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."

Obama Discipled?

Okay, I just had a revelation. I've been trying to figure out who Barack Obama is. His walk doesn't seem to match his talk. I couldn't figure out why. The man has said he is a follower of Christ. I know what that means. I just didn't see it in Obama's behavior. I was looking for the fruits of the Spirit - and not seeming to find them.

I've prayed about this issue. Specifically, I've asked God to show me what He sees in Barack Obama. I was stunned by the revelation He gave me. The poor man may have made a decision for Christ - but he has not been taught what it means to follow Christ. It's called discipling. It seems to me now that Mr. Obama has never been properly discipled, or taught the ways of Christ.

Barack's family background is dicey. His mother went through two marriages. He moved around a lot. Between his mother, father and step-father, we have Muslim, atheist, agnostic - or just indifferent at best. Certainly no one there was teaching Barack who Christ is and what His followers really look like.
(http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2007/dec/20/chain-email-gets-obama-religion-wrong/)

Given the fact that Obama's encounter with Christ and profession of belief in Christ as the Messiah didn't occur until adulthood, he would have to look at his adulthood for that teaching.

Jeremiah Wright, Jr., the long-time pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago was the man that Obama credits for his conversion to Christianity. After that conversion, Obama sat and listened to Rev. Wright and his teachings. This would be discipleship. At least one would hope that to be the case.

Now not everyone is really discipled by the pastor of their church. Some find spiritual mentors and teachers whom they can spend more quality time with. Some won't listen to their pastors. Some of the pastors in churches today see themselves as the "senior preachers" instead of senior pastors ... and do no discipling themselves.

But everyone born into God's family, as followers of Christ, must learn the ways of Christ. They must acquire the mind of Christ. If they don't, then they aren't. They may be "saved," as the evangelicals call it. But they remain ignorant of Christ's ways and don't produce what the Bible calls fruits of the Spirit.

So I'm looking at Mr. Obama's life. He's tried to be as open as possible about his personal life. (That's a good thing.) But the only spiritual father I see in his life is Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Jr. And I'm afraid he doesn't look too good. Why? Look at his teachings. Hatred. Racism. Divisiveness. Blame. Judgement.

This man even claims that the U.S. government "invented AIDS" to wipe out the black race! So we can add flawed, deluded thinking to his list of character defects. It may be that Mr. Wright is a charismatic speaker and has a lot of people attending his church. But it is clear from his teaching that the man doesn't really know who God is. It is even more clear that he is not someone who could effectively disciple a Christian leader.

Barack Obama has not been taught the importance of tithing. He has not been shown the close relationship between humility and leadership. He has not been taught how to live a life above reproach. It may be clear that Obama has become a Christian and that he lives his life to his best understanding of what that means. It is becoming increasingly clear that his knowledge of what it means to follow Christ (or his willingness to obey Christ) are lacking.

So if we elect Barack Obama as our next U.S. president, how are we going to get this man discipled?