Barack Obama: The 2004 “God Factor” Interview Transcript
Barack Obama: The 2004 “God Factor” Interview Transcript
30 APRIL 2008
Chicago-Sun Time religion columnist Cathleen Falsani (”God Girl”)
Editor’s Note:
At 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 27, 2004, when I was the religion reporter (I am now its religion columnist) at the Chicago Sun-Times, I met then-State Sen. Barack Obama at Café Baci, a small coffee joint at 330 S. Michigan Avenue in Chicago, to interview him exclusively about his spirituality. Our conversation took place a few days after he’d clinched the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate seat that he eventually won. We spoke for more than an hour. He came alone. He answered everything I asked without notes or hesitation. The profile of Obama that grew from the interview at Cafe Baci became the first in a series in the Sun-Times called “The God Factor,” that eventually became my first book, The God Factor: Inside the Spiritual Lives of Public People (FSG, March 2006.) Because of the staggering interest in now U.S. Sen. Obama’s faith and spiritual predilections, I thought it might be helpful to share that interivew, uncut and in its entirety, here.
GG
————————————–
Interview with State Sen. Barack Obama
3:30 p.m., Saturday March 27
Café Baci, 330 S. Michigan Avenue
Me: decaf
He: alone, on time, grabs a Naked juice protein shake
GG: What do you believe?
OBAMA: 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.
My grandparents who were from small towns in Kansas. My grandmother was Methodist. My grandfather was Baptist. This was at a time when I think the Methodists felt slightly superior to the Baptists. And by the time I was born, they were, I think, my grandparents had joined a Universalist church.
So, my mother, who I think had as much influence on my values as anybody, was not someone who wore her religion on her sleeve. We’d go to church for Easter. She wasn’t a church lady.
As I said, we moved to Indonesia. She remarried an Indonesian who wasn’t particularly, he wasn’t a practicing Muslim. I went to a Catholic school in a Muslim country. So I was studying the Bible and catechisms by day, and at night you’d hear the prayer call.
So I don’t think as a child we were, or I had a structured religious education. But my mother was deeply spiritual person, and would spend a lot of time talking about values and give me books about the world’s religions, and talk to me about them. And I think always, her view always was that underlying these religions were a common set of beliefs about how you treat other people and how you aspire to act, not just for yourself but also for the greater good.
And, so that, I think, was what I carried with me through college. I probably didn’t get started getting active in church activities until I moved to Chicago.
The way I came to Chicago in 1985 was that I was interested in community organizing and I was inspired by the Civil Rights movement. And the idea that ordinary people could do extraordinary things. And there was a group of churches out on the South Side of Chicago that had come together to form an organization to try to deal with the devastation of steel plants that had closed. And didn’t have much money, but felt that if they formed an organization and hired somebody to organize them to work on issues that affected their community, that it would strengthen the church and also strengthen the community.
So they hired me, for $13,000 a year. The princely sum. And I drove out here and I didn’t know anybody and started working with both the ministers and the lay people in these churches on issues like creating job training programs, or afterschool programs for youth, or making sure that city services were fairly allocated to underserved communites.
This would be in Roseland, West Pullman, Altgeld Gardens, far South Side working class and lower income communities.
And it was in those places where I think what had been more of an intellectual view of religion deepened because I’d be spending an enormous amount of time with church ladies, sort of surrogate mothers and fathers and everybody I was working with was 50 or 55 or 60, and here I was a 23-year-old kid running around.
I became much more familiar with the ongoing tradition of the historic black church and it’s importance in the community.
And the power of that culture to give people strength in very difficult circumstances, and the power of that church to give people courage against great odds. And it moved me deeply.
So that, one of the churches I met, or one of the churches that I became involved in was Trinity United Church of Christ. And the pastor there, Jeremiah Wright, became a good friend. So I joined that church and committed myself to Christ in that church.
GG:Did you actually go up for an altar call?
OBAMA:Yes. Absolutely.
It was a daytime service, during a daytime service. And it was a powerful moment. Because, ti was powerful for me because it not only confirmed my faith, it not only gave shape to my faith, but I think, also, allowed me to connect the work I had been pursuing with my faith.
GG:How long ago?
OBAMA:16, 17 years ago
1987 or 88
GG:So you got yourself born again?
