July 14, 2008

Obama Re-invents his Trinity Church History

Ed Lasky
An interesting nugget from Newsweek's cover story on Obama and his faith:

As young marrieds, Barack and Michelle (who also didn't go to church regularly as a child) went to church fairly often-two or three times a month. But after their first child, Malia, was born, they found making the effort more difficult. "I don't know if you've had the experience of taking young, squirming children to church, but it's not easy," he says. "Trinity was always packed, and so you had to get there early. And if you went to the morning service, you were looking at-it just was difficult. So that would cut back on our involvement."

After he began his run for the U.S. Senate, he says, the family sometimes didn't go to Trinity for months at a time. The girls have not attended Sunday school. The family says grace at mealtime, and he talks to the children about God whenever they have questions. "I'm a big believer in a faith that is not imposed but taps into what's already there, their curiosity or their spirit," he says.

As Noam Schrieber writes in The New Republic, " It's almost an implicit response to those who, when the Wright controversy flared up this spring, wondered how Obama could have sat through so many sermons without picking up whiffs of Wright's most inflammatory ideas."

Malia , his daughter, was born in 1998 so supposedly his attendance became much less frequent beginning in 1998, right?*

This latest Obama spin does not square with a more honest portrayal he himself gave in a 2004 interview where he stated that he "regularly attended weekly services at Wright's Trinity United Church of Christ" and indicated that had been his regular schedule since joining the church 16 years before (1988). He did not indicate any scheduling problems or absences back in 2004, no scapegoating of his daughter. Now he has to deal with Pastor Wright controversy and he just dreams up a different history-and Newsweek helps him along.

He is shameless-and Newsweek is increasingly becoming so. Does the magazine even bother fact-checking?


* By the way, blaming a baby for being unable to attend church is lame. Plenty of people attend churches with babies; and Michelle Obama has a wide family network that would have been available for babysitting.  

Comments

First...is there anyone left who doesn't believe that B. Hussein Obama's involvement in that church was one of convenience?
Second...the ironic thing is that he certainly joined a Christian church to be more mainstream in this country for his career; but to call that church mainstream is laughable...to call it CHRISTIAN is just as laughable. Putting a cross up in the yard of the church does not make it Christian. What is preached inside determines its "fruit"...and the Christ I know never preached hatred and anger.

Remember of Bill Clinton it was said, "There is no THERE there?" You can double that sentiment for Obama.

Not to mention the implication that everyman Obama had to fight off the hoi-polloi every sunday in order to get a decent seat in the upper tiers or the gods, from where he could just about make out that Rev. Wright´s lips were moving but couldn´t hear every word the wicked Rev. was spewing!
C´mon Barack. Is Trinity THAT classless that they don´t save seats, as well as souls?

And I guess this is another fact Obama forgot to mention months ago when the whole TUCC controversy was exposed? Also not mentioned was the fact that Obama was known to catch Wright's sermons via podcast while on the road. What's going to stop this nightmare?

almost all churches have nurseries for children to stay in while their parents enjoy church. this is the lamest excuse i have ever heard. another obama lie.

almost all churches have nurseries for children to stay in while their parents enjoy church. this is the lamest excuse i have ever heard. another obama lie.

Amen to beth barnat's comment!! With all the touted community activism and community involvement by Trinity, which Obama and Rev. Wright both went to great lengths to tell us about,does anyone believe they didn't have a child care program for members attending services?!

Not only did TUCC have a childcare, it was federally funded. TUCC got more than 15 million from the feds to run their childcare programs.

As most parents find out, having a child is often the trigger that makes a couple START attending church, as they find their mission in life is larger than themselves.

Why let the facts mess up a good spin?

Seriously, is there anything Obama hasn't tried to weasel out of?

Mountain Sage

He lies so much he believes his own b.s.

When I taught grade school in Newark, NJ, years ago, there was a very bright and pretty little girl in the class who, from time to time, would become annoyed at one or more of the other kids in the class, always someone who she knew was fibbing about something that affected her.

Beverly would march right up to the front of the class, hands on her hips and fire in her eyes, and she'd loudly proclaim, "You better tell them to keep their lies straight!"

Half of her declaration was aimed at me, in the hope that I would track down the offense. And the other half was always projected right at the offenders. I didn't really need to tell them . . . she had!

I always loved that expression, and the intense sincerity that went along with its delivery.

You know . . . I think that somebody needs to tell Barack Obama to get his lies straight!

Bruce said: As most parents find out, having a child is often the trigger that makes a couple START attending church, as they find their mission in life is larger than themselves.

Excellent point.

He has a excuse for everything. Lets not forget who married him and Michelle and who baptised his children. The liberal mass media can't hide him forever.

I haven't read his book, but excerpts were presented on NRO - Jeremiah Wright and sermons (white mans greed and bombing Hiroshima) are there in the book. You can't comment on a sermon if you haven't heard it, much less name a book in Wright's honor.

...wow, that's the first time I've ever heard anyone explain that the reason they didn't bother attending church was because it was too crowded.

That reaches new heights of low.

It's interesting that he goes ahead and claims that having a child made him attend church less often.

I've seen the opposite occur more often than not. Many families choose to attend church more frequently after having children because they want to expose them to the church - bring them up in a religious environment.

The fact is that Obama is either lying now, or was lying back in 2004 about his church experiences. And it goes to show just how craven he is in seeking political office that he will spin around whichever way he wants. Still, if this Newsweek version is correct, why did Obama not mention it when the Wright mess first flared? Why wait until months later when the issue had quieted down?

All this does is bring his relationship with Wright back into focus and makes you wonder just what exactly Obama is hiding.

Most churches keep records of attendance. Any chance someone in the media will fact check Obama's statements about his church attendance? Nah...

Actually it's much easier to take the kids when they are babies. It's the teenage years that it becomes difficult but whatever.

The guy's entire life is one big lie.

I can't understand our MSM.
Obama on March 27, 2004 in an interview with Cathleen Falsani, religion reporter, Chicago Sun-Times.

"CG:Do you still attend Trinity?

OBAMA:
Yep. Every week. 11 oclock service.

Ever been there? Good service."

So, was he lying then or is he lying now?

http://falsani.blogspot.com/2008/04/barack-obama-2004-god-factor-interview.html

Here is what I don't understand. Obama says he is a Christian. He also says he wasn't in chruch that much. Why not? What was more important to him than being in church on Sunday? Was he in Washington? Did he have another church there like most Senators? What is the name of that Chruch? A true Christian will be in church on Sunday. Is Obama a true Christian or a C and E Christian (Christmas and Easter)? I think his absence, if true, says a lot about his devotion to his faith.

His kids were baptised at Trinity by Rev Wright.

How did that happen if the kids did not go to Sunday School and did not attend services more than a few times per year?

"So, was he lying then or is he lying now?" Posted by: Sue

Answer: Both.

"Is Obama a true Christian or a C and E Christian (Christmas and Easter)?" Posted by: flyover

Obama conveniently chose to leave the continental U.S. this Easter, so that he could have an excuse for not being in church...

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/03/24/obama-in-virgin-islands/

I'm always amazed at how people call themselves Christians and do not display any of the attributes of Jesus. I had a conversation awhile ago with a memeber of our church and she does not call herself a Christian anymore but a Follower of Christ. The name christian was actually given to His followers by non believers in Acts 11:26

Ed:

I can't imagine why you assume that Obama was floating "a more honest portrayal" in 2004!

Post a comment

(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)

at-store.gif