President Obama’s Religion
Cathleen Falsani, columnist with the Chicago Sun Times, in 2004 interviewed President Barack Obama about his faith. At that time he was running for the Senate in Illinois. The following is the unveiling of President Obama’s religion and my comments about the President’s spiritual convictions and their implications for the United States under his presidency.
To hear President Obama talk abut his faith, there are those times that one would be led to conclude that he is devout Christian. He will say things like he did to Cathleen Falsani such as “I am a Christian” and “I have a deep faith.” However, the deeper Falsani dug, the more you realize that you indeed cannot judge a book by its cover, and that the proof of the pudding is in the eating.
SEVERAL PATHS TO THE SAME PLACE
When asked what he believed, he stated that he is a Christian. But then came the all important and most revealing statement:
“I BELIEVE THAT THERE ARE MANY PATHS TO THE SAME
PLACE…THAT THERE IS A HIGHER POWER…THE
BELIEF THAT WE ARE CONNECTED
AS A PEOPLE.”
This was echoed at the recent February 2009 National Prayer Breakfast where President Obama stated, “We know too that whatever our differences, there is one law that binds all ‘Great Religions’ together. Jesus told us to love our neighbor as yourself. The Torah commands, ‘That which is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow.’ In Islam there is a hadith that reads, ‘None of you truly believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself.’ And the same is true for Buddhists and Hindus; for followers of Confucius and for humanists.”
When President Obama talks about all “Great Religions,” he is not talking only about their size but also about their substance. The fact is that minus Christianity there are no great religions, for they are in fact all “False Religions.” Nowhere in the Bible do we read about other great religions or other great gods. Christianity is the only great and true religion because it believes in and serves the only great and true God. All other gods of all other religions are mere idols. Thus we read in Psalm 86:10,
“For Thou art great and doest wondrous deeds;
Thou alone art God.”
And Psalm 96:5,
“For all the gods of the peoples (nations) are idols,
but the Lord made the heavens.”
President Obama believes in “Religious Pluralism” and not “Christian Exclusivity.” That is to say, all religions lead to God. This is not only politically effective, but is a matter of his religious credo! President Obama’s view on faith is that it is a “Religious Cafeteria” where you have many choices which all lead to the same place.
He believes that all great religions are joined at the heart level of loving your neighbor, so take your pick, love all men and we will all meet together in the sweet bye and bye. He happened to pick Christianity as one of the ways to the same place. And after all, they all believe in a “Higher Power” and we are all joined as a people. So there you go!
President Obama’s words about all great religions being “Many Paths To The Same Place” are politically correct and placating words to the masses, but completely unbiblical and thoroughly unchristian! Here his words illustrate how political interests trump truth.
But the problem with the Bible’s God is that He will not behave like a nice, tolerant and broadminded God should. He refuses to take his place among the pantheon of gods in the religions of the world. He will not work on a committee with other gods. We read in Isaiah 44:6,
“Thus says the Lord… ‘I am the first and the last,
and there is no God besides me.’”
In other words, the Bible’s God is the God to end all gods. He cuts the bottom out of history’s bag of gods!
This is also why Jesus Christ is such an outrage to all of the other “Great Religions” of the world, when He makes such exclusive and intolerant statements like the one in John 14:6,
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one
comes to the Father, but through Me.”
How unfair of Christ to talk like that! But the fact is He did and does. Either Jesus is the only way to the only God, or He is a liar. The Bible says in Romans 3:4,
“Rather, let God be found true, though every man
be found a liar.”
Therefore, Almighty God is nowhere to be found in all of the other “Great Religions” of the world, for they do not accept the one and only way to the only Him – Jesus Christ! You can fanatically believe in one or all of the gods of all of the false religions of the world and go to Hell. He who believes that there are many ways to God cannot be a Christian. A true Christian burns all other religious bridges behind him, and Jesus Christ solely exercises His Divine right in the life of the believer.So that when President Obama says to Cathleen Falsani, “I’m rooted in the Christian tradition,” he isn’t! America is, or should I say was!
