his daughters. And until Friday, Wright had been serving as an advisor to the Obama presidential campaign. He left the campaign when his fiery statements from the pulpit brought too much heat on the senator. Some have called his remarks racist, un-American, and anti-Semitic. Barack Obama called them “completely unacceptable.”
He told ABC News that Reverend Wright is like “an old uncle who says things I don’t always agree with.” And the candidate said Saturday, “I completely reject” the statements Wright made in those sermons.
Barack Obama’s bestselling book, The Audacity of Hope, takes its title from one of Jeremiah Wright’s sermons. We were surprised to discover the transcript of that message in our PreachingToday.com archives. We’ve posted the entire sermon for you to read here.