Rev. Jeremiah Wright Explains His 9/11 Sermon

[TonyGosling]

Here's Bill Moyers of Secret Government and 2007 Bush Impeachment programme fame.


Link


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfAKBmDbKTQ

[scienceplease]

Clinton says the Indiana vote will be a "game changer".

It sure will.

According to http://www.blackboxvoting.org/ 0.25 million voters have just been removed from the 2 counties in Indiana, closest to Chicago (Obama claim claim good support from Chicago). This indicates to me that Clinton is planning to steal the vote and then say "Hey, I've the momentum!" and kick out Obama via the "superdelegates!" in back deals. The whole thing stinks!

[Jane]

Could this man (Jeremiah Wright) become President of America please? I like him!

[redadare]

[scienceplease]

[fish5133]

[outsider]

[outsider]

[xmasdale]

Of course we can criticise Jeremiah Wright for not having grasped (certainly not at the time he preached that sermon - September 2001) that 9/11 was an inside job. I hadn't grasped that fact at that time either, nor did I begin to have doubts until two years later. At that time I felt very much as this preacher felt, that the 9/11 attacks were a blow-back from agressive and oppressive US policy: the genocide of Native Americans, slavery, racism, stealing of land from Mexico, nuking Japan, backing for numerous military coups, backing for the land grab by Jewish settlers in Palestine, US forces in over 100 countries around the world etc.

In as much as he calls for ethical US policy to be enacted and reminds Americans of their unjust and aggressive history, he appears to be doing a good job, so far as he goes. He even highlights the ways in which the media distort the truth by publishing quotations out of context and giving a spin to the words of others which supports their policies.

As for the suggestion that he should forget about the Old Testament and concentrate on the message of love, reconciliation and forgiveness of the New Testament, he does actually stress that message of the New. Nevertheless Christians have both testaments in their Bibles and some of them are Biblical literalists who will take the nastiest most vengeful passages as orders from God whenever it suits them. It strikes me that any pastor has an important job to do persuading his/her congregation that genocide and oppression, though supported by certain OT passages, is not what Christianity is about - or is it? It should be remembered that passages from the New Testament letters of St Paul are used to justify: slavery, the oppression of women and of gay people.

The genocide of the Amalakites is but one example of OT passages which have been used to justify dreadful deeds:

"1 Samuel 15:3
Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy everything that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.' "

And what had the Amalakites done to deserve such a fate? They had put up a military resistance to having their land taken over by Israelite invaders. Remind you of anything today?

The problem to my mind is "Biblical literalism". A failure to realise that books in the Bible have been written by a large number of people, each with their own self-interest, and is not some unique revelation of instructions from the Almighty on how to conduct our lives. It also contains much wisdom but needs to be read with discernment and intelligence, if at all.

[kbo234]

[outsider]

Absolutely right, Noel, about his position in 2001; like you (and Jimmy Walter, among many tens of thousands, I'm sure), I also thought it was 'pay back time' then, but the Rev. still goes along with the same idea, after all this time, and all the evidence to the contrary. Re Paul in New Testament, notice I did say the teachings of Jesus Christ.
And thanks to one of the posters on the Forum, I learnt that there are literalists among Israeli Rabbis, with support in the highest levels of government, who say that the Palestinians are today's Amalakites and should be exterminated. I knew that many felt that way, but was shocked to find they had openly espoused such things, without apparently a huge wave of revulsion sweeping the West, as well as Israel.

Rev. Jeremiah has a great deal of truth in his attacks on US foreign poliicy and Wars of Aggression, but apart from his blinkers on 9/11, the presentation is likely to alienate many who might well accept his arguments, indeed be unable to refute them, because of course they're true. If he were to speak as reasonably as he does in the interview, he'd be a force to be reckoned with.

[outsider]

While we're on the subject of 'religion', I con't help putting these little snippets from 'Information Clearing House' up for perusal:

"Why is this man in the White House? The majority of Americans did not vote for him. Why is he there? And I tell you this morning that he's in the White House because God put him there for a time such as this": Lt Gen William Boykin, speaking of G. W. Bush, New York Times, 17 October 2003

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"God gave the savior to the German people. We have faith, deep and unshakeable faith, that he was sent to us by God to save Germany." Hermann Goering, speaking of Hitler

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"A tyrant must put on the appearance of uncommon devotion to religion. Subjects are less apprehensive of illegal treatment from a ruler whom they consider god-fearing and pious. On the other hand, they do less easily move against him, believing that he has the gods on his side": Aristotle

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"If this were a dictatorship, it would be a heck of a lot easier - just so long as I'm the dictator". George W. Bush, 18 December 2000

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"International law? I better call my lawyer; he didn't bring that up to me" George W. Bush, 12 December 2003

[xmasdale]

[TmcMistress]

One of the most amazing bits about the whole Wright controversy is that it's yet another piece of evidence pointing to the inherent racism of the mainstream media, at least here stateside. The media was carping for weeks on everything Wright had to say, pundit-ing away on how it was going to affect Obama, if he was handling it properly, etc.

And yet, when one Rev. Hagee, who not only endorsed John McCain but whose endorsement McCain went looking for, says things like New Orleans was hit by the hurricane due to its sin and so on, nobody gives a damn. Just goes to show that Scary Black Preacher makes for the better story...