In fact when President Obama says that there are many paths to the same place, he is drawing the nation away from the only God that this nation was founded upon. And even more;
“AMERICA WILL NOT PRACTICE THE PRECEPTS OF CHRISTIANITY
IF IT DOES NOT RELATE EXCLUSIVELY TO ITS FOUNDER.”
*******
SUSPICIOUS OF RELIGIOUS DOGMA
AND CERTAINTY
I was worshiping in a “Christian Church” a few years ago where one of the associate pastors was preaching the Sunday morning sermon. He quickly got my full attention when he criticized another Christian church in the area that had on their church marquee, “The Truth, The Whole Truth, And Nothing But The Truth.” The young pastor then said, “No church has all the truth but each has only some of the truth.” That pastor is no longer there and joined the senior pastor, who was also told to leave, in a church that teaches a no-Hell eternity and that all men will be saved. For you see:
“A MINISTER WHO DOES NOT BELIEVE THAT HE HAS THE WHOLE
TRUTH IN THE BIBLE WILL END UP WITH LIES
IN HIS CREED.”
Sad to say that President Obama agrees with the young associate pastor. President Obama states:
“…I RETAIN FROM MY CHILDHOOD AND MY EXPERIENCES
GROWING UP A SUSPICION OF DOGMA. AND I AM NOT
ALWAYS COMFORTABLE WITH LANGUAGE THAT
IMPLIES I’VE GOT A MONOPOLY ON THE TRUTH….”
“I THINK THAT RELIGION AT IT’S BEST COMES WITH A BIG
DOSE OT DOUBT. I’M SUSPICIOUS OF TOO MUCH
CERTAINTY IN THE PURSUIT OF
UNDERSTANDING.”
What we are seeing here is much more a “Philosophy of Religion” rather than a true “Confession of Faith.” The Philosophy of Religion has always been of great interest and preference to many people simply because it never comes to hard conclusions (dogma, theological certainty). It searches for meaning without ever coming to final definitions. It searches for direction without strenuous duty. In the end, all options are still on the table.
Politicians more often than not major in politics and minor in the Philosophy of Religion. That way they can be loosey goosey in their religious notions and propositions and be chameleons with the potential voters. Philo-Religio adaptability is politically strategic.
President Obama underscores this when he states:
“THE MORE SPECIFIC AND DETAILED YOU ARE ON ISSUES AS
PERSONAL AND FUNDAMENTAL AS YOUR FAITH,
THE MORE POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS IT IS.”
If you will, as a politician you just can’t swallow the Bible hook, line and sinker because if you do, you will become far too principled and it will kill your candidacy with many divergent groups. Rather, analyze the Bible and sift through it, but don’t sign it as absolute, total and final truth. That way you can have a broad base of religious and non-religious voters by means of your customized, flexy and indeterminate religion. If you will:
“YOU CAN CARRY YOUR BIBLE, BUT YOU MUST NEVER LET YOUR
BIBLE CARRY YOU WHEREVER IT WANTS TO GO.”
That way:
“YOU CAN HEAR THE WORD OF GOD WITHOUT HEARING
GOD IN EVERY WORD.”
We are living in a day when you can call yourself a Christian, and pass yourself off on people as one without having to believe all that the Bible says. Just attend church now and then to keep in good standing with the religious crowd, but don’t take the Scripture or the preacher too seriously, for after all, he is paid to do that. Take it with a grain of salt and you can still be the salt of the earth without over seasoning it with the Bible’s dogma and moral absolutes.
Too much certainty in matters of faith!? Suspicious of dogma! I beg to differ! The Apostle Paul writes II Timothy 3:16 in the KJV,
“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is
profitable for doctrine (dogma), for reproof, for
correction, for instruction in righteousness….”
A religion without dogma profits little in one’s life. Nothing is dogmatic (final) , and it might just as well be fed to the dogs. I am very suspicious of those who have a “Dogmaless Faith.” You can never pin them down on anything, and everything is left hanging and dangling. Such a person cannot give effective moral and spiritual leadership to a nation.
