Obama's Faith

It seems most of the media continues to banter about the supposed controversy about President Obama's faith. They point to opinion polls that indicate nearly 20% of Americans think that he is a Muslim. And the way they're bantering this about, they seem to think that is an issue.

So what if 20% of Americans think our President is a Muslim. Would that make them correct? And even if they were correct, what would that mean? The press seems to imply that there are inherent implications if Obama is a Muslim. It is being treated as if that would be very dark news indeed. What if Obama came out and said that he is indeed a practicing Muslim? What would we do? Would that change anything? Would he still be President? (Yes, he would.)

As you might expect, I have a different perspective on this. It seems to me that we've got the issue all wrong. The point is not whether or not Obama is a Muslim. Rather the point is whether he is a man of faith at all. Let's look at the evidence. Would there be enough evidence to convict him of being a Christian or a Muslim?

Let's be clear. Mr. (and Mrs.) Obama was a man of questionable faith when we the people elected him as our President. He had, for years, attended a church that could only be described as radical ... similar in nature to radical Islam that we are currently at war with.

The Rev. Jeremiah Wright, who was the Obama's pastor and whose preaching they listened to every week for years, is a radical. He's preached despicable things that would rival radical Islam in their level of atrociousness. (Google some of his sermons if you don't believe me. You'll be astounded.)

Let's consider something. If a Muslim were a Republican or a Democrat and was highly qualified, would we not elect him simply on the basis that he is a Muslim? I don't think so. Frankly, I suspect I could vote for him based on his qualifications without discriminating based on his religion. We've had Presidents who claimed to be Christians who didn't act very Christ-like. So electing a so-called Christian hasn't really gotten us the desired effect.

The problem with Obama's faith is not that he is a Muslim. Rather it is the problem of him being a man of little apparent devotion to any faith. But then isn't that the problem of the whole country?

The majority of Americans would probably be surprised to find themselves in the same boat Obama is in: there isn't enough evidence to convict them of being godly at all. It is interesting that nearly 20% of the country now wants to accuse Obama for being pretty much what the rest of the country is.

I didn't vote for the man. I don't agree with much of his leadership. But I have to confess that I have been surprised at how much of his leadership I do agree with. He may not be the leader we want. He may not be the godly man that we want. But then, as Jesus said, "let he (or she) who is without sin cast the first stone."