Free Republic

DALLAS -- The Rev. Jeremiah Wright "has dared to unwrap the flag from around the cross" in his sermons -- not because of a lack of patriotism, but out of concern, a Dallas preacher said Saturday at a panel discussion at the State of the Black Church Summit. Wright, former pastor to Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, has been criticized by some as racist and others as anti-American because of his statements about U.S. policies. "We don't love America uncritically; you don't just tell the good things," the Rev. Frederick Haynes III told about 100 scholars, clergy and students gathered...

Panelists discuss shock over Wright's comments at Black Church Summit In panel discussion, black churches not immune to criticism By LORI STAHL / The Dallas Morning News lstahl@dallasnews.com If television sound bites of Barack Obama's former pastor shocked mainstream audiences, perhaps it means that other black churches have strayed too far from raising similar social justice issues in their sermons, panelists at a church summit said Saturday. "Part of the reason the public is so shocked ... is that they have not heard the public voice of the liberated black church in a very long time," said the Rev. Raphael...

Barack Obama missed a valuable opportunity last week to acknowledge America's dramatic social changes and to soundly refute those who are content to wallow in bigotry of bygone days. More than a year ago, we raised questions about the Rev. Jeremiah Wright's teachings at Chicago's now nationally known Trinity United Church of Christ. Last week, when national news outlets excerpted some of Wright's most vitriolic quotations and Americans saw firsthand the enthusiastic response of the Trinity church family, those same questions reappeared and became a national discussion topic. Segments of sermons showing Wright outrageously claiming the federal government developed the...