With a sigh, I'm going to wade into the discussion with reticence. I've been involved privately in this discussion with people on both sides of the issue. I don't personally believe he really believes in either the Christian or the Muslim faith.
There are a lot of factors that can explain the confusion among the public. We are used to our Christian presidents attending church and taking part in meetings of faith. His apparent deference to Muslims also makes people think he has sympathies toward the Islamic beliefs. I personally think Obama is an atheist which in America is more dangerous politically than being a Muslim.
This may seem paradoxical, but as a Christian I believe your relationship with God is between you and Him alone. I can't know anyone's heart. So if Obama says he is a Christian, we have to accept that it's between him and God. But by way of logical reasoning there are many reasons to believe otherwise.
What a person does usually tells us much more about who they are and what they believe than the words they say. Looking at Obama's beliefs (based on what he does) I don't see much that indicates he holds to either belief system. Now we've had many leaders who claim to be Christian yet fail to live up to the example of Christ. But honest Christians will tell you that's the reality for all Christians. But despite their failings, our previous presidents have turned to their faith in times of trouble whether for show or for real.
Obama's comments on anything Christian tend to border on derisive and at times would be difficult to describe as anything other than distortions of belief. Sometimes it's also what a person doesn't say that indicates true belief. This from his 2008 interview with Christianity Today:
There are a lot of factors that can explain the confusion among the public. We are used to our Christian presidents attending church and taking part in meetings of faith. His apparent deference to Muslims also makes people think he has sympathies toward the Islamic beliefs. I personally think Obama is an atheist which in America is more dangerous politically than being a Muslim.
This may seem paradoxical, but as a Christian I believe your relationship with God is between you and Him alone. I can't know anyone's heart. So if Obama says he is a Christian, we have to accept that it's between him and God. But by way of logical reasoning there are many reasons to believe otherwise.
What a person does usually tells us much more about who they are and what they believe than the words they say. Looking at Obama's beliefs (based on what he does) I don't see much that indicates he holds to either belief system. Now we've had many leaders who claim to be Christian yet fail to live up to the example of Christ. But honest Christians will tell you that's the reality for all Christians. But despite their failings, our previous presidents have turned to their faith in times of trouble whether for show or for real.
Obama's comments on anything Christian tend to border on derisive and at times would be difficult to describe as anything other than distortions of belief. Sometimes it's also what a person doesn't say that indicates true belief. This from his 2008 interview with Christianity Today:
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.
What I find interesting is that "most important" is his belief in Jesus' example. "Accepting Jesus Christ in my life has been a powerful guide for my conduct." Not "accepting Jesus as my Savior took away my sin". Not the forgiveness that Bill Clinton often talked about. Not the comfort and strength that George W. Bush said he relied on. While it's true we all can have our own experience in Christianity it appears to me that Obama tiptoes gingerly whenever he talks about his Christian beliefs to not say anything that would paint him as a "born again" type.
Likewise, there is little in his actions to suggest he holds to the tenets of Islam. Much is made that his father was a Muslim and that his step-father was also. But as Obama points out in his book, his father was born Muslim but became an atheist. Another important man in his young life was Frank Marshall Davis who was an ardent communist. I think these stories show why even for political expedience he will not say the "right" things when it comes to Christian belief. He feels as though he would be betraying those father figures.
Finally, there is his repeated references to those who have "no belief" in his speeches. For example from a campaign speech:
"Whatever we once were, we are no longer just a Christian nation; we are also a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, a Buddhist nation, a Hindu nation, and a nation of nonbelievers,"
And from his inaugural address:
"We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus, and nonbelievers."
Certainly this is nothing conclusive, but if we're going to look at what President Obama believes, there is substantial circumstantial evidence that it's not Christian or Muslim. I think he realizes that being an atheist would be very difficult to overcome as a political candidate in America.
Having written all this, let me say I don't really have a problem with an atheist being president. Even though I think it's the most logically dishonest position to hold, I think atheists can still have the right opinions in the way America should be run, though it's a rough fit. I only wish Obama would clear up all the confusion and clearly state what it is that he does believe. The only reason not to do so would be to keep the public confused because their knowing would be worse than the alternative.
No comments:
Post a Comment