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| Obama interview and confession of faith |
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This is details from an interview that happened in March 2004, so it is dated. However, it is the only time I have found where someone actually asked questions of Obama where he had to give firm answers.
Cathleen Falsani is the journalist who did the interview. She has recently made the entire transcript available. It is worth the time to read. Click here, if you are interested. I have pasted a few questions that I thought were significant below.
Note: The parenthetical notes within the interview are Cathleen's notes.
(GG is Cathleen Falsani's alias, an abbreviation for "God Girl")
GG: What do you believe?
OBAMA: I am a Christian. So, I have a deep faith. So I draw from the Christian faith.
On the other hand, I was born in Hawaii where obviously there are a lot of Eastern influences. I lived in Indonesia, the largest Muslim country in the world, between the ages of six and 10. My father was from Kenya, and although he was probably most accurately labeled an agnostic, his father was Muslim. And I'd say, probably, intellectually I've drawn as much from Judaism as any other faith.
(Obama says he is a Christian, but one that is influenced by other religions. This is a recurrent theme. Obama either does not see or will not affirm that Christianity is superior to or contrary to other religions. The Christian confession is that "every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.")
(A patron stops and says, "Congratulations," shakes his hand. "Thank you very much. I appreciate that. Thank you.")
So, I'm 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's an obligation for all of us individually as well as collectively to take responsibility to make those values lived.
(Obama denies the uniqueness of Christ and the Christian faith. He reduces Christianity to only one of "many paths." Christians confess that there is only one name under heaven whereby you must be saved, Jesus Christ.)
GG: The conversation stopper, when you say you’re a Christian and leave it at that.
OBAMA:Where do you move forward with that? This is something that I’m sure I’d have serious debates with my fellow Christians about. I think that the difficult thing about any religion, including Christianity, is that at some level there is a call to evangelize and proselytize. There’s the belief, certainly in some quarters, that people haven’t embraced Jesus Christ as their personal savior that they're going to hell.
GG You don’t believe that?
OBAMA: I find it hard to believe that my God would consign four-fifths of the world to hell. I can’t imagine that my God would allow some little Hindu kid in India who never interacts with the Christian faith to somehow burn for all eternity. That’s just not part of my religious makeup.
Part of the reason I think it’s always difficult for public figures to talk about this is that the nature of politics is that you want to have everybody like you and project the best possible traits onto you. Oftentimes that’s by being as vague as possible, or appealing to the lowest common denominators. The more specific and detailed you are on issues as personal and fundamental as your faith, the more potentially dangerous it is.
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| Scary....walking both sides of the fence. |
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| thanks for the article voice. i never knew that he said these things, but i am not suprised. |
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Wow! I had to stop reading when he started talking about prayer. Because the next sentance said he talks to himself.
Prayer without ceasing is talking to our Creator- Heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus Christ
Not self.
I'm not surprised either. |
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In Revelation the scriptures tells us what will happen to those that rides the fence. I pray for a wake up call for many however, sadly not all will be won over to the Lord.
3:15I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 3:16So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Not because God doesn't care, but because man will not accept Christ as their Saviour.
A caring God sent his only begotten Son into the world for them to believe in him so that they wouldn't perish, not to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 3:16For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. A loving Savior: 53:3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were [our] faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 53:4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 53:5 But he [was] wounded for our transgressions, [he was] bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace [was] upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
Take time to read Isaiah 53 the whole chapter.
As we know Christ when he knocks upon our hearts door He cannot open the door to our heart. We must open the door of our heart to him. Failure to open the door of our heart - damnation throughout eternity in hell. Accepting his knock and opening the door of our heart - life eternally in heaven with God and his Son.
Parts of the words of one of the songs we sing: "I was once a sinner, but I came pardon to recieve from my Lord. Thus was freely given and I found that he always kept his word. For there's a new name written down in Glory and it's mine, oh yes, it's mine." Praise the Lord. |
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I think it is important that we do our research and find out what is below the surface of the men wanting to be President. In many cases, we end up forming our opinions of them based on sound-bite media. Even this represents one person's interview with the man. We must watch his walk and evaluate that, as well.
I should make it very clear that while having a born-again believer as a President would be a wonderful thing, I don't begin to think that is the only criteria for the office. Knowing if the candidate is a born-again believer gives us a foundation of a certain expectation. In other words, if a person professes to know Jesus as Lord, then we would expect that person to hold a level of Biblical truth as their foundation for everything else they do. If they don't profess to know Jesus as Lord, then that would be a false expectation for us to put in a leader. It gives us a basis from which to build an opinion.
Let's face it, Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me." As CS Lewis pointed out for us, this doesn't leave room to believe Jesus was just a good teacher or "one of many ways". If He was "one of many ways", then this makes Him to be a liar. If He was a good teacher, then this must be true. If it is true, then there is no alternative. Anybody who knows Him as Lord, can't walk the fence.
So, I ask you...from a spiritual perspective, is it better to be riding the fence, as Mr Obama does (lukewarm) or better to firmly state that you "don't buy into all that born again stuff" as Mr McCain has told us? |
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we need one of those "none of the above" boxes!
You know I'm writting in my Dad don't you? |
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| ...I'll be an advisor to the cabinet of whoever is elected. I wouldn't want the job. |
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| another pluralistic attempt by a Christian-card playing politician... GWB also made statements saying that Jesus is not the sole Way to salvation of the soul. |
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