I don't take kindly to partisan attacks, least of all partisan attacks on people's faith (or even their atheism should that be their choice in our free society). I've written a number of times about crass, hypocritical smears coming from the ill-informed editor of the conservative blog Illinois Review, Fran Eaton, a long-time and well-documented Obama hater and former Alan Keyes campaigner.
Ms. Eaton is hardly alone in her partisan, anti-Christian zeal.
As Ms. Eaton's quest to tar and feather Sen. Obama's fellow Christians at his home congregation, Trinity United Church of Christ, has progressed and, indeed, mushroomed in recent days I've been compelled to respond multiple times (here and here) in the past week. Earlier posts criticizing Ms. Eaton's anti-Christian screeds have also appeared here, here, here, here, and even here. (She's been at it a while and seems quite proud of the fact she's been able to pull the wool over so many reporters' and interviewers' eyes. Go figure.)
Ms. Eaton, unfortunately for us honest Americans, is far from the only partisan conservative to have engaged in this bizarrely anti-Christian, twisted malice against Sen. Obama's faith and church. There have been TV and radio segments by conservative talking heads; countless deceptive postings at conservative blogs and websites; "mainstream" reports questioning Trinity United Church of Christ in legacy media such as CNN, the Chicago Tribune and USA Today; and, increasingly, chain emails peddling lie after lie about Sen. Obama's faith circulated nationwide.
Now, as these attacks have grown ever wider and ever more false and deceptive (a pattern having all the appearances of being deliberate and well-calibrated), the general minister and president of Sen. Obama's very denomination, the United Church of Christ, has spoken out against the smear campaign.
According to an article on the UCC's own website, the Rev. John H. Thomas (General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ) denounced the cons' fallacies as "absurd, mean-spirited and politically motivated."
Here is more from that 1/11/08 article by J. Bennett Guess on UCC.org:
Thomas denounces smear campaign against UCC’s largest congregation
Written by J. Bennett Guess
January 11, 2008
A ramped-up smear campaign against the UCC's largest congregation and U.S. Sen. Barack Obama's home church — Trinity UCC in Chicago — has raised the ire of the Rev. John H. Thomas, the UCC's general minister and president, who called the e-mail-driven claims "absurd, mean-spirited and politically motivated."
"Our national offices in Cleveland, as well as other settings of the UCC, have been forwarded countless e-mails that obviously derive from a similar source," Thomas said. "They contain misleading statements obviously meant to undermine the integrity of one of our most vibrant, mission-driven congregations."
Thomas said, while it's not his intent to come to the aid of Obama or any presidential candidate, he does feel it's imperative that "absurd, mean-spirited and politically-motivated attacks against one of our UCC churches be challenged forthrightly."
Obama, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for president, has been a member of Trinity UCC for 20 years.
Since Obama won the Iowa caucuses on Jan. 3, a flurry of e-mail messages with identical language and sentiment began circulating across the internet, claiming that Trinity UCC was a "racist" congregation because of its long-stated church motto: "Unashamedly Black, Unapologetically Christian."
"Trinity UCC is rooted in and proud of its Afrocentric heritage," Thomas said. "This is no different than the hundreds of UCC churches from the German Evangelical and Reformed stream that continue to own and celebrate their German heritage, insisting on annual sausage and sauerkraut dinners and singing Stille Nacht on Christmas Eve. Recognizing and celebrating our distinctive racial-ethnic heritages, cultures, languages and customs are what make us unique as a united and uniting denomination."
While Trinity UCC is predominately African American, it does include and welcome non-Black members. The Rev. Jane Fisler-Hoffman, Illinois Conference Minister, who is white, has been a member of the congregation for years.
"Trinity is a destination church for many members of the UCC, a multi-racial, multi-cultural denomination that is largely Caucasian," Thomas pointed out. "When in Chicago, many UCC members flock to Trinity to share in and learn from its vibrant ministries, dynamic worship and justice-minded membership. Contrary to the claims made in these hateful emails, UCC members know Trinity to be one of the most welcoming, hospitable and generous congregations in our denomination." [...]
While the circulating emails are written to appear as if they are coming from a groundswell of persons, with different names and email addresses, each uses nearly identical language, makes similar claims and even manages to make the same mistakes. For example, each makes introductory reference to "Trinity Church of Christ" instead of "Trinity United Church of Christ."
"It's clear that someone is using the internet to give the appearance of widespread concern and, thus, to hopefully create traction for this absurd story," Thomas said.
About the UCC
Formed by name in 1957 by the union of the Congregational Christian Churches in America and the [German] Evangelical and Reformed Church, the UCC's roots in American history are deep. Eleven signers of the Declaration of Independence were from UCC traditions, and a full 10 percent of present-day UCC congregations were formed prior to 1776.
Many UCC churches trace their founding to the early 1600s, when the Pilgrims and Puritans first came to America. These Congregationalists, as they became known, sought religious independence from persecuting political authorities in Europe. They believed firmly in local church autonomy, covenantal church life, personal piety and the priesthood of all believers.
Today, the UCC holds firmly to these early religious tenets. Often recognized for its historical and contemporary social justice commitments, its present-day approach to worship, however, might be considered traditional by most standards. [...]
Known for arriving early on social justice issues, the church's history includes being the first to practice democracy in church governance (1630), the first to ordain an African-American pastor (1785), the first to ordain a woman (1853), the first to ordain an openly gay man (1972), and the first to support same-gender marriage equality (2005).
In 1773, Old South UCC in Boston helped inspire the Boston Tea Party and, in 1777, Old Zion Reformed UCC in Allentown, Pa., hid the Liberty Bell from occupying British forces.
Hundreds of schools including Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, Howard, Fisk, Wellesley, Smith and Oberlin owe their beginnings to the UCC. The UCC's publishing company, The Pilgrim Press, is the oldest publisher of books in North America. [...]
The article also describes the history of Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ, growing from beginnings in the 1960s with about 80+ families when the Rev. Jeremiah Wright (another target of the conserv-o-partisans acid-tongued vitriol) to the current congregation size of about 8000 Christians.
It also mentions that, coincidentally, there are 5 Republican and 5 Democratic members of Congress who are also UCC congregants (as well as a smattering of Governors and other officials, past and present). Among the Republicans is another member of Illinois' Congressional delegation (beside Sen. Obama): US Congressman Mark Kirk of Illinois' 10th district in the north and northwest Chicago suburbs.
As I noted in an earlier comment on another post, I find the hypocritical, misinformed and blatantly partisan attacks on Sen. Obama’s fellow Christians in the congregation of Trinity United Church of Christ, as well as the larger UCC denomination itself, to be utterly repugnant, intolerant and unAmerican.
As I have repeatedly disclosed I do support Sen. Obama’s run for President of the United States. But regardless of that, this Missouri Synod born, baptised, raised and confirmed Lutheran is standing right there with UCC congregants as partisan conservatives — many of whom claim to be Christian themselves — attempt this modern day stoning to belittle, demean and ostracize another denomination's Christian faith. Welcome to the Republicans' Bizarro-world definition of "values voters" where up is down, good is bad ... and, apparently, saying "black" (as the tenets of the Trinity congregation do) is not white, but it is bad.
Next up for the conservatives' fallacy-based attack machine? White people (after folks grow weary of their hypocritical anti-Christian venom).
(c/p at Illinois Reason and Prairie State Blue)
(FYI, several other Kossacks are also responding to these attacks on Sen. Obama's Christian faith.)