OBAMA:Yeah, although I don’t, I retain from my childhood and my experiences growing up a suspicion of dogma. And I’m not somebody who is always comfortable with language that implies I’ve got a monopoly on the truth, or that my faith is automatically transferable to others.
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.
GG:Do you still attend Trinity?
OBAMA:Yep. Every week. 11 oclock service.
Ever been there? Good service.
I actually wrote a book called Dreams from My Father, it’s kind of a meditation on race. There’s a whole chapter on the church in that, and my first visits to Trinity.
GG:Do you pray often?
OBAMA:Uh, yeah, I guess I do.
Its’ not formal, me getting on my knees. I think I have an ongoing conversation with God. I think throughout the day, I’m constantly asking myself questions about what I’m doing, why am I doing it.
One of the interesting things about being in public life is there are constantly these pressures being placed on you from different sides. To be effective, you have to be able to listen to a variety of points of view, synthesize viewpoints. You also have to know when to be just a strong advocate, and push back against certain people or views that you think aren’t right or don’t serve your constituents.
And so, the biggest challenge, I think, is always maintaining your moral compass. Those are the conversations I’m having internally. I’m measuring my actions against that inner voice that for me at least is audible, is active, it tells me where I think I’m on track and where I think I’m off track.
It’s interesting particularly now after this election, comes with it a lot of celebrity. And I always think of politics as having two sides. There’s a vanity aspect to politics, and then there’s a substantive part of politics. Now you need some sizzle with the steak to be effective, but I think it’s easy to get swept up in the vanity side of it, the desire to be liked and recognized and important. It’s important for me throughout the day to measure and to take stock and to say, now, am I doing this because I think it’s advantageous to me politically, or because I think it’s the right thing to do? Am I doing this to get my name in the papers or am I doing this because it’s necessary to accomplish my motives.
GG: Checking for altruism?
OBAMA:Yeah. I mean, something like it.
Looking for, … IT’s interesting, the most powerful political moments for me come when I feel like my actions are aligned with a certain truth. I can feel it. When I’m talking to a group and I’m saying something truthful, I can feel a power that comes out of those statements that is different than when I’m just being glib or clever.
GG:What’s that power? Is it the holy spirit? God?
OBAMA:Well, I think it’s the power of the recognition of God, or the recognition of a larger truth that is being shared between me and an audience.
That’s something you learn watching ministers, quite a bit. What they call the Holy Spirit. They want the Holy Spirit to come down before they’re preaching, right? Not to try to intellectualize it but what I see is there are moments that happen within a sermon where the minister gets out of his ego and is speaking from a deeper source. And it’s powerful.
There are also times when you can see the ego getting in the way. Where the minister is performing and clearly straining for applause or an Amen. And those are distinct moments. I think those former moments are sacred.
GG: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.
GG:Is Jesus someone who you feel you have a regular connection with now, a personal connection with in your life?
OBAMA:Yeah. Yes. I think some of the thigns I talked about earlier are addressed through, are channeled through my Christian faith and a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
GG:Have you read the bible?
OBAMA:Absolutely.
I read it not as regularly as I would like. These days I don’t have much time for reading or reflection, period.
GG:Do you try to take some time for whatever, meditation prayer reading?
OBAMA:I’ll be honest with you, I used to all the time, in a fairly disciplined way. But during the course of this campaign, I don’t. And I probably need to and would like to, but that’s where that internal monologue, or dialogue I think supplants my opportunity to read and reflect in a structured way these days.
It’s much more sort of as I’m going through the day trying to take stock and take a moment here and a moment there to take stock, why am I here, how does this connect with a larger sense of purpose.
GG:Do you have people in your life that you look to for guidance?
OBAMA:Well, my pastor is certainly someone who I have an enormous amount of respect for.
I have a number of friends who are ministers. Reverend Meeks is a close friend and colleague of mine in the state Senate. Father Michael Pfleger is a dear friend, and somebody I interact with closely.
GG:Those two will keep you on your toes.
OBAMA:And theyr’e good friends. Because both of them are in the public eye, there are ways we can all reflect on what’s happening to each of us in ways that are useful.
I think they can help me, they can appreciate certain specific challenges that I go through as a public figure.
GG:Jack Ryan [Obama’s Republican opponent in the U.S. Senate race at the time] said talking about your faith is frought with peril for a public figure.
OBAMA:Which is why you generally will not see me spending a lot of time talking about it on the stump.
