A month later, still no church for famously religious president
posted at 7:40 pm on April 7, 2009 by Allahpundit
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An update to last month’s non-progress report courtesy of Fox News’s Bill Sammon. You know, the longer this drags on, the easier it is to believe The One really wasn’t in church during some of Rev. Wright’s greatest hits after all. Maybe he’s Christian the way most of my family is Catholic, i.e. avowed believers even though they (a) never, ever go to mass and (b) don’t appear at all concerned how Christ’s teachings or the Pope’s guidance might inform their daily activities.
But other than that, good Catholics all.
President Obama has not attended church services on any of the 11 Sundays since he took office, despite his pledge to find a new church after quitting Trinity United nearly a year ago because of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s incendiary rhetoric.
“We probably won’t make any firm decision on this until January, when we know what our lives our going to be like,” Obama told reporters last May at a press conference that he called to announce his break with Trinity.
But the president made no decision in January, February or March. And now, with Easter just days away, Obama has yet to reveal what church he may have chosen or when he might attend his first Sunday services as president…
Obama is not the first president to opt out of church services in Washington. Former President Ronald Reagan refrained from services, saying the security requirements were too much of a strain on a congregation.
Per a second story at Fox, it could be that Obama’s taking his time to weigh the political pitfalls he’ll face if he chooses a mostly white church after having quit Trinity. Tricky stuff, admittedly, but I’ve got a feeling he’ll be okay. Meanwhile, Newsweek’s out with a new poll on religion in America that might offer an insight into his thinking. Maybe he’s in the second or third column here among non-evangelical Protestants?
Or maybe he’s in the first (or fourth!) column here:
Exit question: What kind of weak-ass atheist declares himself “spiritual but not religious”? This kind, I guess.
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Baldi, I asked hubby the asked same question. It’s a good day; I knew enough to ask the same question as baldi! I am not always this wise so I am excited :)
Branch Rickey on April 7, 2009 at 9:01 PM
nuce=nice.
kingsjester on April 7, 2009 at 9:01 PM
Wow, and you seem to be such a lazy urban-dweller. Better that you are venting your primal rage here than drinking malt liquor and shooting your girlfriends.
Towash on April 7, 2009 at 9:01 PM
He’s been busy picking out gifts for foriegn Heads of State……..
…………… give him a
breakwaffle.Seven Percent Solution on April 7, 2009 at 9:04 PM
Ha ha. Might want to take it down to tenths of a second.
BowHuntingTexas on April 7, 2009 at 9:04 PM
Does Nation of Islam even have services? I don’t know how that works. They sort of “follow” Farrakhan and Malcom X’s teachings, but I don’t know if most of them officially attend sermons.
They’ve claimed their membership to be some fuzzy number between 20,000 and 200,000. But their headquarters Mosque in Chicago can only hold a few hundred people at a time. What’s up with that?
logis on April 7, 2009 at 9:08 PM
So, why is Allahpundit complaining? This should make him happy. He’s always b*tching and moaning that an atheist can’t become president (who says our boy lacks ambition?) and here we already have one, albeit, a closet atheist.
Blake on April 7, 2009 at 9:09 PM
LOL!!!
+1000
Andy in Agoura Hills on April 7, 2009 at 9:12 PM
He felt so “right” at Rev Wright’s church. Obviously maintaining his loyalty.
GarandFan on April 7, 2009 at 9:14 PM
no doubt, the one and thunder butt are praying privately at home every chance they get
notagool on April 7, 2009 at 9:15 PM
Obama has more pressing issues than going to church like:
The failing economy
Shopping for gifts at the Dollar Store for the next visit with head of states
Over aerobicizing his toothpick like physique
Boning up on his Austrian language skills
Christina_M on April 7, 2009 at 9:17 PM
So, the “Great” Communicator didn’t go to teh Church, the guy who was told by God himself to stop drinking went to teh Church ’several times’ in 8 years and you mouth-breathers are commenting on a President who still has 7 years and 9 months to go.
On the bright side, Al Franken won! Ha.
capitulus on April 7, 2009 at 9:17 PM
He does have a church, ACORN,A Christian Only Real Nice, not all judgmental with actual doctrines of anything, ya know?
