Recently, Reverend Jeremiah Wright stood before press to speak on history, his comments and what he called “an attack on the black church.” His speech drew applause from various members of the audience of church leaders who also attended the National Press Club as he spoke and answered questions.

His speech spoke mainly about the history of Black Liberation Theology and its roots in The Bible, liberation, transformation and the hope for reconciliation.   

On his patriotism:

“I served six years in the military. Does that make me patriotic? How many years did Cheney serve?”

“My goddaughter’s unit just arrived in Iraq this week while those who call me unpatriotic have used their positions of privilege to avoid military service while sending over 4,000 American boys and girls to die over a lie.”

On his “chickens coming home to roost” comment:

“Have you heard the whole sermon?” he asked the reporter. “No. You haven’t heard the whole sermon. That nullifies that question.”

“Jesus said, ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.’ You cannot do terrorism on other people and expect it never to come back on you. Those are biblical principles, not Jeremiah Wright bombastic principles.”

Later, he added that those weren’t his own words but a quote he was using.

On his “God damn America” comment:

“God damns some practices and there’s no excuse for the things that the government, not the American people, have done. That doesn’t make me not like America or unpatriotic.”

On his relationship with Sen. Barack Obama:

“He had to distance himself because he’s a politician.”

“Whether he gets elected or not, I’m still going to have to be answerable to God on November 5 and January 21.”

On his comments about the US government and its connection to AIDS:

“Based on this Tuskegee experiment and based on what has happened to Africans in this country, I believe our government is capable of doing anything.”