Alongside my own deep personal faith, I am a follower, as well, of our civic religion. I am a big believer in the separation of church and state. I am a big believer in our constitutional structure. I mean, I’m a law professor at the University of Chicago teaching constitutional law. 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 ion this country.
As I said before, in my own public policy, I’m very suspicious of religious certainty expressing itself in politics.
Now, that’s different form a belief that values have to inform our public policy. I think it’s perfectly consistent to say that I want my government to be operating for all faiths and all peoples, including atheists and agnostics, while also insisting that there are values tha tinform my politics that are appropriate to talk about.
A standard line in my stump speech during this campaign is that my politics are informed by a belief that we’re all connected. That if there’s a child on the South Side of Chicago that can’t read, that makes a difference in my life even if it’s not my own child. If there’s a senior citizen in downstate Illinois that’s struggling to pay for their medicine and having to chose between medicine and the rent, that makes my life poorer even if it’s not my grandparent. And if there’s an Arab American family that’s being rounded up by John Ashcroft without the benefit of due process, that threatens my civil liberties.
I can give religious expression to that. I am my brother’s keeper, I am my sister’s keeper, we are all children of God. Or I can express it in secular terms. But the basic premise remains the same. I think sometimes Democrats have made the mistake of shying away from a conversation about values for fear that they sacrifice the important value of tolerance. And I don’t think those two things are mutually exclusive.
GG:Do you think it’s wrong for people to want to know about a civic leader’s spirituality?
OBAMA:I don’t’ think it’s wrong. I think that political leaders are subject to all sorts of vetting by the public, and this can be a component of that.
I think that I am disturbed by, let me put it this way: I think there is an enormous danger on the part of public figures to rationalize or justify their actions by claiming God’s mandate.
I think there is this tendency that I don’t think is healthy for public figures to wear religion on their sleeve as a means to insulate themselves from criticism, or dialogue with people who disagree with them.
GG:The conversation stopper, when you say you’re a Christian and leave it at that.
OBAMA:Where do you move forward with that?
This is something that I’m sure I’d have serious debates with my fellow Christians about. I think that the difficult thing about any religion, including Christianity, is that at some level there is a call to evangelize and prostelytize. There’s the belief, certainly in some quarters, that people haven’t embraced Jesus Christ as their personal savior that they’re going to hell.
GG:You don’t believe that?
OBAMA: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.
That’s just not part of my religious makeup.
Part of the reason I think it’s always difficult for public figures to talk about this is that the nature of politics is that you want to have everybody like you and project the best possible traits onto you. Oftentimes that’s by being as vague as possible, or appealing to the lowest commong denominators. The more specific and detailed you are on issues as personal and fundamental as your faith, the more potentially dangerous it is.
GG:Do you ever have people who know you’re a Christian question a particular stance you take on an issue, how can you be a Christian and …
OBAMA:Like the right to choose.
I haven’t been challenged in those direct ways. And to that extent, I give the public a lot of credit. I’m always stuck by how much common sense the American people have. They get confused sometimes, watch FoxNews or listen to talk radio. That’s dangerous sometimes. But generally, Americans are tolerant and I think recognize that faith is a personal thing, and they may feel very strongly about an issue like abortion or gay marriage, but if they discuss it with me as an elected official they will discuss it with me in those terms and not, say, as ‘you call yourself a Christian.’ I cannot recall that ever happening.
GG:Do you get questions about your faith?
OBAMA:Obviously as an African American politician rooted in the African American community, I spend a lot of time in the black church. I have no qualms in those settings in participating fully in those services and celebrating my God in that wonderful community that is the black church.
(he pauses)
But I also try to be . . . Rarely in those settings do people come up to me and say, what are your beliefs. They are going to presume, and rightly so. Although they may presume a set of doctrines that I subscribe to that I don’t necessarily subscribe to.
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.
GG:Do you believe in heaven?
OBAMA:Do I believe in the harps and clouds and wings?
GG:A place spiritually you go to after you die?
OBAMA: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.
GG:Do you believe in sin?
OBAMA:Yes.
GG:What is sin?
OBAMA:Being out of alignment with my values.
GG:What happens if you have sin in your life?
OBAMA:I think it’s the same thing as the question about heaven. In the same way that if I’m true to myself and my faith that that is its own reward, when I’m not true to it, it’s its own punishment.