Rocks on April 7, 2009 at 9:19 PM
ACORN.
I get the sense that many do not know what that acronym is.
Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now
And is everyone aware that they were instrumental in getting the minimum wage raised?
This group is powerful.
carbon_footprint on April 7, 2009 at 9:22 PM
capitulus on April 7, 2009 at 9:17 PM
Perhaps that’s the problem: God hasn’t yet told Ogabe to stop snorting coke so he doesn’t think it’s necessary to go to church.
Library’s closing soon, you better head back out to the alley for the night.
Bishop on April 7, 2009 at 9:22 PM
He’s not an atheist, just a liar. Surprise!
chunderroad on April 7, 2009 at 9:23 PM
Apparently, nothing works if their ass crack is out of alignment with mecca.
Blake on April 7, 2009 at 9:24 PM
I think you’ve used that before. I feel so wounded.
capitulus on April 7, 2009 at 9:28 PM
Rev. Wright is, ah, coming in the back door to give Obama private sermons. Yeah, that’s it. Private sermons.
SouthernGent on April 7, 2009 at 9:32 PM
The Newsweek Poll doesn’t define this phrase.
My best guess is that it’s an attempt to attract responses from people who feel good about the term, “religious,” but feel bad about the term, “spiritual,” including people who might believe in the “supernatural,” deists, agnostics, and even some atheists.
In other words, it’s just more more liberal polling gobbledygook.
Loxodonta on April 7, 2009 at 9:33 PM
The requirements for prayer are quite onerous. For the most part it is a religion of outward observance. Muslim prayers are not acceptable to Allah if a donkey or a dog, or a woman, passes by to distract them, or if they don’t hold their pinkies just so, but there’s no direction regarding the state of their heart.
And of course to deceive the infidel while infiltrating his society it is incumbent upon them to adopt their ways and hide their own ways. Which is way most of the 9/11 monsters were in strip clubs prior to their war crime.
Maquis on April 7, 2009 at 9:42 PM
Allah, you’re loving the nuance a bit too much I think.
Besides, you know he’s not really a Christian. I mean, who here really thinks he is?
John_Locke on April 7, 2009 at 9:43 PM
What direction does the Oval Offices rug face?
Just askin.
- The Cat
MirCat on April 7, 2009 at 9:46 PM
I doubt this term was fabricated in this instance for the purpose of skewing a poll. “Spiritual but not Religious” is an increasingly common self-description on dating sites and such. I see it as an effort to claim an enlightened soul without all that messy and oh so judgmental theology stuff. I’ve yet to see a manifesto or such, but I guess paganism is pretty close. Not that there’s anything wrong with that…
Maquis on April 7, 2009 at 9:47 PM
Obama also spent two years at a Christian school in Indonesia for 2 of his 4 years there.
blatantblue on April 7, 2009 at 9:48 PM
Obama’s having trouble finding a church with a pastor who preaches just the right amount of hate, bitterness, revisionist history, and pseudoscience nonsensense as Jeremiah Wright.
That’s a very tall order.
BuckeyeSam on April 7, 2009 at 9:49 PM
Where is the column for Black Liberation Theology? They must have classified that under Non-Christian
Corsair on April 7, 2009 at 9:52 PM
His grandparents were commies. His mother was a commie. His mentor, Frank, was a commie. The dude went to Christian schools and muslim schools, b/c that was who ran the schools in Indonesia. He was mostly raised by his typical, white grandparents however, and they were athiest commies. The dude is an athiest and a commie, and he always will be.
It was the most telling thing that he is not Christian when aasked what he thought of Jesus Christ, he said, he was a good teacher. Not, he is my Lord and Savior. He is the Son of God. No, he is a good teacher. Spoken like a good secular, progressive or commie. No difference.
JAM on April 7, 2009 at 9:54 PM
I thought they had gotten along to “Jesus didn’t exist” or “Jesus was a hate monger”
John_Locke on April 7, 2009 at 9:57 PM
‘Scuse me if I think Christianity is about the last thing on his mind just now.
The way it appears, Obama likes religion, whatever religion is expedient, when religion serves him well. Otherwise, forget it.
