Wednesday, 19 November 2008
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Obama is an Apple
So, here's an interesting interview with Barack Obama from 2004 about his faith.
At the outset of the interview, in answer to the first question ("What do you believe?"), he asserts, "I am a Christian."
Let me provide a hypothetical scenario for you.Suppose I were to publicly proclaim, "I am an apple."
You would ask, "Really? What does it mean to you that you're an apple?"
What if I answered, "Well, to me, being an apple means having flesh, blood, a heart, a rational mind, and the ability to make decisions and carry them out"?
In my explanation of what it means to be an apple, I have clearly demonstrated that A) I am not sure what an apple is, and B) I am in fact not an apple.
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Comments (7)
I had seen that interview a while back and decided that I think he
means "Christian" in an almost ethnic sense like they use the term in
other countries. It just means as opposed to hindu or muslim etc... It
doesn't really mean a personal commitment to Jesus Christ. I
particularly thought his answer on prayer was also rather
interesting...
FALSANI:
Do you pray often?
OBAMA:
"Uh, yeah, I guess I do.
Its' not formal, me getting on my knees. I think I have an ongoing
conversation with God. I think throughout the day, I'm constantly
asking myself questions about what I'm doing, why am I doing it."
So, if he is asking himself questions and that is his ongoing "conversation with God".... who really is his God?
Yeah... it was a very good interview.
Blessings, Bee
Sorry about the formating mess... I wrote it in another application so I could copy the quote and it didn't work very well.
Ooooohhhh, I had that whole "praying" thing all wrong. I had no idea it involved knowing when to "push back against certain people or views that you think aren't right or don't serve your constituents."
My bad.
"...One of the things that's very important in this day and age is that we don't use religion as a political tool and certainly that we don't lie about religion as a way to score political points." -Barack Obama
I guess I see things differently because I believe he answered it appropriately. He shouldn't have to defend his faith to the public - that is his personal business. Who am I to judge that? For the most part, he is trying not to offend other religions of our nation. As the President of the United States, he is embodying all people of all faiths. He is trying to govern a country of ALL PEOPLE - not just Christians. If I'm not mistaken, this is the main reason Middle-Eastern countries are fighting amongst one another - because they have let religion dominate their rulings. They want everyone to believe in the same religion or sect - and I am glad that we are a nation where we are free to believe in whatever we so choose. That is freedom. I'm afraid Christianity is getting closer to this - and it's why I believe it shouldn't have anything to do with politics. I honestly would not want a government controlled church - and that's what you're heading into with a Christian controlled government. "One of the things that I think churches have to be mindful of is that if the federal government starts paying the piper, then they get to call the tune. It can, over the long term, be an encroachment on religious freedom." -Barack Obama
I am also concerned that you got your facts from a 2004 interview with Obama - because he has countless interviews with others talking abundently about his faith. Here is a segment from an interview earlier during the primaries with Christian Today:
"I am a Christian, and I am a devout Christian. I believe in the redemptive death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I believe that that faith gives me a path to be cleansed of sin and have eternal life. But most importantly, I believe in the example that Jesus set by feeding the hungry and healing the sick and always prioritizing the least of these over the powerful. I didn't 'fall out in church' as they say, but there was a very strong awakening in me of the importance of these issues in my life. I didn't want to walk alone on this journey. Accepting Jesus Christ in my life has been a powerful guide for my conduct and my values and my ideals..."
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2008/januaryweb-only/104-32.0.html?start=1
Here is another interesting read that will put President-Elect Obama in a new light: http://www.matthew25.org/paf/index.htm
I am absolutely in no way in favor of government-controlled church, and didn't even hint that I was. I'm also not in favor of a Christian-controlled government. I don't think that means that my Christian values and convictions shouldn't play a (key) role in the way I vote and how I let my voice be heard, but I am certainly not suggesting that Christians should be ruling America. I think that job should be left to Americans (which, I'm fully aware, are by and large not Christians).
Likewise, my concern is not that Obama's faith isn't the same as mine (according to this 2004 interview). My concern is that he has taken the term "Christian" and defined it in whatever way he finds expedient. What I was getting at with the apple analogy is that it takes more than simply calling myself an apple to make it a reality - or to even represent fairly what an apple is. Christianity, like it or not, does in fact contain a "set of doctrines," and a certain amount of dogma (which isn't inherantly wicked, by the way) which cannot be altered or negotiated without comprising its integrity. Many of the things Obama said about his faith in this interview clearly and significantly contradict these doctrinal standards, and thus demand that his faith is not, in any true or meaningful sense, Christian. So my concern is simply that he has grievously misrepresented the Christian faith by claiming to be one and then describing something that is completely out of sync with any biblical (or historical) understanding of what it means.
If Obama wants to be a Muslim, a Buddhist, a Mormon, or a water buffalo, it's fine with me. I'd just prefer that he not be one of those things and call it Christianity.
You know what is truly sticky for a politician? Religion. Had he given all the answers we would like for him to have given, he still would have failed this interview. Religion really has ceased to be something we don't pay much mind to in our leaders; it has ceased to be a tool; it has become, for all intents and purposes, a weapon in politics.
Talk about taking God's name in vain and making it far too commonplace. We have raked Him over the coals in American politics.
I agree. I don't demand that Obama (or any political figure) be a Christian and prove it. I simply would like him to be honest about it.
In truth, I would much rather him say "I'd rather not comment on my religion." I would respect that much more than giving a conglomeration of relgious beliefs and calling it Christianity.