GG:Where do you find spiritual inspiration? Music, nature, literature, people, a conduit you plug into?
OBAMA:There are so many.
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 and be transported.
I can be transported by watching a good performance of Hamlet, or reading Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon, or listening to Miles Davis.
GG:Is there something that you go back to as a touchstone, a book, a particular piece of music, a place …
OBAMA:As I said before, in my own sort of mental library, the Civil Rights movement has a powerful hold on me. IT’s a point in time where I think heaven and earth meet. Because it’s a moment in which a collective faith transforms everything. So when I read Gandhi or I read King or I read certain passages of Abraham Lincoln and I think about those times where people’s values are tested, I think those inspire me.
GG:What are you doing when you feel the most centered, the most aligned spiritually?
OBAMA:I think I already described it. It’s when I’m being true to myself. And that can happen in me making a speech or it can happen in me playing with my kids, or it can happen in a small interaction with a security guard in a building when I’m recognizing them and exchanging a good word.
GG:Is there someone you would look to as an example of how not to do it?
OBAMA:Bin Laden.
(grins broadly)
GG:… An example of a role model, who combined everything you said you want to do in your life, and your faith?
OBAMA:I think Gandhi is a great example of a profoundly spiritual man who acted and risked everything on behalf of those values but never slipped into intolerance or dogma. He seemed to always maintain an air of doubt about him.
I think Dr. King, and Lincoln. Those three are good examples for me of people who applied their faith to a larger canvas without allowing that faith to metasticize into something that is hurtful.
GG:Can we go back to that morning service in 1987 or 88 — when you have a moment that you can go back to that as an epiphany…
OBAMA:It wasn’t an epiphany.
It was much more of a gradual process for me. I know there are some people who fall out. Which is wonderful. God bless them. For me it was probably because there is a certain self-consciousness that I possess as somebody with probably too much book learning, and also a very polyglot background.
GG: It wasn’t like a moment where you finally got it? It was a symbol of that decision?
OBAMA:Exactly. I think it was just a moment to certify or publicly affirm a growing faith in me.
-END-
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Comments
Thank you for posting this interview. It is truly helpful in understanding how Obama obtained and thinks with a post-modern mind. His faith is polyglot, just as he said. His mentors and church that he threw under the bus are not any more Christian than BHO is, which is not much. When a truth or a person does not serve BHO’s goals: throw it or them out.
This man is dangerous people.
Wake up.
Thank you for posting this interview. Obama describes feeling some sort of spiritual ‘boost’ when he is speaking the truth to people. Let’s hope that he will want to feel that boost in positions of power as well.
“Jesus is an historical figure for me, and he’s also a bridge between God and man”. A true Christian would say that Jesus IS God, not a “bridge”.
“Am I doing this to get my name in the papers or am I doing this because it’s necessary to accomplish my motives.” How about accomplishing God’s will?
I have no doubt that Obama thinks alot about God–every time he looks in the mirror.
BHO claiming to be a christian is like someone claiming to be a vegatarian, finding self-justification in eating at the local steakhouse every night.
The measure of any faith is about the “other”..not about the “self”. All of Obama’s measures are about the “self”.
Just in case any of you are interested you may join a prayer circle via Obama’s web site to pray for Hillary Clinton and her supporters who have failed to see the light and who are “harming Obama”. I suppose this comes with the belief that Only Obama can heal our souls per his wife
http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/communityservice/4spx
Thank you so much for sharing this with us. To me, this clearly shows us that BHO is indeed, arrogant, and his religious background and belief system both need to be looked at very closely. He seems to believe that sin is simply “being out of alignment with HIS values”…not God’s values. Also, Jesus is not just a historical figure, but He is the Only Son of God…and He Himself is God…and it is through Jesus Christ ALONE that we become a child of God…that we have a personal relationship with God. AS Christians, we need to pray, pray, pray, for God to open our eyes and the eyes of others and for God to have mercy upon us during this election.
This helps me understand where BHO is coming from–a post-modern, self-centered religiousity. I pick the god I want, that meets my needs and promotes my values. Of course this is nothing better or higher than old fashioned paganism and idolotry. There are lots of examples of his post modernist thought throughout this piece, but this takes the cake:
Sin is “Being out of alignment with my values”. He really believes he is the center of the Universe. God help us if we elect this man.
I agree with ‘Jim’ in the above post.
