( CNN ) -- The Rev . Jeremiah Wright on Monday said the black church , not him , had been subjected to attacks in the 2008 presidential campaign . Speaking before the National Press Club , Sen. Barack Obama 's former pastor sought to give insight into the black church and clarify some of his remarks that have sparked a firestorm . Earlier this year , some of Wright 's sermons , circulated and widely discussed on the Internet and on television , became an issue in the Democratic presidential race because of the former pastor 's ties to Obama . Wright is a retired pastor from the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago , Illinois , where Obama worships . In one sermon , Wright said the U.S. had brought the September 11 attacks upon itself and said `` America 's chickens are coming home to roost . '' Asked to explain those remarks , Wright said , `` Have you heard the whole sermon ? ... No , you have n't heard the whole sermon . That nullifies that question . '' Watch as Wright explains his 9/11 comments » . Wright said those who heard the entire sermon would have known that he was quoting the ambassador from Iraq and keeping in line with biblical principles . `` Jesus said , 'Do unto others as you would have them do unto you . ' You can not do terrorism on other people and expect it never to come back on you . Those are biblical principles , not Jeremiah Wright bombastic principles , '' he said . Watch as Wright questions his critics ' patriotism » . Wright shot back at the notion that Obama has walked away from him , saying the candidate `` distanced himself from some of my remarks . ... He had to distance himself , because he 's a politician , from what the media was saying I had said , which was un-American . '' Obama , when asked what he could do to keep Wright 's latest comments from dragging him down , replied : . `` I think people will understand that I am not perfect and that there are going to be folks in my past like Rev . Wright that may cause them some concern -- but that ultimately , my 20 years of service and the values that I 've written about and spoken about and promoted are their values and what they 're concerned about . And that 's what this camp has been about and what it 's going to continue to be about . '' Wright said sound bites from his sermons were taken out of context and said the black religious tradition , despite its long history , is in some ways `` invisible to the dominant culture . '' The theology of the black church is a `` theology of liberation , it is a theology of transformation and it is ultimately a theology of reconciliation , '' he said . Wright 's remarks came a day after he addressed an audience of 10,000 at a dinner sponsored by the Detroit chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People . Watch as Wright answers his critics at the NAACP event » . Reiterating some of the same points from that dinner , Wright said , `` Being different does not mean one is deficient -- it simply means one is different , like snowflakes . '' Wright said reconciliation means `` we embrace our individual rich histories . '' He said it also means rooting out `` any teaching of superiority , inferiority , hatred or prejudice '' and recognizing that each person `` is one of God 's children ... no better , no worse . '' `` Only then will liberation , transformation and reconciliation become realities and cease being ever-elusive ideals , '' he said . At the height of the Wright controversy , Obama gave a speech on race relations , rejecting his ex-pastor 's controversial comments but saying he could not repudiate the man himself . `` I 'm not here for political reasons , '' Wright said Sunday . `` I am not a politician . I know that fact will surprise many of you because many in the corporate-owned media have made it seem as if I had announced that I 'm running for the Oval Office . I am not running for the Oval Office . `` I 've been running for Jesus a long , long time , and I 'm not tired yet . '' Sen. John McCain , the presumptive GOP nominee , weighed in on the controversy Monday , saying he does not think Obama and Wright share the same `` extremist views . '' Watch McCain comment on Wright » . McCain on Sunday broached the topic of Wright unprompted for the first time despite previous suggestions the issue would be out of bounds in the presidential race . McCain said his shifting stance was justified because Obama told `` Fox News Sunday '' the controversy surrounding his ex-pastor was `` a legitimate political issue . '' The senator from Arizona last week told the North Carolina GOP not to run an ad linking the state 's Democratic candidates for governor -- Richard Moore and Beverly Perdue , both Obama supporters -- to Wright . But on Monday , McCain said he would no longer get involved in such matters . `` I will not be a referee , '' he said . E-mail to a friend .
The Rev . Jeremiah Wright seeks to explain theology of black church . Wright says criticisms come from those who have not heard his whole sermons . NEW : Obama : `` Folks in my past like Rev . Wright '' may cause some voters concern .