We all have heard about Obama's former paster, Reverend Wright and his highly controversial statements about America. The statements included things like, "God Damn America" and "The US KKK." These statements are obviously extreme and represent a racism that is uncalled for and off base. Obama responded to these comments from his former Reverend with a speech on race that many have said is unprecedented. CNN pundits called it the best speech since " I have a dream" and Kieth Olbermann thanked Obama for speaking to Americans as adults about the issue of race. I think the speech is definitely worth watching because it validates both sides of the racism that is still prominent in American society. However, Obama is still sufering the consequences of his ties to Reverend Wright and even Hillary caught some of the flack when pictures were released of her husband with Reverend Wright at a conference when he was president.
Senator McCain has also been under attack given a recent endorsement from Pastor John Hagee. It was reported that McCain sought out this endorsement, which presumably was to help pull in some of the evangelical conservative voters. Some of the statements that John Hagee has made in the past make him a controversial choice for McCain to seek out for endorsement. I think there has been less coverage of this story because McCain is the presumptive nominee, so that it perhaps does not have as great affect on his campaign as it does on Obama who is in such a tight race with Clinton. Even so, I think it is worth looking at why Senator Hagee's endorsement has become so controversial. I will list some of the quotes that Hagee has made below:
Hagee on Hurricane Katrina "All hurricanes are acts of God because God controls the heavens. I believe that New Orleans had a level of sin that was offensive to God and they were recipients of the judgment of God for that." [NPR Fresh Air, 9/18/06]Taken from: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/02/29/john-hagees-mccain-endor_n_89189.html. These comments seem radically un-Christian and controversial, yet McCain wished to have Hagee's endorsement. This may prove to cause some trouble for McCain, just as his close alignment with George Bush is causing.
Hagee on Islamic Beliefs
Fresh Air host Terry Gross asked if Hagee believed that "all Muslims have a mandate to kill Christians and Jews," to which Hagee replied, "Well, the Quran teaches that. Yes, it teaches that very clearly." [NPR Fresh Air, 9/18/06]Hagee on African-Americans
The San Antonio Express-News reported that Hagee was going to "meet with black religious leaders privately at an unspecified future date to discuss comments he made in his newsletter about a 'slave sale,' an East Side minister said Wednesday." The Express-News reported:"Hagee, pastor of the 16,000-member Cornerstone Church, last week had announced a 'slave sale' to raise funds for high school seniors in his church bulletin, 'The Cluster.'
"The item was introduced with the sentence 'Slavery in America is returning to Cornerstone" and ended with "Make plans to come and go home with a slave." [San Antonio Express-News 3/7/96]
Hagee on Catholicism
"Most readers will be shocked by the clear record of history linking Adolf Hitler and the Roman Catholic Church in a conspiracy to exterminate the Jews." [Jerusalem Countdown by John Hagee]Hagee on Women
"Do you know the difference between a woman with PMS and a snarling Doberman pinscher? The answer is lipstick. Do you know the difference between a terrorist and a woman with PMS? You can negotiate with a terrorist." [God's Profits: Faith, Fraud and the Republican Crusade for Values Voters, Sarah Posner]"[T]he feminist movement today is throwing off authority in rebellion against God's pattern for the family." ["Bible Positions on Political Issues," John Hagee]
Hagee on LGBT Americans
"The newspaper carried the story in our local area that was not carried nationally that there was to be a homosexual parade there on the Monday that the Katrina came. And the promise of that parade was that it was going to reach a level of sexuality never demonstrated before in any of the other Gay Pride parades. So I believe that the judgment of God is a very real thing. I know that there are people who demur from that, but I believe that the Bible teaches that when you violate the law of God, that God brings punishment sometimes before the day of judgment." [NPR Fresh Air, 9/18/06]Hagee on Iran
"The coming nuclear showdown with Iran is a certainty," Hagee wrote [in 2006] in the Pentecostal magazine Charisma. "Israel and America must confront Iran's nuclear ability and willingness to destroy Israel with nuclear weapons. For Israel to wait is to risk committing national suicide." [The Nation, 8/8/2006]
So, the point is, it is intersecting that it is these religious figures that are playing such a large role in the political sphere. It is funny that for a country with a supposed separation of church and state that these figures cause such a political stir-up. I agree that both of these figures present real problems for the candidates and outline outlandish ideas, but I just think it is interesting that these problems are arising. If there truly were a separation of Church and State would these religous figures have such weight in the political sphere?
No comments:
Post a Comment