BHO reminds me of that one kid in school that’s on the basketball team that, at the final moments of the game, finally gets the ball and throws it with a confident smile on his face… Only to find out that he threw it to the opposite team and ends up losing the game in the end, but is so oblivious and caught up in the moment that he actually GOT the ball, that he doesn’t even know WHAT is going on around him.
But hey, with America’s screwed up system of “yesterday’s wrong is today’s right,” (i.e. sex at age 10, disciplining children being wrong, baby before marriage, etc), why not elect a leader that represents the greater, more retarded, half of America?
I bet that BHO thinks that The DaVinci Code is a documentary of his life thus far.
Firstly, I don’t agree with Obama on many issues and I can’t say that I’ll support him as a president, but here I can agree with him.
To all of you who believe that religion isn’t a self centered activity, I beg you to look again at your own faith and what purpose it serves. I was once a Christian like many other people, not a sideline walker but a born again believer. I’ve come to see different ideals now, but one thing I understand now is that religion is all about “you”, especially christianity.
Jesus died for “your” sins, its only by “your” faith that you are saved. Why do you get saved, so “you” don’t go to hell, so “you” can have a relationship with god.
It is dishonest to say that your spirituality isn’t self motivated. All religions are about the self, and at least in some part about making ‘you’ a better person. You change yourself so that others see the example of that change.
For Obama to say that sin is out of alignment with his values, is not arrogant, its honest. In any religion or even for spiritual or atheistic people the choice in values is ultimately in the hands of one person…you. And therefor if Obama aligns himself with Christian views and ideals, being out of alignment with those is sin.
There are many people it seems who have never taken a good look at what religion and spirituality are truly about. It would be wise to stop pointing fingers and criticizing until you have a good understanding of the subject.
I doubt that there is anyone today who would say that Hitler’s atrocities were not unspeakably sinful; nor would anyone say that slavery which was practiced in our country was not unspeakably sinful. But, according to Obama’s definition of sin, those two examples probably would not be sin, since Hitler and the slave-owners were most likely not doing anything that was “out of alignment with (their) my values”.
To F in KC:
I have serious doubts, going by your own words, that you were an actual “born again” Christian. And if you were really born again, and have now departed, well, we know that God’s word tells us that it is MUCH worse to know His truth, and depart from it. Jesus died for MY sin, YOUR sin, so that WE don’t go to hell. It happens this way because HE is a PERSONAL savior, did you not get that part when you were “born again”? You are so absolutely wrong when you say Christainity is all about US. It’s about HIM and HIM alone. I would emplore you to take a second look at Christainity, true BIBLICAL Christianity. Not this psuedo garbage that is so prevelant today, a good example being BHO, in that he says “I am a Christain” and then goes on to tell us that he adheres to belief systems that are diametrically opposed to true Christianity. He is NO Christian. I’ve no idea what “religion” or “branch” of “Christianity” you thought you were born again in, but clearly by your words, something went wrong, or you were aligned with a pseudo-Christian congregation that failed their mission in presenting you with the truth of Christ’s message. Our spirituality is not self motivated, we are pulled (motivated) by the Holy Spirit, we are called by HIM. See what I mean when I question that you were actually born again? We do want to be better people, not for OURSELVES, but to honor HIM. To turn your words back to you, it would be wise for you to stop picking Christianity appart and deciding that it is selfish and self centered, until YOU have actually learned what it is truly all about and what it truly means to be a Bible Christian. Because clearly, you have no concept of what it means. Please give Christ another chance.
Its funny, Obama says in this interview that he attends trinity every week at the 11 o’clock service. Yet, last night when I watched him in O’reilly’s interview he claimed he was there 2 times a month. That, of course, being his excuse as to why he was “unaware” and had “never heard” the racist and lunatic rantings of his Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Also, speaking as a former Christian, Obama is no believer. Obviously, he rejects most, if not all, of the primary doctrines of that faith. Clearly, Obama is at best a confused christian with a bad memory, or at worst an opportunistic liar. You decide.
So would BHO support Osama Bin Laden’s actions as not sinful since they are not out of alignment with his values?
The fallacy of post-modern relativism.
Its all about obama, will he be satisfied being our next president, if elected? Or will he want to go higher, a world leader, serving his agenda and self-values,dangerous!
If he looses, how will he take it? Pride has its consequences.
