No matter who wins the presidential election, it is quite clear that the big loser in campaign 08 is religion. By far, the most strident political voices have come from renegade reverends that seem a bit hot under the collar. These cantankerous characters (or caricatures) have transformed their houses of worship into a harbor of war ships with loose cannons lobbing invective into an otherwise serene national conversation.
The most cloying of the clergy is Barack Obama's self-promoting preacher, Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright. While he claims to represent the interests of African Americans, he may be remembered for giving a black eye to the black church, while sabotaging America's first legitimate African American presidential contender.
Wright has clearly turned the sanctuary into a sanitarium. When I see him jumping around the pulpit and flapping his wings like a chicken, I want to call Colonel Sanders, so Wright's ridiculous routine will finally come home to roost.
I'm half past fed up with hearing about how we should respect Wright and his ilk because he has an AIDS ministry and helps the poor. The good work that people do in life does not automatically negate the bad. For example, President Bush has helped fund the fight against AIDS in Africa. However, this does not cancel out his disinformation campaign against condoms, which helps increase infections. Likewise, Wright's sickening sermons are so obnoxious and divisive that they overshadow his laudable contributions.
At this point, the best thing this shameless shaman can do is continue stabbing his former parishioner in the back. The further apart they grow, the more difficult it will be for McCain to conflate the positions of Wright and Obama in political ads.
While the eyes of the nation were focused on Wright's sinful spectacle, they largely ignored a stinging denunciation of gay unions by Hillary Clinton's church. The United Methodists voted to uphold church law that says gay relationships are "incompatible with Christian teaching." If there was a vote opposing interracial marriages on scriptural grounds, is there any doubt Clinton would leave her church?
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