In total contradiction to President Obama:
“CERTAINTY IS THE HALLMARK OF THE HISTORIC CHRISTIAN
FAITH, WHILE UNCERTAINTY IS THE BADGE OF MODERN
RELIGION AND MORAL RELATIVITY.”
We read in John 16:13 about the Holy Spirit and His monopoly of truth in the Christian’s life,
“But when He, the Spirit of Truth comes, He will guide
you into all the truth….”
If Christianity under the guidance of the Holy Spirit has all the truth, that means nothing less than a monopoly of truth, whether President Obama likes it or not.
The most troubling statement of all in this regard is when President Obama states:
“AS I SAID BEFORE, IN MY OWN PUBLIC POLICY, I’M VERY
SUSPICIOUS OF RELIGIOUS CERTAINTY EXPRESSING
ITSELF IN POLITICS.”
This translates into the fact that God will have no dogmatic, definitive role in the Obama administration. God and His Word will not be the dominate and absolute point of reference in the decision making process. Frightening because:
“ONLY GODLY AND BIBLICAL CERTAINTY CAN BE THE BASIS OF
ALL TRUE AND RELIABLE DETERMINATIONS.”
And what is more, if religious certainty cannot express itself in politics, then Biblical Christianity will at best become a cobweb hanging on the walls of the oval office.
******
A NO HELL GOD
When asked about the belief that those who haven’t embraced Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and their going to Hell, he responded,
“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 HINDU
KID IN INDIA WHO NEVER INTERACTS WITH THE
CHRISTIAN FAITH TO SOMEHOW BURN IN HELL
FOR ALL ETERNITY.”
“THAT’S JUST NOT PART OF MY MAKEUP.”
No one, not the most devoted Christian, wants to even think of one person going to Hell. God doesn’t either. He wants everyone saved and no one in Hell. (II Peter 3:9) But President Obama’s statements mean that we believe only what our personal makeup finds compatible, and we disbelieve whatever our personal makeup finds incompatible. If you will, we have here a totally “Subjective Religion” that creates a God after makeup, and a belief system that is designed to suit us.
This is so common today – “Customized Christianity.” Even as Bible truth is being shuffled and manipulated for financial profit on religious television, so too Bible truth is being filtered for personal and political convenience in government!
No kid feels love for Daddy or Daddy’s love for him when he spanks him. So too, man, even religious man prefers a Bible with its teeth pulled, and a God who has no backbone. Even as we live in the day and age of “No-Spanking Households,” so we are coming more and more into the age of “No Hell Religion.”
Physical punishment is being equated with parental violence, and eternal punishment is being equated with Divine violence. In any event, there is no place for either. After all, the in-word today is “Moderation,” and both spanking and Hell are far too immoderate.
But the fact is that every man will have to give account to God for the way he believed or disbelieved in Jesus, and the way he obeyed or disobeyed the Lord. (II Corinthians 5:10) In each case the Bible promises a Heaven for the former, and warns of Hell for the latter. For the believing and obedient, pleasure and joy forevermore! (Psalm 16:11) For the unbelieving and disobedient, weeping and gashing of teeth forevermore! (Matthew 8:12) God does not make vain promises or idle threats! If ever a nation needed to hear this truth, it is now!
But this is the point of great “Here And Now” significance! When there is no Heaven to be won and no Hell to be escaped, then there is no real accountability to God and no well-developed sense of right and wrong. This all will be reflected in President Obama’s dealing with moral issues as well as in the moral tenor of the nation under his administration. That is to say:
“THERE WILL BE LESS AND LESS OF A FEEL OF EVIL OR A
FEAR OF HELL.”
As matter of fact, what will happen is described in Ephesians 4:19 (KJV),
“Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto
lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness
with greediness.”