Jeremiah Wright was useful in his time. Who knows what will be next.
petefrt on April 7, 2009 at 10:00 PM
Don’t worry, he’ll find a church during the spring of 2011.
- The Cat
MirCat on April 7, 2009 at 10:03 PM
So this means joking about assassinating the President is acceptable?
malclave on April 7, 2009 at 10:05 PM
I don’t think Newsweek fabricated the phrase, just selected it because its easier and it’s gooey enough to capture a larger group of respondents than a longer list more precise terms.
(Not to get into any theological judgmental stuff, but you’ve been browsing dating sites?!!!)
Loxodonta on April 7, 2009 at 10:08 PM
Know of any Christian sects with an irreversible single sentence joining rite that carries the penalty of death if ever rejected?
I’d be very interested to hear of the different rules you mentioned for children and youth. I personally find it hard to believe they would make any such exceptions when they regard a forced conversion at sword or gun point as eternally valid.
Maquis on April 7, 2009 at 10:10 PM
Also spoken as a Muslim would. They say he was a great teacher, and no more.
Maquis on April 7, 2009 at 10:13 PM
In a past life.
Maquis on April 7, 2009 at 10:14 PM
Maquis on April 7, 2009 at 9:42 PM
Yes. Taqiyya – pretend you’re not Muslim so you can further the cause of Islam, which is to bring the entire world into submission to Sharia.
A couple years ago the word from Al Qaeda was that the new terrorists wouldn’t look Arab. They would be people groomed to look like average Joe Blow Chrisian. But they would destroy America from within.
Given that the Muslim Brotherhood has sworn to infiltrate government and destroy America from within, it’s not hard for me to believe that the Muslim world HAS been grooming someone to gain a powerful position. And now Obama is going to fill his administration with the proper quota of Muslims. Only problem is the people being recommended for positions are mostly all aligned with Muslim Brotherhood. (Go figure.) The same group that funded a trip to Saudi Arabia for Keith Ellis, our first (Black) Muslim Congressman.
I look at the headlines at Drudge and I wonder how fast this is all going to accelerate – the fall of capitalism, the American taxpayer sold into slavery forever under a debt they can never pay, the disarming of our military, and the scorched-earth burning of all our old alliances which are replaced by alliances with those kindred spirits, Hamas, Achmadinejad, Chavez, Putin, and Castro.
Many of us had our suspicions of all this long ago, but it’s actually still frightening to see headlines that prove your worst fears were actually prophetic. When will it be OKAY for us to suggest that America is being systematically destroyed just as the communists and Islamists have specifically been grooming **someone** to do?
justincase on April 7, 2009 at 10:14 PM
Also spoken as a Muslim would. They say he was a great teacher, and no more.
Maquis on April 7, 2009 at 10:13 PM
I’ll give you that, b/c they do acknowledge Jesus as a teacher. I still believe he is an athiest though. The biggest influencers in his life were commie. Frank Marshall Davis shaped him. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a huge empathy for islam. I believe he does, but he doesn’t ever get his hands dirty w/anything like that. It would be too much of a commitment for our chameleon in chief. He is a “blank screen” remember?
JAM on April 7, 2009 at 10:19 PM
President Reagan’s religiosity was reassured in other ways, such as the fact that he didn’t allow babies to be tossed into linen closets by themselves to die after they were accidentally born following botched abortions.
Kensington on April 7, 2009 at 10:28 PM
No objections here. While we will spend the next four years and maybe the rest of our lives trying to decode this cipher, your synopsis is pretty much as close as we are at this time to knowing the man.
Plus all the lovely personality disorders and defects and such. Doctor Zero could probably list every suspect issue to deal with THE ONE right off the top of his head, but that would take many pages…
Maquis on April 7, 2009 at 10:28 PM
I agree. Although I think he’s probably agnostic because even being an atheist means he’d have to commit to something. There’s nothing wrong with being agnostic as long as one is honest about it. He’s not.
