Obama: Religious Right "Hijacked" Jesus

10,000 flock to church to hear Obama speak
By Manya Brachear
Chichago Tribune

HARTFORD, Conn. -- They came to hear a prophet. Some believe they did. Others heard just another politician.

More than 10,000 members of the United Church of Christ rose to their feet in a hockey arena here on Saturday to applaud one of their own who happens to be a Democratic presidential candidate--Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.).

Weaving biblical imagery with political promises, Obama, a member of Trinity United Church of Christ on Chicago's South Side, encouraged those in the audience to follow their consciences and fight for a better America.

"Doing the Lord's work is a thread that's run through our politics since the very beginning," Obama told church members. "And it puts the lie to the notion that the separation of church and state in America--a principle we all must uphold and that I have embraced as a constitutional lawyer and most importantly as a Christian--means faith should have no role in public life."

He also accused the Christian Right of "hijacking" Jesus to polarize the public.

"Somehow, somewhere along the way, faith stopped being used to bring us together. Faith started being used to drive us apart," he said. "Faith got hijacked partly because of the so-called leaders of the Christian Right, who've been all too eager to exploit what divides us.

"At every opportunity, they've told evangelical Christians that Democrats disrespect their values and dislike their church, while suggesting to the rest of the country that religious Americans care only about issues like abortion and gay marriage, school prayer and intelligent design," he said.
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Yes... those pesky religious right-wingers are using the church to divide Americans and promote their political agenda.

...No word on whether Jessie Jackson or Al Sharpton were in attendance.