Thoughts about whether Obama should or shouldn't have left his church
There has been a loud response to Obama’s speech on race.
You can find opinions everywhere. Fundamentally, I think that if you were against Obama before the Rev Wright statements than you are still are against him and nothing is going to change that.
I do believe the speech was aimed at those that are undecided and those that were in the Obama camp and were second guessing themselves.
And that is a very important audience.
Many people wish that he left his church. I think that is a question worth considering/asking.
There is a funny/odd thing about religious leaders and their church community. I
grew up catholic and so did my wife. And so did a lot of our friends and
family growing up.
And I can tell you that many/most of them still goto church regularly and
often don’t agree with what the priest is saying from the alter. Most of my
friends/family don’t believe in the notion of hell (or heaven for that matter). They don’t believe that jesus is the only path to salvation, and they don’t believe that homosexuality is wrong/immoral/sinful. They think condoms are rational not evil. They think abortion is a woman’s choice. They think the pre-marital sex isn’t wrong.
Why do they still attend Sunday mass? They still attend church because it’s their community. And they love spending time with their community and for the spirituality that they each personally receive. Praying for loved ones. Thinking about their life. Being grateful. Reflecting. Whatever.
Some leave and that is their choice and I respect that. But some stay because their community is precious even if the leader up front says things that they don’t agree with or if they act imperfectly in their own lives.
Is it possible that that church and community was more important to the
Obama family than Rev Wright’s offensive remarks? And if so, should he blamed for that.
We are all human with our own needs and wants.
This was reblogged into a private tumblelog.