If you wince your way through ‘The Audacity of Hope’ you see that his religious beliefs are flimsy at best. His understanding of what it means to have some sort of faith would embarrass most who proclaim any sort of belief system. He’s way beyond just flaky post-modernism…
herrevery on April 7, 2009 at 10:30 PM
Hey, don’t let me stop you.
capitulus on April 7, 2009 at 10:31 PM
“Spiritual but not religious” is one of the bigger piles of bullcrap that some people like to drape themselves in. It means “I sort of believe in God, but I don’t think he has any rules, asks anything of us, or cares what we do except insofar as he wants us all to have a really good time pursuing mindless pleasure.”
It can mean “I like to look at rainbows and watch Oprah,” and it can also mean “I belong to the Church of Me.”
Kensington on April 7, 2009 at 10:32 PM
Ouah. Hard to know just where to pin the tail on this donkey. He deliberately conceals his past and obfuscates his intentions and reinvents himself to his own purposes. Whether his purposes are those of certain others or not is a difficult call, but he is surely playing into some very dangerous hands.
For fourteen hundred years Islam has sought to conquer the world, and Communism for the better part of a century, and this guy is too close to both for comfort. Both ideologies thrive on deceit and subversion and in various ways have substantial grips on our country. When will it be okay to ask for the truth and to speak of conspiracies? Never, for the conspirators have already gained too much power. That won’t stop us though, those of us who understand and value what we stand to lose.
Maquis on April 7, 2009 at 10:38 PM
Well, we don’t even know if Obama said ashahad aan la illahu illa allah wa muhammad rasul lillah. I’d like to know that first.
As for the child issue, if you look at Sahih Bukhari, book 3, it is stated that all “children are born Muslim, but it is their parents that make them a Jew, Christian or Zoroastrian.”
Seeing as Obama attended a school (which by the by, no one knows to be explicitly muslim in nature) for two years, then two years at a christian school, then raised by a Christian-turned atheist mother (his father became atheist too), only to become Baptized as a Christian in 1990, I would think any Muslimness would be put to rest.
So, in the eyes of Allah, he was born Muslim, attended a school for two years (which, again, we aren’t even sure was a Muslim institution), then two years are a Christian school!
blatantblue on April 7, 2009 at 10:43 PM
How goes the inquisition?
Obama’s probably just trying to spare some congregation the aggravation of having the sincerity of their faith questioned by a bunch of conservative busybodies. I’m not even Christian and it’s irritating. I’m just pretending all the comments are really about Reagan, who did the exact same thing as Obama, which helps. I don’t know what you all have against Reagan. He seemed sincere enough in his religious beliefs.
RightOFLeft on April 7, 2009 at 10:43 PM
Then a secular lifestyle, only to be baptized!
blatantblue on April 7, 2009 at 10:45 PM
JAM at 10:19
What doesn’t make sense is that this free-thinking Ann Dunham married two Muslims right after each other. Obama’s formative years were largely spent in the care of a Muslim. Obama studied the Koran in Arabic, which is way, way beyond what a nominal or average Muslim would do. If it was his choice to do so, it shows what he was willing to commit to at the time. If it was what his step-dad chose for him to do, then it shows that the Muslim faith of Lolo Soetoro has been way, way underestimated.
And Obama’s “bitter clingers” speech that was taped contained his reference to a trip he made to Pakistan in 1981(?) at a time when Americans were not allowed into the country – he says to visit his mother in Indonesia but his mother had already moved out of Indonesia to divorce Soetoro by then. If I understand correctly, he didn’t do tourist type stuff during that trip either. He visited with people who were (or became) high-up with Osama bin Laden and visited sites important to the most devout Muslims.
It’s an open question and I’m waiting and watching, but it would not surprise me one bit if he is Al Qaeda’s biggest and most successful terrorist plot.
justincase on April 7, 2009 at 10:47 PM
He spent four years in Indonesia, the last two studying at a Christian school.
As for studying the Qur’an in Arabic — yea, just sample phrases like allahu akbar, alhamdillah, rasuul illah, la allah illa allahu, ar-rahman ar-raheem, etc. Nothing in depth. Children don’t start delving into Classical Arabic at 6 years old.
