Learning about Jesus and accepting His salvation is one thing, but the realization that this church has principles (The Black Value System) in addition to biblical principles should have been his first warning that something was wrong with this picture! There were other warning signs that this church is a bit off - their acceptance of homosexuals and the teaching that the bible may be wrong about gays, the emasculation of male leadership in the family with the acceptance of something called womanist theology. I found these things by reading a book by one of the church's teachers, Dr. Dwight Thompson. The book is titled: "Introducing Black Theology of Liberation," 1999.
On womanism...
(this one appears to make it a "sin" to be a homemaker)
Further, the church should encourage women to love themselves more. The more they take care of themselves and are not servants to or dependent on men, the more they will be able to develop more healthy relations. P 197
What does it mean to be black man and Christian? Part of the response includes a redefinition of maleness or manhood. Unfortunately today, there are privileges that African American men enjoy simply because of their gender. The black church cannot continue to proclaim that we are all created equal by God when black women in the church, the society, and at home are relegated to a secondary and subservient status. Furthermore, the black church loses all of its legitimacy when it critiques white racism as a sin but participates in attitudes and structures of patriarchy. P 197-198and on homosexuals ...
The Bible is brought into the conversation as a justification to hold black lesbians and gays down. Yet it is a problem when African American churches interpret the Bible as wrong when it calls on slaves to obey their masters and women to obey men, and then the black church interprets the Bible as saying homosexuals cannot be saved unless they become heterosexuals. P 199This again is from one of the teachers at Trinity United Church of Christ, and has been a spokesman on national television throughout Obama's campaign.
I equate Obama being part of this church akin to being a part of a cult, and awakening to the realization that he's been duped and needs to get out. Cult members usually don't go from "I love this place" to "somethings wrong" in one day. It's a process, and a process I see Obama experiencing.
One day perhaps he will finally admit, "I made a mistake." One day, perhaps, he will take his family, convince his strong-minded wife that they need to be in a place of worship that represents all people. If it is to be a black church, then a black church that will be open to all and not afrocentric.
It's sad that it's taken his political aspirations to bring him to this point of realization. But better late than never?
That remains to be seen.