by Billy Hallowell - The Blaze
Rev. Jeremiah Wright delivered three fiery sermons about faith, race and politics at Metropolitan Baptist Church in Charleston, West Virginia
Wright said Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas worships “some other God” outside of “Allah and Yahweh” (who are the “same” he says)
Obama’s former pastor called Thomas Jefferson “a pedophile”
He sees “white supremacy” driving “world policy”
Wright condemned the U.S. military, saying, “fighting for peace is like raping for virginity”
The Rev. Jeremiah Wright became a household name during the 2008 presidential campaign. The fiery preacher, who was President Barack Obama’s pastor for two decades, has since retired from his position at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, Illinois. However, he’s still an active figure in geopolitical and faith movements, as his bizarre commentaries often offend detractors and inspire intense debate.
Last week, Wright spoke at Metropolitan Baptist Church in Charleston, West Virginia, as part of a week-long revival event. His controversial words took aim at Thomas Jefferson, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, the media and plenty of other targets.
“I’m not divisive, the media is divisive,” he said, going on to lament the soundbites he claims were unfairly used to disparage him during the 2008 campaign.
As could be expected, the three evening sermons he delivered during the revival often turned to themes and subjects much more controversial than alleged media bias.
“Believers beware,” Wright preached in one of his lessons. “There are some conversations you will find yourselves in in which there is no communication taking place.”
He went on to speak about Jesus and Pontius Pilate in John 18 in the Bible, saying that they were speaking “two different languages.“ This sermon quickly delved into his belief that ”the Italian army — Roman soldiers“ were ”occupying Palestinian territory.”
Then, Wright found himself discussing U.S. operations in the Middle East, while also taking aim at FOX News personalities Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity.
“I was in the military six years and neither Hannity or O’Reilly was in the military,” he proclaimed. “Let me tell you one thing they taught us in the United States Marine Corps…fighting for peace is like raping for virginity. Those are oxymorons, but that’s what we do in the name of regime change.”
The controversial preacher also showed no love for Justice Thomas, as he told his audience that, though Thomas “looks like” them, he is “worshipping some other God.” He also made an intriguing comparison about the God of the Hebrew Bible and the Lord depicted in the Quran.
“The god of racists is not the God of righteousness. The god of the greedy is not the God of grace. The god of Wall Street is not the God of Main Street,” Wright proclaimed. “Those are two different gods and I ain’t talking about Allah and Yahweh. Those are the same names for the same God.”
He continued, taking a jab at Thomas and his Christian faith.
“And I’m not talking about black and white…some of ya‘ll think I’m talking about white folk,” he said. “There’s a whole lot of folk who look like you who are worshipping some other God — somebody shout Clarence Thomas. Hallelujah!”
Wright also tackled racial issues, while waging a bizarre accusation at Thomas Jefferson.
“There are politicians who are making decisions about you, about your life, about your future, about your family about your children — and the real tragedy is they live in a different world from your world all together,” he proclaimed. “There are people in power right now who have opinions about you based on their privilege of skin color.”
As he spoke about race, Wright’s rhetoric intensified.
“I am in the text. Pilate was European…Jesus was not European. They live in a world shaped by European standards of beauty, shaped by Moynihan studies, shaped by bell curves — they live in a different world from your world all together,” he told the audience. “They are ignorant and arrogant and these are graduates of Harvard and Yale setting policies over you based on the stupidity of David Hume…Voltaire, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Thomas Jefferson — a pedophile — Theodore Roosevelt and a racist Supreme Court.”
But he wasn’t done there.
“The ignorance and arrogance of white supremacy have the movers and shapers of world policy living in a different world from people of color all together,” Wright raged on. “And the sooner you realize that the better off you’re gonna be.”
Early on in this same address, while speaking about Luke 19, Wright took aim at conservatives, saying, ”You will not hear this passage of John 19 preached on Wall Street. You won’t hear this Luke 19 Scripture exegeted in the comfortable pews of the rich folk, the greedy folk or the Tea Party praisers.”
It is in this chapter that Zacchaeus, a tax collector, encounters Jesus and subsequently decides to change his ways, pledging to give half of his possessions away. Additionally, he offers to give back four times what he owes to anyone he has cheated. Clearly, the preacher sees conservatives as “greedy folks.”
“That is called restorative justice and theology – restore the stuff that the greedy stole from the needy,” Wright continued.
Watch comments cut together from all three of Wright’s speeches, below:
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