I think you’re taking the issue of taqqiyya way too far. I’m having a hard time believing he has spent the last FORTY PLUS years being a secret Muslim, and now it is time to pounce. A bit of a leap of “faith” (no pun intended” for me.
blatantblue on April 7, 2009 at 10:49 PM
I mean, hell, if he does turn out to be one one day, I’ll buy y’all drinks.
But as of now? I don’t believe it. I’m open to the idea, but I gotta go where the evidence takes me.
blatantblue on April 7, 2009 at 10:50 PM
President Obama doesn’t have to be a Muslim to do what he has done over the past week, bowing to King Abdullah and proclaiming the great contributions of Islam. This sort of dhimmitude is practiced by many western politicians, and has many dangerous consequences.
Obama doesn’t have to be a Muslim to have his disastrous political agenda. Many, if not most, liberals support these policies.
While I agree that many in the Muslim world might view Obama as a Muslim, I don’t think he is and don’t know of any evidence that he has ever been a practicing Muslim. And, even if he is a Muslim, it wouldn’t make any difference in my views of his actions, words, policies, etc. I oppose what he says and does, not what he “is.”
So, I don’t understand why so many here think that Obama is or might be a Muslim. Also, I don’t understand how such talk helps defeat his political agenda or wins votes for his opponents.
Loxodonta on April 7, 2009 at 10:52 PM
Yes yes yes.
blatantblue on April 7, 2009 at 10:52 PM
This was for you and your ilk.
But yeah, I can see how irritating it would be for someone to question the sincerity of an obviously religious man like Rev. “Goddamn-America-for-creating-AIDS-to-kill-black-people-chickens-coming-home-to-roost!”…
Kensington on April 7, 2009 at 10:55 PM
Multicultural tolerance street cred–proves your open-mindedness if take the “other” as a mate. Phyllis Chesler has done some writing about early feminists marrying foreign-born Muslims in the 60s and 70s, including herself.
Radish on April 7, 2009 at 10:58 PM
Maquis at 10:38
I fear the python already has us surrounded. A democratic form of government is only as good as its people, and though many, many Americans are good, salt-of-the-earth folks, far too many lack both the capacity and the exposure to really think. George Soros can rent a mob whenever he wants or make an electronic run on the bank forcing a financial crisis that provides cover for politicians to turn this nation communist. ACORN can produce MIckey Mouse voters everywhere in the country without even falling out of favor enough to lose TARP money – and actually instead gets promoted to running the census as well! That provides cover for the democratic process to be replaced by rigged elections. The courts have told us that no average person has any standing to demand that laws be followed.
So everything that has made America great is being crushed – and most people don’t know it or care. A democratic form of government is doomed when its people care nothing about anything great.
justincase on April 7, 2009 at 11:00 PM
You depress me.
I think you need a cold brew, a sunny day, and a warm beach to cheer up.
Don’t be so down! The road isn’t paved with gold for the Democrats. Don’t give up on the spirit of America.
She might be down, but she’s not out.
blatantblue on April 7, 2009 at 11:02 PM
It’s bizarre, Radish, that a feminist would consider herself somehow more authentic because she marries someone whose religion professes that women are basically a man’s property. It would be like a Black Panther marrying a Klan member.
I’m shaking my head and wondering why the world seems so upside-down. Either I’m going crazy or the world is…
justincase on April 7, 2009 at 11:03 PM
Do as i say not as i do.Why would anyone think the ONE needs to go to any church.What would he do there worship himself?
thmcbb on April 7, 2009 at 11:06 PM
I’m happy enough when I don’t think about it. Give me a cabinet to build or some plumbing to put together and I’m good to go.
It’s like whistling in the dark.
It reminds me of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, when Aragorn says, “Open war is upon you, whether you would risk it or not.” And when King Theodred says, “How did it come to this?”
I don’t lament that there are democrats. I lament that we have so despised the baby that we don’t even know we’re throwing it out with the bath water. People fly their flags, vote, cheer our military, and cry when we are attacked – but very, very few even know what makes America what she has historically been.
The inalienable rights – to most people they don’t exist. Without them, government is just people getting away with whatever they can. Chicago. No reason to be honest, no reason to care who is violated by the corruption, no security of knowing that good will win or that you’ll still be free tomorrow. Read the Bill of Rights. If we don’t have those guarantees, this isn’t the America I thought I knew.
