FALSANI:
Who's Jesus to you? (He laughs nervously)OBAMA:
Right.Jesus is an historical figure for me, and he's also a bridge between God and man, in the Christian faith, and one that I think is powerful precisely because he serves as that means of us reaching something higher. And he's also a wonderful teacher. I think it's important for all of us, of whatever faith, to have teachers in the flesh and also teachers in history.
HT: Justin Taylor, with comments
6 comments:
"I think that, particularly as somebody who's now in the public realm and is a student of what brings people together and what drives them apart, there's an enormous amount of damage done around the world in the name of religion and certainty."
The future leader of our country. Yikes.
It's true though... The Crusades? The Spanish Inquisition?
If we were made to have absolute certainty of God's existence, and Christ's divinity, faith would not mean anything.
Being absolutely certain about religion (not just Christianity), and blindly following whatever doctrine you come across... that's never good. The things done in the name of religious purity (looked at Israel lately?) are sometimes horrific. And I think that this sometimes happens when you are convinced that your religion should be the only one, and that anyone who doesn't follow it is going to hell, and that it isn't possible for conversion to happen from one faith to another...
When you are 100% certain about things... you are likely to be 100% wrong. Does that make any sort of sense?
I feel like the whole interview was Obama dancing the line of wanting to appear religious because "it's the right thing to do" but also not wanting to step on anyone's toes. Guess what, Obama...sometimes standing up for what you believe in means that you come to a head with others. I wish he would've just picked a side and stuck to it. He's already elected...the jig is up.
"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."
Obama, assuming your calculations are correct, your false god wouldn't, but mine will. Including the little Hindu sinner because he, like the rest of us, deserve hell for our sin.
May the One True God have mercy on Obama's and the little Hindu kid's soul.
Christine, maybe I'm not understanding your point, but your comments concern me.
"Being absolutely certain about religion (not just Christianity), and blindly following whatever doctrine you come across... that's never good. ...And I think that this sometimes happens when you are convinced that your religion should be the only one, and that anyone who doesn't follow it is going to hell, and that it isn't possible for conversion to happen from one faith to another".
The Christian faith is 100 percent true. This means that any religion or faith that does not adhere to true Christian doctrine is false and the end result of following said religions or faiths is hell. It also means that Jesus is the only path to God. There are not many paths as our President-elect suggests. Of that I am certain. And that is good. Does that mean I understand everything there is to know about the Christian faith? Not hardly. But it does mean that there is a truth and the truth is knowable. It also means that we must be students of Scripture, beacuse Scripture proclaims the truth, so that we may test the spirits to see whether they are from God.
Christian doctrine says that the un-repentant sinner is going to hell. What are we to do with that? Do we wish it away like our President-elect is doing by worshipping a false god? God forbid. We must proclaim this truth in the hope that sinners will repent. Which brings me to the second part of your statement, "...and that it isn't possible for conversion to happen from one faith to another". I don't know of any religion or faith that believes this. It is the opposite that causes other religions and faiths to try to coerce conversions. This certainly is not Christian doctrine. We have been commanded by our Lord to go to the ends of the earth, proclaiming the truth of God and His Christ. Obviously, we believe that conversion is possible. In fact, all Christians have been converted. We simply don't have authority to try to force conversion as other wicked religions do.
If you are simply pointing out that blindly following a religion or faith without knowing or understanding the authority that supports them then I agree with you as that can be perilous. The list is endless of the events that have occured because people blindly followed evil passions. Notice, it is no longer religion or faith that is the issue, but evil passions. Religion or faith simply becomes the vehicle. The Crusades and The Spanish Inquisition certainly seem to make the list. Again, studying Scripture is most important in preventing this. Of course, your refusal to participate in these evil passions because it goes against scripture could mean your head.
It is also important to note that the phrase "religion or faith" implies that the evil passions that have occured were brought about by religious people in an effort to please their god. We need to realize that atheism and/or humanism has been the cause of far more deaths and mayhem than all the tradgedies blamed on religion combined. Humanism places man's ever-changing whims as the authority for determining right and wrong. The world's graves are full of dissenters to man's authority.
Be certain that Christianity is true, worship the One True God, and absorb His holy Word.
More Obamanations.
"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."
Wrong. Jesus says in John 14:6, ""I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." While there may be many roads to the White House. There is only One to the Father.