It is very clear to see that he is not trying to follow God’s word and Jesus. The Lord said if you love me you will keep my commandments. Jesus said it straight when he said unless a man is born from above he cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. Maybe he did ask Jesus to come into his heart at one time but he is not growing and changing into the christian that the Lord desires us to be according to God’s Word. He sounds very mixed up and confused probably because of all the differant teachings and religions he has studied or been involved in. I pray he will see the light and make a full comittment to Jesus and repent for beleiving other faiths and beliefs. If he humbles himself before God and acknowledges his sin, Jesus will forgive him.
It is truly obvious that BHO’s focus in life is on himself and not the God he claims to follow. He is spiritually anemic . . . a spiritual weakling who worships himself and holds his own values as his standard for living . . . These are certainly red flags for discerning voters.
Obama is a terroist. If you check futher in his life, he was a poor man. He leaves this country to the middle east for a time. Has enough money to attend C.Univ in N.Y. Then settles in Chicago. Where does his money come from? Wake up America! All his ties are from terroist countries! Scripture warns us the worst enemy will come from within!!!
A man who turns down a job with one of the most prestigious corporate law firms in Chicago and job offers on Wall Street to organize a community in peril is someone who understands Christ’s message of taking up one’s own cross.
When did Christians start rating others’ spirituality or qualifying another persons relations with God? What are we expecting people to think when we live a double life or portray a secret agent Christian? Are you putting on a performance, or are you genuinely focused on the Lordship of Christ, so that His fullness flows to those around you?
Pray for Barack Obama, pray for John McCain - this is what Jesus asks of us. I am a grateful hypocrite, grateful that God LOVES sinners!
To Garret, to answery our question, since the word was written. The word instructs Christians on how to judge one another within the flock, it also instructs us not to correct a non-Christian because they are not in this family.
The Holdy word instructs all Christians to Judge one another by their actions, it is very detailed in the instruction and the proper steps to do so. If a person is found to fail to follow and abide by the word defyin the commands within we are to privately correct them once, if they continue we are to bring it to the board, if they still refuse to stop defying the word they are publically removed from the fellowship to bring shame to them so that they will come back after repentance. (similar to the Prodigal Son)
The Christian faith states there is only one way to salvation and that is through Christ Jesus. Though many people say being a Christian is tolerant to accepting many different ways/paths to reach God, the Bible says there is only one way and that is through Christ Jesus. Do we believe the Bible anymore?
Tolerance has replaced Christianity with moronic statements like “Politically correct” which means everyones views are right, don’t offend anyone. Well, I find standing for Godliness takes courage and that means being “Politically Incorrect”. Biblical views on today’s issues are clear, Pro-Life, same sex marriage, abortion, being drunk (legalizing Marijuana), adultery, finances, blessings, curses, common sense, wisdom, Satanists or Christians, etc…
Being Politically correct is a soft word for Anti-Christ, Anti-views, Anti-brain activity, Anti-Courage.
People today have taken on the title of “Christian” yet fail performing the steps to validate holding the title. To be a Christian has lost meaning in the world yet reading the Holy Word is very clear. It seems that God has no problem stating His commands, He is not wishy-washy, double minded, fork tongued or indecisvice in the least. God is very red, black and white, His stand is firm. If a person believes in the Holy word of God, why is it so hard for them to admit it. What do I mean? I mean, stand up for your belief. There’s nothing wrong with believing in the Holy Word of God or saying aloud I BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST!
When Jesus said there is no way to the Father except through Him, I took that as being Holy red verbiage and believed it. Why? Because I am a Christian and part of being a Christian is believing that the Holy Word of God is the true Holy Word of God inspired by the Holy Spirit. If I want to meet and live with God for all of eternity, then I choose Jesus Christ, I choose him as my Lord, I choose to admit it publically by confessing with my mouth that He is Lord. (confession is another requirement to hold the title).
ooooh, that’s a mouthful, because giving my life over to Him means He is my Lord. I am no longer Lord over my life because I chose Him all together. Wow, I’m no longer in charge, He is in the driver seat. I am not ashamed here, at home, work or at the polls to stand for a person that walks as closely to the commands written within the word as possible.
Jesus Christ said in John 14 verse 6 Jesus said He is the way, the truth and the Life and no one comes to the father except through him. Verses shown below beginining with verse 1 so that the context can be easily understood.. John 14 verse…
1″Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God[a]; trust also in me. 2In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4You know the way to the place where I am going.”
