I don’t think it’s a good idea to question public officials on their religious beliefs, including the president’s. I’m not defending him or his record, but if he says he’s a Christian, what’s the point of inquiring further?
What Obama said:
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.
(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.
And so, part of my project in life was probably to spend the first 40 years of my life figuring out what I did believe – I’m 42 now – and it’s not that I had it all completely worked out, but I’m spending a lot of time now trying to apply what I believe and trying to live up to those values.
GG:
Have you always been a Christian?
OBAMA:
I was raised more by my mother and my mother was Christian.
GG:
Any particular flavor?
OBAMA:
No.
I understand that many people hate the guy, but I think detailed religious inquiries set a very bad precedent.
Those who are doing this should remember that while such concerns might be of interest to voters, they were frowned on by the founders of the country — to the point that they put this in the Constitution:
…no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.
I think that’s a good rule, and I wish people who believe in religious tests would stay the hell away from government.
MORE: While I am sick to death of such subjects after 12 years of writing this blog, I nonetheless have a question similar to those I have had from the start.
Assuming the country has a president who is an asshole, why does it follow that he should be replaced by a different kind of asshole?
Comments
13 responses to “Religion ought to matter — at least as much as race!”
It didn’t seem to matter to the Founding Fathers if a politician was a Christian or not. Many of them were Deists. Thomas Jefferson wrote a lot about religion. Jefferson was a Deist. He did not believe that Jesus Christ was the son of God or that he could perform miracles. Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Paine were also Deists.
Replacing an ineffective and inimical asshole with a competent one seems like a good idea. Who would be more effective in defending the US from terrorism, O’bimbo or Nixon?
Some jobs demand an asshole.
How far does the first ammendment go? Is a religion protected if it demands (involuntary) human sacrifice and cannibalism? How about the federal prison religion that requires prime rib, single barrel bourbon and sinsemilla as sacraments? Are they as protected as the native American religion that demands peyote and sweat lodges in prison? Are some religious activities beyond the pale or not? Is screaming “DEATH TO THE UNBELIEVERS!!!!” and acting on it a religious confession, a political act, a crime or what?
I don’t care what religion Bimbo belongs to, I care that he’s by far the worst president in history.
Religion and politics have been closely intertwined at times. Joan of Arc, Ghost Dance and the Boxer Rebellion for examples, there are many more. Under the constitution religion is virtually unlimited, but political activity is tightly constrained. Treason and advocating the violent overthrow of the government are specifically called out as crimes in the constitution.
A number of years ago Kim duToit was arguing against a Moslem exception to the first ammendment. I’m not so sure. The west has invited a lot of trouble by pretending all Moslems are as peaceful and restrained as high church Episcopalians.
It might only be a small, violent minority, but the majority isn’t doing much to help, and we need a better way of eliminating the jihadists among us before they go on a killing rampage.
I voted for McCain, then Romney, and I will vote for whoever the GOP runs against Hillary.
But that does not mean I forfeit the right to complain.
hi
It was a mistake on his part but he did say he was a Muslim.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKGdkqfBICw
and he bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WlqW6UCeaY
Does that mean he is not an American? Well what ever he is the optics are wrong.
chocolatier February 22nd, 2015,
Franklin was a libertine.
el presidente Booboo bows like a bobble head to any foreign leader. It’s only his fellow Americans he doesn’t respect.
‘Franklin was a libertine.’
Yes, Franklin was a libertine, but I don’t think libertine is generally recognized as a religion.
Maybe it ought to be…
😉
I am a Christian.
He’s a goddamn liar.
The only Supreme Being that Obama worships is himself.
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