Subject Sen. Barack Obama's comments today in Greensboro,

							March 26, 2008
From: Susan Page, USA TODAY's Washington bureau chief
Subject: Sen. Barack Obama's comments today in Greensboro,
N.C., in which he spoke about Christ, religion and Rev. Jeremiah
Wright.

At a townhall meeting this afternoon, Barack Obama responded at length to
a question about his faith, describing his beliefs and also raising the issue of
Rev. Jeremiah Wright's remarks, although the questioner hadn't mentioned
that.

A young man who rose to ask the question said he was a senior at a small
Southern Baptist Christian school. "As one of your most vocal supporters I
come under fire," he said. He then asked what role Jesus Christ and his
teachings played in Obama's life.

Here's what Obama said in reply:

"Look, it's a wonderful question. It's a complicated question but it's a
wonderful question. I'm a Christian and what that means for me is that I
believe Jesus Christ died for my sins and that his grace and his mercy and
his power -- through him that I can achieve everlasting life. That's what I
believe.

"What I also believe is a gospel of not just words but deeds. I believe in
doing right here on Earth and treating people with the dignity and the respect
that is inherent in them being children of God. All people. And so my faith
has always been one that says how can I apply Jesus' teachings in a very
concrete way in my day to day life. That means caring for the poor. That
means being no respecter of social distinctions. Treating everybody from the
least of these to the mightiest with respect and dignity. It means following
the Golden Rule of do unto others as you would have them do unto you. It
means being a good steward of the earth and trying to leave the earth better
than how you found it. It means treating people with kindness and
compassion. So what I've tried to do then is channel those values into my
politics.




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"Having said that ... I think it is very important not to think that you have to
have the same faith as me to be a moral person. Because there are a lot of
Jewish people who are just as moral or even more moral than I am. There
are a lot of Muslims who are decent, kind people. I don't think they are any
less children of God. I don't think they have any less of a perspective. My
mother was not a believer in the way I was. She was the kindest, most
decent, generous person I knew. I'm sure she's in heaven even though she
may not have subscribed to everything I subscribed to. ... If you treat peple
with respect, if you are law abiding, if you are a good citizen and a good
member of your community, then you are deserving of the same rights and
the same respect in our democracy as anybody else. ...

"Obviously in the last couple of weeks my church became a source of
controversy. Everybody is welcome to come to Trinity United Church of
Christ on 95th Street. It is a wonderful, welcoming church. ... It is a 99%
white denomination, by the way. ... They're praising Jesus; they've got a
choir singing. It is a very good choir. And the pastor is trying to teach a
lesson connecting scripture to our daily lives. ...

"My pastor did say, my former pastor, said some very objectionable things
when I was not in church on those particular days."

He noted that he had condemned those remarks, and also noted that "this is
somebody who was preaching three times a week for 30 years." Obama said
it got attention because "it spoke to some of the racial divisions that we have
in this country."

"I hope people don't get distracted by that," he went on. "Because, as I said
in my speech last week on Tuesday, we can't afford to be distracted. ... We
cannot solve the problems of America if everytime somebody somewhere
says something stupid that we all get up in arms and we forget about the war
in Iraq or we forget about the economy. ... I don't want that kind of politics. I
want the kind of politics that gets stuff done."




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