Jesus the Way to the Father
5Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
6Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7If you really knew me, you would know[b] my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
Believing the words above must be a part of your “Make Up” to validate the title Christian. God’s word is clear.
IN JAMES chapter 2 (READ JAMES 2) we are reminded that Believing the word of God is not enough because even the demons believe and they tremble at the word of God. If the demons are smart enough to not only believe but go a step further they TREMBLE at the word of God why are so many people on earth today willing continue in their daily sins without “fear of God’s wrath” at all?.
God is a good parent, He is our Heavenly Father with the most wise instructions given to man. He gives us our instructions to keep us far from harm or heartache, but if we fail to follow those instructions trouble always follows. Trouble and when necessary, His punishment. Will I tolerate my children disobeying my rules? NO I will not. Not in my house. Well, the same goes for God. Once a person chooses God, we are now in His house. We surrendered ourselves to God’s Holy instruction and left the other guy. You know, then one that seeks only to kill, steal and destroy. Yep, I left that one for the one that has my best interest in His heart. A lasting eternal Father. My dad, will not tolerate disobedience without consequences, yet He fully describes the consequence so there is no surprise when discipline or trouble comes my way.
God said there is only one way to reach him and that is through His SON Jesus Christ. Those of us who choose Jesus Christ as Lord, accept that He died for our sins, walk according to His will from that point on are Christians. (ROMANS 10:9 read entire chapter of Romans 10, very good)
Did we forget that choosing Jesus as our LORD, makes that the last independent decision we ever made. When Jesus is Lord over your life, you no longer are in control, you have given control over to GOD and have made a conscience decision to follow, abide by and comply with the teaching of God through Jesus.
Is that so hard to understand? It’s not a box of chocolates here, where you don’t know what you’re biting into.
We have now given our life over to Jesus Christ to be LORD over our life, our decisions, our walk, our talk our entire being.
Saying we are Christians without taking that step is not truthful, a wool coating over one’s own eyes has been placed.
What happened to people realizing this? Did our nation suddenly think we don’t have to “DO” the word of God anymore?
God’s word says it, so that’s good enough for me! I put my trust and faith in the word (Faith)! My prayer is that the word of God is good enough for all of us.
For anyone to suggest, even slightly, that there are many different paths to God is a person infected by the Anti-Christ spirit in the name of Christianity that God warned us of in His word. It is a soft spoken Wolf (Satan) in the clothing of a sheep (Christian). Since God warns us of these things in His word, it stands to reason we should read it, share it and most definitely teach our children so that they too have the necessary knowledge and can see the signs of things to come.
We must read the Word of God, study it and soak ourselves in it or deception will take over.
JAMES CHAPTER 2, 14What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
18But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.
19You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
20You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless[d]? 21Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,”[e] and he was called God’s friend. 24You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.
Pray one for another and ask that our families be saturated by the Holy Spirit and Faith take hold. The word says that faith Comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.
If we don’t hear the word, speak the word and study the word there is no faith. (according to the word of God) ROMANS 10 verse 17 17Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.
HERE IS THE TRANSCRIBED ARTICLE of the OBAMA 2004 interview that sparked my blog today. The entire interview is transcribed word by word, you can google this to see it yourself, It’s in several publications and is true to form!
http://www.audacityofhypocrisy.com/2008/06/06/barack-obama-the-2004-god-factor-interview-transcript/
To OBAMA I quote from the word of God…
Jesus Christ said in John 14 verse 6 Jesus said He is the way, the truth and the Life and no one comes to the father except through him. Verses shown below beginining with verse 1 so that the context can be easily understood.. John 14 verse…
1″Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God[a]; trust also in me. 2In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4You know the way to the place where I am going.”
Jesus the Way to the Father
5Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
6Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7If you really knew me, you would know[b] my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
Believing the words above must be a part of your “Make Up” to validate the title Christian. God’s word is clear.
A Christian DOES NOT pull from many different religions, it pulls from the Word of God.
As for Failing to claim Jesus is more than the Son of God, calling Jesus a great historical figure/teacher, that’s failing to receive Jesus as the savior.
Also, as for a Hindu child being put into Hell, if you read the word of God you’d know there is an age of accountability and every person that reaches the age of accountability is given the choice, they hear the word before they die to receive Christ or not to recieve.
Believing the word of God in it’s entirety is required of a person validating the title CHRISTIAN!
