{"id":24,"date":"2015-02-22T19:43:00","date_gmt":"2015-02-23T01:43:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/2015\/02\/is-obama-a-christian-straight-from-the-horses-mouth.html"},"modified":"2015-02-24T19:20:02","modified_gmt":"2015-02-25T01:20:02","slug":"is-obama-a-christian-straight-from-the-horses-mouth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/2015\/02\/is-obama-a-christian-straight-from-the-horses-mouth.html","title":{"rendered":"Is Obama a Christian? Straight from the horses’ mouth."},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
(For quite some time, I was a new enough blogger that I could find anything I had previously written by doing a google search: \u201cJane the actuary\u201d plus the topic. \u00a0That doesn\u2019t work any longer. \u00a0So I have a feeling I\u2019ve written about the previously, but I can\u2019t find the blog post without scrolling through all 1 1\/2 years of blogging.)<\/div>\n

Is Obama a Christian? \u00a0That\u2019s the question being tossed around, with the media\u2019s current take that it\u2019s unjust to cast doubts on his belief, or even voice uncertainty about it, and for a Republican candidate to do so means that they\u2019re unworthy of whatever office they hold or may hope to hold. <\/p>\n

But what has Obama said on the topic? \u00a0Here are some excerpts of an interview<\/a>, dated from 2004, but published by Christianity Today in 2008.<\/p>\n

To begin with, he identifies as a Christian, right off the bat: \u201cI am a Christian.\u201d \u00a0But then he expands, or perhaps, qualifies, that thought: \u00a0\u201cI draw from the Christian faith.\u201d \u00a0What on earth does it mean to \u201cdraw from the Christian faith\u201d?<\/p>\n

He goes on to say,<\/p>\n

So, I\u2019m rooted in the Christian tradition. I believe that there are many paths to the same place, and that is a belief that there is a higher power, a belief that we are connected as a people. That there are values that transcend race or culture, that move us forward, and there\u2019s an obligation for all of us individually as well as collectively to take responsibility to make those values lived.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In giving his background, he says his grandparents attended a Universalist* church. \u00a0And his mother<\/p>\n

was deeply spiritual person, and would spend a lot of time talking about values and give me books about the world\u2019s religions, and talk to me about them. And I think always, her view always was that underlying these religions were a common set of beliefs about how you treat other people and how you aspire to act, not just for yourself but also for the greater good.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

(*I had a friend in college, who grew up without any religion, but liked occasionally to go to the Unitarian\/Universalist church. \u00a0The hymns didn\u2019t contain any doctrine, not really even a belief in God, so much as an exhortation to do good, and she was under no illusion that attending this church had anything to do with Christianity, but she liked the atmosphere for what it was.) <\/p>\n

His first connection to church as an adult was in getting to know people at various churches during his community-organizing work. \u00a0He says,<\/p>\n

I became much more familiar with the ongoing tradition of the historic black church and it\u2019s importance in the community.\u00a0<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And the power of that culture to give people strength in very difficult circumstances, and the power of that church to give people courage against great odds.\u00a0<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Afterwards, he joined the infamous Trinity United Church of Christ, where Jeremiah Wright was a \u201cgood friend,\u201d and \u201ccommitted myself to Christ.\u201d \u00a0But what does that mean? \u00a0Did he believe any Christian beliefs \u2014 the idea that Jesus is the Son of God, that his death on the cross saves us from sin? \u00a0Or was the commitment more to the social justice ideals that he perceives to be embodied in Christ?<\/p>\n

The interviewer later asks, \u201cWho\u2019s Jesus to you?\u201d<\/p>\n

Obama\u2019s answer:<\/p>\n

Jesus is an historical figure for me, and he\u2019s also a bridge between God and man, in the Christian faith, and one that I think is powerful precisely because he serves as that means of us reaching something higher.\u00a0<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And he\u2019s also a wonderful teacher. I think it\u2019s important for all of us, of whatever faith, to have teachers in the flesh and also teachers in history.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I\u2019m not seeing here any belief that Jesus is divine, or anything other than a particularly inspired prophet, though he subsequently claims to have a \u201cpersonal relationship with Jesus Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n

A few questions later, Obama directly rejects the idea that if you don\u2019t believe in Jesus, you\u2019re going to Hell, but he doesn\u2019t clarify further whether he\u2019s of the \u201ceveryone goes to heaven, just because\u201d and rejects the entire Christian concept of \u201csalvation,\u201d or something else. \u00a0But later the interviewer does get specific about a few items:<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you believe in heaven?\u201d<\/p>\n

What I believe in is that if I live my life as well as I can, that I will be rewarded. I don\u2019t presume to have knowledge of what happens after I die. But I feel very strongly that whether the reward is in the here and now or in the hereafter, the aligning myself to my faith and my values is a good thing.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cWhat is sin?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0Being out of alignment with my values. \u00a0[What is the consequence of sin?] \u00a0\u00a0In the same way that if I\u2019m true to myself and my faith that that is its own reward, when I\u2019m not true to it, it\u2019s its own punishment.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00a0She then, however, moves on to blander questions such as \u201cwhat inspires you?\u201d and nowhere in the interview is there any point at which Obama is asked about or directly makes a statement of faith about the key defining beliefs of Christianity. \u00a0At no point is he asked, \u201cDo you believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and is himself God?\u201d \u00a0At no point is he asked, \u201cDo you believe that Jesus\u2019s death on the cross procured redemption from sin?\u201d<\/p>\n

Bottom line: \u00a0Obama is probably not a Christian, when looking at the key points of doctrine that Christians agree among themselves to be the key defining elements. \u00a0 He may nonetheless see himself as one, due to his belief that if you identify yourself with the traditions of Christianity, even if the traditions as you\u2019ve learned them from Rev. Wright himself, then you are. \u00a0After all, \u201cit\u2019s not a lie if you believe it\u2019s true.\u201d<\/p>\n

And it is ironic that he media is so hell-bent on insisting that he is a Christian, because he says he is, but is just as willing to accommodate Obama\u2019s and various Islamic leaders\u2019 insistence that ISIS is not Islamic, even though they likewise say they are. \u00a0You\u2019d almost say it\u2019s inconsistent, unless you recognize that it is wholly consistent: \u00a0in both cases, religions are whatever Obama says they are.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(For quite some time, I was a new enough blogger that I could find anything I had previously written by doing a google search: \u201cJane the actuary\u201d plus the topic. \u00a0That doesn\u2019t work any longer. \u00a0So I have a feeling I\u2019ve written about the previously, but I can\u2019t find the blog post without scrolling through […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2209,"featured_media":1387,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[6,5],"class_list":["post-24","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-christianity","tag-obama"],"yoast_head":"\nIs Obama a Christian? 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