Barack Obama's Controversial Pastor Puts Church In Hot Water


FOX NEWS

CHICAGO — Barack Obama's controversial pastor and the church he's served for 36 years may be in hot water over statements he has made from the pulpit in support of the Illinois senator's run for the White House.

The Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. preaches that he follows the righteous path, but when it comes to the federal tax law, his Trinity United Church of Christ may have crossed the line.

Wright praised Obama from the pulpit on Jan. 13 in what was billed as his final sermon at the Chicago church.

"There is a man here who can take this country in a new direction," Wright said during his sermon, according to recordings obtained by FOX News.

It was not the first time Wright appeared to endorse Obama, who was baptized at Trinity United, has been an active member of the church for two decades and receives spiritual mentorship from Wright.

The title of Obama's second book, "The Audacity of Hope," was taken from a sermon by Wright.

During a Christmas sermon, Wright tried to compare Obama's upbringing to Jesus at the hands of the Romans.

"Barack knows what it means living in a country and a culture that is controlled by rich white people," Wright said. "Hillary would never know that.

"Hillary ain't never been called a nigger. Hillary has never had a people defined as a non-person."

In his Jan. 13 sermon, Wright said:

"Hillary is married to Bill, and Bill has been good to us. No he ain't! Bill did us, just like he did Monica Lewinsky. He was riding dirty."

FOX News purchased the video recordings of Wright's sermons from the church.

"It's pretty clear an indirect endorsement of Barack Obama — that's not something you're supposed to do according to the tax code," said Andrew Walsh, a professor at Trinity College who specializes in religion in politics.

The tax code bans churches from participating in or intervening in a political campaign. Violations can result in the loss of a church's tax exempt status.

FOXNews.com - Barack Obama's Controversial Pastor Puts Church In Hot Water

I've said it before and I will say it again,campaighning from the pulpit regardless of party affiliation is not without risk! Granted,this has less to do with Obama and more to do with Obama's Pastor..Obama's membership and his campaighn caused his Pastor to catch Obama fever and the church is in risk of losing the church's tax exempt status...

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"Destiny must be shaped and not left to mere chance."..Spencer Collins ..

This has little to do with Obama and virtually everything to do with his pastor.

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Yes and no,it has a lot to do with his pastor but obama does not get a free pass for being a member of a black,racist and anti-American congregation. Obama's "sudden" objection to Wright's 20 years of racial rhetoric speaks volumes to some of us who did not drink a full glass of Obama's Kool-Aid..

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"Destiny must be shaped and not left to mere chance."..Spencer Collins ..

I'm sure that this speaks volumes to those who are afraid of Obama, people who are looking for a reason not to support him. I wouldn't call his objection sudden. His objection has been made clear every time he speaks. He is a stalwart supporter of America. You have to compare everything that Obama has said and done to this association. It doesn't add up. If this were to reflect on Obama, surely it would have ebbed and flowed throughout his speeches, the anti-white, anti-American sentiment. It didn't.

You can disagree with someone, a friend, without going public about it.

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I have been searching for reasons to support Obama and I was almost there until this story broke! Like many Americans,I want change and I want to see a new day dawn on America. I also want to see more substance and Obama's site provided much of the information I needed. However,I remain concerned with Obama's continued membership in a congrgation that fosters continued racism as opposed to healing the division. Obama's 20 year membership is a strange way of showing that he supports "change".He used that congregation to build a power base in the black community and they used him.This is not uncommon for black politicians. However..there must come a time when we must answer for who and what we support. I don't like Obama's answer,his objections to Wright's rhetoric and his congregation's black supremacist attitude come 20 years late and seems disingenuous.

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"Destiny must be shaped and not left to mere chance."..Spencer Collins ..

I am so over the Reverend Wright controversy. life goes on. And in the big scheme of things.... Well it doesn't rate at all. A year from now you won't hardly remember it.

For some people,ethics matter but for others they are seen as an inconvenience and waste of one's time.If David Duke was Hillary's minister and confidant, some would say that this was much to do about nothing but Obama's camp would see it "differently"..say it ain't so..

For me this has less to do with Rev. Wright's rhetoric and more to do with Obama taking 20 years to denounce said rhetoric. He held off his objection for two decades and when called on it,he finally denounced his racial remarks.

End of this story? Perhaps it's not the end,it could be the beginning of things to come!

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"Destiny must be shaped and not left to mere chance."..Spencer Collins ..