Sweet Baby Jesus Discussion Hour

 

 

 

 

 

 The above is a poster created by Ray Noland, which I stumbled across at obamamessiah.blogspot.com. I have been thinking about this Obamania that has gripped our country over the past few months and wondered what the impact would be on Christianity. I won’t get into politics or what my opinions are regarding the issues. I am just hoping to spark conversation regarding the Messianic aura that appears to be surrounding the junior senator from Illinois. I don’t have a problem per se with Mr. Obama. It’s the cult of personality that has been created which I find problematic. Although I don’t believe that Mr. Obama believes he (notice the lower-case h) is the Messiah, I believe he needs to tell his followers that he is not the one. (Well, I sincerely hope he doesn’t believe this). Unfortunately, he has not done much to dissuade others from viewing him so.

 

Here are some quotes I gleaned from various figures:

 

-”… [A] light will shine through that window, a beam of light will come down upon you, you will experience an epiphany … and you will suddenly realize that you must go to the polls and vote for  Obama.”

                        – Barack Obama Lebanon, New Hampshire. January 7, 2008.

-”We’re here to evolve to a higher plane . . . he is an evolved leader . . . [he] has an ear for eloquence and a Tongue dipped in the Unvarnished Truth.”

                        — Oprah Winfrey

-”Does it not feel as if some special hand is guiding Obama on his journey, I mean, as he has said, the utter improbability of it all?”    

                            – Daily Kos (a far left-wing website)

 

-“You’ll have to measure time by `Before Obama’ and `After Obama.’”

                        –Spike Lee

 

-“I have thrown myself into a new world—one in which fluffy chatter and frivolous praise are replaced by a get-to-the-point directness and disciple-like devotion. It’s intense and intoxicating…”

                        –Elle associate publisher Samantha Fennell. She recently announced that she was leaving her position to follow Obama and raise funds for his campaign.

 

            This is beyond mere respect or hope. This is more akin to worship. After reading these quotes and others, I was surprised that no one claimed that he turned water into wine or walked across the Potomac River. What’s truly sad is that this man has been able to engender so much hope while the America church (in a general sense) has done almost nothing to reach these people (I’m as a guilty as the next). Clearly, people are hungry for something spiritual, to be apart of something larger than themselves. The question becomes then, why does this man resonant with them? What is he offering? Reading his policy positions, one does not see much different from his predecessors. He’s offering the same idea that government can take care of your needs and knows what’s best for us. This is nothing new, so there must be something else that attracts these followers, something that rises above mere policy considerations and promises.

 

            That something seems to be a watered-down, relativistic Christianity. Mr. Obama makes no bones about publicly talking about his faith. He tells anyone who will listen his “faith story.” People are responding in droves to his affirmation of the principles and values found in the Bible At first blush, this seems positive. However, as I mentioned before, the God found in Mr. Obama’s Bible is a watered-down entity with His uniqueness neutered by the language of tolerance.

 

            In an interview with Cathleen Falsani, he states, “I believe 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.” [2]  When confronted with John 14:6, Obama claims that the exclusivity found in this verse depends on how the verse is heard. [3] According to Falsani, Obama believes that “all people of faith – Christians, Jews, Muslims, animists, everyone – know the same God.” (Her words.)[4] He is denying the uniqueness of Christianity, and denies the fact that Jesus is the sole means to the Father. As to his belief in heaven and hell, Obama states, “There’s the belief, certainly in some quarters, that if people haven’t embraced Jesus Christ as their personal savior, they’re going to hell.”[5] By using the term “in some quarters” he seems to be indicating that he does not believe that those not professing a belief in Jesus Christ will go to hell. Further, he doesn’t believe he, or anyone else, will go to hell, and he’s stated that he’s not sure that he’ll be going to heaven either.[6] Obama claims to believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus, and yet he is not sure of what happens to us when we die.[7] In fact, he goes on to say, “I don’t presume to have knowledge of what happens after I die. When I tuck in my daughters at night and I feel like I’ve been a good father to them, and I see 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.”[8] This admission smacks of a works-based salvation at odds with the message of the New Testament.

 

            Many are claiming that he is a new face for Christianity. We had better pray that this is not so. The Christianity that Mr. Obama espouses is one that is tailored to be more palatable for those not willing to embrace Christ and His message. Obama’s Christianity is of the type that makes people feel spiritual while simultaneously damning their souls.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

           

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