"I'm a big believer in tolerance. I think that religion at it's best comes with a big dose of doubt. I'm suspicious of too much certainty in the pursuit of understanding just because I think people are limited in their understanding.
I think that, particularly as somebody who's now in the public realm and is a student of what brings people together and what drives them apart, there's an enormous amount of damage done around the world in the name of religion and certainty."
This is the response of someone who does not believe in the truthfullness and sufficiency of Scripture. While I may be limited in my understanding and while the heavens declare GOD's glory, anything that can be known about GOD is revealed, by GOD, in the pages of Scripture and nowhere else. Of that, I am certain. All opinions of GOD derived outside of Scripture is pure subjective speculation. The big believer in tolerance claims to be searching for truth but hopes to never find it. If he does, then he'll have to submit himself to it.
"Jesus is an historical figure for me, and he's also a bridge between God and man, in the Christian faith, and one that I think is powerful precisely because he serves as that means of us reaching something higher.
And he's also a wonderful teacher. I think it's important for all of
us, of whatever faith, to have teachers in the flesh and also teachers in history."
A person, with more skill than me, could right a book on what's wrong
with these statements. Obviously, Obama does not believe that Jesus is GOD, our Savior.
Speaking about social justice he said, "...we are all children of God."
Wrong. While all humans are created in the image of GOD, Galations chapter 4 describes who are the true children of GOD. ROM 8:14 "For all who are led by the Spirit of GOD are sons of GOD." GAL 3:25-26 "But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.".
"But I don't think that's unique to me. I think that each of us when we walk into our church or mosque or synagogue are interpreting that experience in different ways, are reading scriptures in different ways and are arriving at our own understanding at different ways and in different phases.
I don't know a healthy congregation or an effective minister who doesn't recognize that.
If all it took was someone proclaiming I believe Jesus Christ and that he died for my sins, and that was all there was to it, people wouldn't have to keep coming to church, would they."
Where to begin with this one? He assumes that Scripture in a church, and my presumption here is a Christian church, is the same scripture being read and interpreted in a synogogue and mosque. They are not. He conveniently left out other places of worship that have their own unique set of scriptures all of which contradict the Bible. He also didn't include the great high priestess, Oprah, and her set of
scriptures. All scripture outside of the Holy Bible is not of GOD but are the doctines of demons. Do I have a 100% understanding of
Scripture? No. Which is why I not only need to continue my study of
Scripture but I need to keep coming to church to learn about and discuss my faith so that I will no longer walk in the futility of my mind.
"What I believe in is that if I live my life as well as I can, that I will be rewarded. I don't presume to have knowledge of what happens after I die. But I feel very strongly that whether the reward is in the here and now or in the hereafter, the aligning myself to my faith and my values is a good thing.
When I tuck in my daughters at night and I feel like I've been a good father to them, and I see in them that I am transferring values that I got from my mother and that they're kind people and that they're honest people, and they're curious people, that's a little piece of heaven."
Aha! I knew it. A self-righteous individual. Hoping to stand on his
pile of filthy rags to obtain a little piece of heaven. Read the Bible and get knowledge and with your getting, get understanding. Pray for this man and his daughters that GOD may have mercy on their soul.
He defines sin as "Being out of alignment with my values". Ugh! So if I am out of alignment with his values, does that make me a sinner? Is he a sinner if he is out of alignment with my values? Are we sinners if we are out of alignment with the values of government? Whose morals do we follow? Oh the humanity!
"Nothing is more powerful than the black church experience. A good
choir and a good sermon in the black church, it's pretty hard not to be move (sic) and be transported."
Not very tolerant, if you ask me. Isn't he constructing a heirarchy of spiritual experiences? I thought tolerance was a lack of a heirarchy of opinion. Was it loving of him to say this? Is it loving of me to tell him that Jesus is the Way, and the Truth, and the Life, and no one can get to the Father except through Me? Or is that too certain for him and, therefore, hateful and intolerant and dangerous?
He is most aligned spiritually, "when I'm being true to myself.". He said, "I think Gandhi is a great example of a profoundly spiritual man...". How very emergent and vey detrimental to himself.
I think it is obvious that, based on the revelation of GOD through his Holy Word, that at the time of this interview, Barack Obama, was a liar in his claim to be a Christian.
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