Past feeling! It is the loss of spiritual sense! What Bill Bennett calls “The Death of Outrage!” Fornication, abortion, homosexuality, same-sex marriage etc. all become neuter for there is no black and white, no distinct places called Heaven or Hell. Whatever turns you on for you can’t eternally turn God off! Go for it! When there is no Hell, people will live like Hell.
*******
SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE
Surprise, Surprise, Surprise! President Obama states:
“I AM A BIG BELIEVER IN THE SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE.”
“I AM A GREAT ADMIRER OF OUR FOUNDING CHARTER, AND ITS
RESOLVE TO PREVENT THEOCRACIES FROM FORMING, AND
ITS RESOLVE TO PREVENT DISRUPTIVE STRAINS OF
FUNDAMENTALISM FROM TAKING ROOT IN
OUR COUNTRY.”
Helen Keller once observed:
“THE HERESY OF ONE AGE BECOMES THE ORTHODOXY
OF THE NEXT.”
One lie has been propagated for far too long and is accepted by millions as truth. How sad that we have now a President who embraces the lie that America’s founding charter, the First Amendment of The United States Constitution, requires “Freedom From Religion” when in fact it demands “Freedom Of Religion.”
President Obama embraces the secularist fallacy that the First Amendment teaches “Separation Of Church And State” (the liberals mantra) when in fact it mandates “Protection Of The Church From The State.” It was for that very protection that our founding fathers came to this land in the first place.
If the freedom of religion and the protection of the church from the state are true First Amendment “Americanisms,” which they are, that means that President Obama and his ilk on the matter of the First Amendment are “un-American.” And they are!
As a former professor of constitutional law at the University of Chicago, it staggers the mind to know that President Obama completely misconstrues the First Amendment. His kind teaches that the First Amendment limits the role of the church in government. It does not! The First Amendment severely limits the role of government in the church. It is about what the government cannot do in and to religion and not about what religion cannot do in and to government.
In fact, if it were not for the Christian Church, civil government would not be able to maintain law and order even on the limited level that it does. If the Christian Church did not teach The Ten Commandments, there would be no end to building prisons to punish and contain the breakers of those laws. Far from being an enemy to or competitor with the state, as religion is being portrayed today, the government and the state always have been the beneficiaries of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ which has been their benefactor from the very birth of this nation.
The secularist’s interpretation of the First Amendment is a lie, and as my Daddy warned,
“BE CAREFUL OF THE MAN WHO LIES, FOR THEN THERE IS NO
END TO WHAT BAD HE WILL DO TO YOU.”
Let the truth be known,
“WITHOUT THE TRUTH OF THE FIRST AMENDMENT BEING FULLY
RESTORED, THERE WILL BE A GROWING TYRANNY BY
GOVERNMENT AGAINST RELIGION AND AN
INTENSIFYING PERSECUTION
AGAINST THE CHRISTIAN
CHURCH.”
Our religious rights are now being severely threatened by a misguided judiciary, legislature, and now also by the executive branch of government. God only knows what President Obama means by “The Resolve To Prevent Disruptive Strains of Fundamentalism” Taking Root In Our Country.” Only time will tell, but we can’t just wait around and see.
Does he mean those who preach against homosexuality, same-sex marriage and abortion? The right to assemble? The right to street witness? The right to preach the Gospel? The right of Christian Churches and Schools to teach against evolution? Will he agree that this is “Hate Speech” and should be outlawed? All of these are threatened by the complete twisting of the First Amendment, which ungodly forces will continue to milk to death in order to get their way.
I will continue to pray and plan to do all that I can to reach our government at all levels with the truths of Historic Christianity that our nation was founded upon. You might feel about yourself what so many feel, namely, I am just a little peon, what can I do? When I think of Washington D.C., I have over the years found great inspiration and obligation in the words of Solomon in Ecclesiastes 9:14,
“But there was found in it a poor wise man and he delivered
the city by his wisdom. Yet no one remembered
the poor man.”
I know that there are many, many of you out there who are far wiser than me! God is calling us to deliver the city Washington D.C. from the forces of evil by Heaven’s wisdom that the Holy Spirit has put in us. God help us!
