Barack Obama's Theology

As an aspiring apologist, I purposely try not to approach issues that are strictly political, however, sometimes a politician says something so false that it simply can't be ignored. Such is the case with Presidental hopeful Barack Obama and his comments regarding the Sermon on the Mount.

On Sunday, while speaking at Hocking College in Nelsonville, Ohio, Obama made the following remarks regarding same-sex unions:

"I don't think it [a same-sex union] should be called marriage, but I think that it is a legal right that they should have that is recognized by the state," said Obama. "If people find that controversial then I would just refer them to the Sermon on the Mount, which I think is, in my mind, for my faith, more central than an obscure passage in Romans." [1]

Perhaps it would serve Obama well to study his Bible more and possibly examine a few more "obscure" passages such as the following:

"All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16, ESV, Emphasis mine).

Of course, the passage that Obama was referring to we find in the first chapter of the Apostle Paul's letter to the church in Rome:

"For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature, and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error" (Romans 1:26-27, ESV).

The Bible is clear on the issue of homosexuality in both the Old and New Testaments so the logical conclusion would be that Barack Obama doesn't see the Bible as authoritative on all matters. He has the right to make that choice, however, a self-called Christian who doesn't shape his beliefs around the Christ Himself and His Word must be challenged.

Mr. Obama, I encourage you to continue reading the Sermon on the Mount and perhaps meditate on the words of Jesus in Matthew 7:15:

"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves" (ESV).

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad A. Gross

Resources:

1) Terence P. Jeffrey, Obama: Sermon on the Mount Justifies Same-Sex Unions, http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewPolitics.asp?Page=/Politics/archive/200803/POL20080303b.html, March 3, 2008.

Comments

R. Brian Tracz said…
I will go ahead and lay my cards out: I support Barack Obama and I am not a Christian. Nevertheless, being a former Catholic, theology tells believers to take the scripture as a whole, as a large narrative, and not sentence by sentence. A large number of sentences from the book of Leviticus or Judges would seem repulsive to the modern sensibility.

Why do you hold Mr. Obama's stance on the Sermon on the Mount with contempt? If there is solid moral teaching in Christianity, it is contained in this section of Matthew. Anyway, he is being forced to justify same-sex unions; he has already cast aside any hope for same-sex marriage. Just because gay action is prohibited by the Bible does not mean it should be prohibited by law and more than becoming excessively intoxicated should be.

I should likewise warn you that Mr. Obama is far from a prophet in your very own view, far from a wolf, and thus I would say that Obama is sufficiently a secularist. But this is what America cannot stand for.
Anonymous said…
Mr. Tracz,

Thank you for your respectful comment and for checking out our blog. We truly appreciate it.

Regarding your comments referencing the Old Testament(OT), I'm sure that you are familiar with the relationship between the Old and New Covenants i. e. how the Old Testament(one system) and the New Testament (better system) interact with each other. Thus, your comments regarding Lev. and Judges are a mute point and do not serve to discount my reference to 2Tim. 3:16.

Please do not misunderstand the point of my post; notice I do not address Obama as a person, candiate, or Christian. My point is simply if one is going to continually claim to be a Christian, his beliefs and actions should be consistent with what the Bible teaches. Jesus said, "The scripture cannot be broken," however, Obama clearly treats the Bible like a buffet; picking what he likes and discarding the rest. He certainly has a right to do so, however, when he does he is clearly violating what the Bible itself teaches.

Also, to say I hold Obama reference to the Sermon on the Mount in "contempt" would not be accurate. Please direct me to where I did so in my post.

I do agree with you that Obama is a secularist.

Finally, you say, "I support Barack Obama" and that is fine, however, I support Jesus Christ and if someone is going to claim to follow Him they need to talk the talk and walk the walk.

Respectfully,
Dj Spidey Spinster
Anonymous said…
Spelling correction:

candidate...wish I had spell check on these comment boards!