Yesterday, President Obama talked about his faith in Albuquerque, New Mexico. After months of speculation, Obama said he is a "Christian by choice" and expounded on how Jesus' teachings impacted his life. So, that puts this whole controversy to bed, right?
Not so much.
The concept of choosing Christianity flies in the face of Christian theology because it makes you the ultimate authority over whether you believe. Put another way, thinking you choose to be Christian puts you above God.
That's right, Christians! According to Lindaman's cult... there's NO FREE WILL!
In my particular brand of Christian belief,
What? You're not going to say what it is? What's the matter, are you ashamed of it?
we don't choose whether to believe; it's the work of the Holy Spirit that opens our hearts to God's word.
What kind of fucked up cult are you in, where a person has no choice as to whether they are a Christian or not? ALL Christians are Christian by choice. That's why it's called Free Will, remember?
This is what Obama said:
“I’m a Christian by choice,” the president said. “My family, frankly, they
weren’t folks who went to church every week. My mother was one of the most
spiritual people I knew but she didn’t raise me in the church, so I came to my
Christian faith later in life and it was because the precepts of Jesus Christ
spoke to me in terms of the kind of life that I would want to lead. Being my
brothers and sisters’ keeper, treating others as they would treat me, and I
think also understanding that Jesus Christ dying for my sins spoke to the
humility we all have to have as human beings, that we’re sinful and we’re flawed
and we make mistakes and we achieve salvation through the grace of God.”
When Obama says he's a Christian "by choice", he's saying that he wasn't brainwashed by his upbringing. His parents weren't regular church-goers that drilled a particular religion into his brain since he was a baby (like most Christians are). He became a Christian because he CHOSE that path. Not because he was PROGRAMMED from infancy that way.
That makes him a better advocate for Christianity than someone like you.
Combine the "Christian by choice" comment with another concept Obama has brought into the public eye: collective salvation. Obama has said, "...my individual salvation is not going to come without a collective salvation for the country." He has reiterated the idea of collective salvation in speeches to graduates.
The problem? Under Christian faith, Christ died for our sins, giving us salvation. Once we open our hearts to the implications of His sacrifice, we're saved. We don't have to save everyone to earn our salvation because it's already been earned. If we don't save everybody, we're not doomed to Hell.
Except, Lindaman, in the very link you're using, Obama said this:
EOB: All of that, thirty years after Dr. King and the civil rights movement. This seems almost incredible to me, at times, to think that in thirty years, this is all the progress we’ve been able to make?
Obama: Well, you know, it is frustrating, I think. I talk a lot in the book about my attempts to renew the dream that both of my parents had. I worked as a community organizer in Chicago, [and] was very active in low-income neighborhoods working on issues of crime and education and employment, and seeing that in some ways certain portions of the African-American community are doing as bad, if not worse, and recognizing that my fate remained tied up with their fates. That my individual salvation is not going to come about without a collective salvation for the country.
Do you even understand the fact that "salvation" doesn't always mean eternal salvation? He's talking about here on earth, not the goddamn AFTERLIFE. Sheesh!
The problem? Under Christian faith, Christ died for our sins, giving us salvation. Once we open our hearts to the implications of His sacrifice, we're saved. We don't have to save everyone to earn our salvation because it's already been earned. If we don't save everybody, we're not doomed to Hell.
Except, Lindaman, in the very link you're using, Obama said this:
EOB: All of that, thirty years after Dr. King and the civil rights movement. This seems almost incredible to me, at times, to think that in thirty years, this is all the progress we’ve been able to make?
Obama: Well, you know, it is frustrating, I think. I talk a lot in the book about my attempts to renew the dream that both of my parents had. I worked as a community organizer in Chicago, [and] was very active in low-income neighborhoods working on issues of crime and education and employment, and seeing that in some ways certain portions of the African-American community are doing as bad, if not worse, and recognizing that my fate remained tied up with their fates. That my individual salvation is not going to come about without a collective salvation for the country.
Do you even understand the fact that "salvation" doesn't always mean eternal salvation? He's talking about here on earth, not the goddamn AFTERLIFE. Sheesh!
You know why Lindaman had to use a PDF link? So he wouldn't have to link to his actual source: Glenn Beck (again). And also, because he doesn't want to show that his actual source (Beck) is one of those goofball Mormons.
As much as Obama wants to put this controversy to rest, when we look at the totality of what Obama has done as President and what he's said about his faith, the questions remain. It takes more than saying "I'm a Christian" to be a Christian. As someone who has fallen out of the Christian faith and returned, my life has been fundamentally transformed by my faith, but I don't see that in Obama. What I see is someone who is trying to portray himself as a Christian as a means to hide his true faith,
And you don't even have the courage to follow through and say what his "true faith" is.
while at the same time elevating himself to a position above the God he professes to believe.
Hypocrite. You're the one telling people what it means to be a Christian, like you speak for Christ. Even though your own Bible goes against what you're saying. Add that to committing the sin of Bearing False Witness, and you're really pushing things.
But I'll pray for him all the same. That's what Christians do.
How would you know?