Speaking truth huh?
ya I guess satan does the same thing, speaks some truth and distores it with lies and makes it sound good at the same time. What a skill!
Wow. Amazing. It astounds me that a country who collectively began as a God fearing (that’s the Father and Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit = God, the Trinity, Mr. President) country, elected a pagan as President.
“GG:Do you pray often?
OBAMA:Uh, yeah, I guess I do.
Its’ not formal, me getting on my knees. I think I have an ongoing conversation with God. I think throughout the day, I’m constantly asking myself questions about what I’m doing, why am I doing it.”
Don’t miss this: He has an ongoing conversation with “GOD” because he is constantly asking “himself” questions. So he is his own god. Outrageous!!
AND…
“GG:What is sin?
OBAMA:Being out of alignment with my values.”
So, according to our future President, if someone believes it is morally acceptable to molest children, it should be tolerated because sin is based on an individual’s own values. So if our esteemed future dictator believes it’s morally ok to murder innocent people than it should be acceptable and tolerated because it is his own personal values. Again - another anti-Christian concept.
And (like I have to keep going, to prove that this man should not call himself a “Christian” (Christ-like) anymore)…
” OBAMA: There’s the belief, certainly in some quarters, that people haven’t embraced Jesus Christ as their personal savior that they’re going to hell.
GG:You don’t believe that?
OBAMA: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.
That’s just not part of my religious makeup.”
That’s right, Mr. Obama, you aren’t a Christian, so don’t claim that you are. ” Jesus said, “I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life. NO MAN comes to the Father, except through ME.” John 14:6.
I could go on, but do I really need to?
Grace and peace to you all, in the Name of our True KING, the Lord Jesus Christ. The only King who can heal our land!
Jonathan
PS Let’s continue to pray for our future President. What is impossible for man, is possible for God.
There is absolutely no proof of divinity nor the “rightness” of any particular religion and the notion of governing in order to promote the tenants of any religion is Anti-American. Please read the Constitution and other publications (essays, diaries, etc.) of every founding father.
Judging an American president from a theological standpoint or demanding that a president be pious is not pragmatic and does not serve us morally. I have never heard of anyone starting a war because of their lack of faith in a religion. Yet how many religious wars have we suffered over the course of human history and how many people seek to justify the current oil war in Iraq with religious explanations? How many people have been murdered in the name of religion?
President-elect Obama is logical and judicious. How refreshing to know that soon we will be led by a President who uses judgement and intelligence to inform his decisions, rather than Bush’s policy which seemed to be informed by some obscure isegesical interpretation of the bible, the mission statement of Haliburton, Inc. and his “gut”. How refreshing to know that the next President of the United States does not believe himself superior to the majority of the world because as non-christians, they are just going to hell.
I used to say that I was a Christian, but frankly the Christians in this country terrify me, as some are as extreme as the most violent Islamic suicide bombers. I will not align myself even in name with such a violent, illogical, immoral, anti-american group. I know that not all Christians embody those characteristics, but many do and I will no longer pretend that hatred, dogma, violence and bigotry does not comprise the true paradigm of the devoutly religious.
I am proud to say that I am not a Chrisitan, nor Jewish, nor a Muslim and part of why I campaigned and voted for Barack Obama is because he is clearly not beholden to any of the unreasonable criminal zealots such as Hagee, Falwell or Haggard, as many of our recent presidents have been.
And by the way Jonathan, if someone needs a preacher to tell them that child moelstation is wrong, that person may subscribe to a code, but that person lacks morality — and the Bible will not help them, because the Bible does not give an opinion on child molestation.
Wow. If you want to hear some fucked up logic, listen to religious radicals.
If you want to hear fucked up logic so insane a four year old can recognize that its bullshit, listen to a republican religious radical.
Simply put, I fear where this man will lead this country and pray to God (the Father of Christ, who is Savior and Redeemer of my pathetic soul) protects His children from being categorized by BHO as one of the “disruptive strains of fundamentalism … taking root in this country.”
Everything is about “his values” or the way “he sees things.” What about aligning yourself to God’s word? Obama needs to check himself period.
It is clear to me that those people who do not consider Obama a Cristian are not themselves Christians nor do they have any knowledge of Christian ethics
That was amazing. I really didn’t know what to think about Obama but this tells a lot. I have a ton more respect for him now!! AMAZING MAN!