His opening remark?
This gap has long been exploited by conservative leaders such as Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson, who tell evangelical Christians that Democrats disrespect their values and dislike their church, while suggesting that religious Americans care only about issues such as abortion and gay marriage.Thus our senator reveals his ignorance about evangelical Christian leadership in the year 2006 - or perhaps it is disdain that he reveals by mentioning these two rather than James Dobson, Don Wildmon, Albert Mohler, James McArthur, Ken Hutchinson, Franklin Graham, Chuck Colson, etc., with whom he surely has become acquainted.
(Notice that Obama omits mention of the Democrats' prominent associations with Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton and even Louis Farrakhan, as though his side never associates with religion...I suppose those names might detract from his oratory.)
Some interesting statistics cited by Obama:
- 90% of Americans believe in God
- 70% affiliate ourselves with an organized religion
- 38% call ourselves committed Christians
My own observation: There is a tremendous difference in the values of a man who "believes in God" and a man who calls himself a "committed Christian." We are warned in Romans 1 and in II Timothy 3 about "having a form of godliness, but denying its power." The man who recognizes the power and authority of an omnipotent divine Creator will order his life - and his political idealogy - quite differently than the one who thinks there is a God, but isn't really concerned about meeting Him face to face. Believing in God is merely sane; affiliating with a local congregation may assuage the conscience or keep family peace. But a committed Christian is born when a man recognizes his sin and his debt of gratitude to Jesus Christ for paying the debt, for providing a means of reconciliation and escape from hell to eternal life, and when he determines to live a fruitful and productive life of service. The latter will not be satisfied with the superficial rhetoric suitable for the former.
When Alan Keyes claimed that "Jesus Christ would not vote for Barack Obama," Obama responded that he could not impose his religious views on others. Now he says that response was not complete. I suggest that Obama's response not only incomplete, but also just not true...for Obama and those who share his values (both Republicans and Democrats) are already working hard to impose their religious views on the nation. It's not as if he actually believes in the sanctity of human life or in marriage as ordained by God, just the same as we do, and that he doesn't want to impose those values on everyone. No, Obama has a completely different religious faith: one that values abortion "rights" and a "right" to die, one that preaches tolerance (or more plainly, warm embrace) of homosexuality/ bisexuality/ transgender confusion. It's a religion that promotes radical feminism, prefers a socialistic welfare order, has compassion for the criminal rather than for the victim, and can't distinguish between the evil of Al Quaeda/radical Islam and the purported evil of the George Bush administration. And he's busy trying to codify that morality into national law.
The problem isn't the lack of religion, it's the lack of genuine Christianity.
Obama characterizes conservative Christians as:
...those with the most insular views of faith, or those who cynically use religion to justify partisan ends.He goes on to coach conservatives to make arguments not only from a religious perspective, lamenting in a patronizing tone that "This might be difficult for those who believe in the inerrancy of the Bible, but in a pluralistic democracy, we have no choice. " Does he forget sitting through Jill Stanek's testimony three different times, while she tried to reason with him that babies born alive following attempted abortion should not be tossed in a garbage pile to die? Although she could have relied on a Biblical argument to support her position, I'm confident that Jill presented a reasoned argument "accessible to people of all faiths" as well - which he ignored.
So what is Obama really up to with this speech?
Consider Romans 16:17- - "I urge you brothers to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. For such people are not serving our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people...Be wise about what is good and innocent about what is evil."
Don't be deceived: In whatever "spiritual" or "religious" terms that Senator Obama may find, many of his political positions are and will remain unacceptable to Christians - because Obama did get one thing right: Real Christianity does not allow for compromise on matters of principle.
Recommended Action: Contact Senator Obama with your reaction to his statement.