So anyway, I’ll keep installing cabinets, keep whistling while Rome burns…
justincase on April 7, 2009 at 11:14 PM
Please don’t be afraid. Find some hope which you can hold onto and help guide you.
And then, in your words and deeds, do what you can to help move our country toward a better future. Do it for yourself. Do it to honor those who have devoted and given their lives for American values. Do it for others, whether family or friends or complete strangers. Do it for future generations.
What you do may not seem like much to you, but please do it.
Loxodonta on April 7, 2009 at 11:15 PM
I think it’s something worth keeping in mind when considering the wheels turning behind the self-described “blank screen” that is our president.
I also think it’s something to keep in mind when contemplating the mental processes of the Muslim polities that have catapulted themselves into American foreign policy prominence by their efforts to further their ideology at the expense of American lives and freedom.
Don’t worry, I oppose him everywhere he’s wrong, and everywhere that I think he’s lying even if his words alone should please me.
We live in an interesting time; as the Chinese would say.
Maquis on April 7, 2009 at 11:20 PM
You always have calming comments
blatantblue on April 7, 2009 at 11:21 PM
Why can’t this doofus just admit he isn’t religious? He already has the deluded Christian voters like Doug Kmeic. They will not give a crap about this.
Speedwagon82 on April 7, 2009 at 11:24 PM
Thanks, Loxodonta. I can hope to give my kids strong roots to weather what must come. I am a Christian, and we’ve been told that it was going to get bad but that God would be with us in the middle of it.
I think most of all I’m sad. I really loved America. When I think of the men and women who have died to defend her I almost can’t stand to think of their blood being spilled in vain. They deserve so much better. I can handle living in a broken America; I’m extremely thankful that I’ve had as many years as I’ve had in a time of freedom, when so many in the history of the world have had so much worse. I think it’s probably for my kids and for those who invested so much for this country that I grieve. I grieve like one who watches a suicide in progress and can’t stop it.
But like Mother Teresa said, I can do what I can for those in my immediate world. So I’ll install cabinets and be glad I can. I’ll love my kids like there’s no tomorrow, because there may not be.
justincase on April 7, 2009 at 11:24 PM
when I get bummed about the idiots in DC and ACORN offices, I remind myself that
The road is not paved with gold for them.
We can take it back!
blatantblue on April 7, 2009 at 11:26 PM
Kensington on April 7, 2009 at 10:55 PM
As long as you insist that someone has to share your policy goals to share your religion, both conservatism and Christianity will suffer.
If you guys would just stop foaming at the mouth long enough to let the guy worship in peace, maybe he would have chosen a congregation months ago. It’s a shame that his two kids will miss out on all the alleged benefits of a spiritual upbringing because of the nuisance the allegedly Christian wing of the Republican party would pose for whichever congregation he chose.
RightOFLeft on April 7, 2009 at 11:26 PM
Obama is waiting to use the Church card when he really needs it. The Church of Polling will motivate him to go.
Clinton went to church whenever he was caught in a moral snafu. Remember, as the Monica lewinsky scandal got hotter, Clinton’s Bible got bigger. By the end, Bill Bible was so huge he was pulling it behind him in a Wagon.
portlandon on April 7, 2009 at 11:30 PM
Question(s):
The article seems to imply that Obama hasn’t gone to ANY church services for the entire year. Is that correct?
Also, the article seems to also imply that Reagan simply refrained from going to services in DC. Did he attend services at the White House? Did he attend services when he went home?
(BTW – those same questions go for Obama)
Religious_Zealot on April 7, 2009 at 11:30 PM
Obama is NOT a Christian and I have proof. The following verse in the Bible proves Obama will never make it to heaven:
Obama could never shut up for that long.
Daggett on April 7, 2009 at 11:32 PM
Well, it’s sort of the slow season for church-going Christians, right now…
Nothing special happening this week, that I know of….
notropis on April 7, 2009 at 11:34 PM
The church one chooses to attend says something about them. If, for example, the POTUS chooses to attend a church run by a deranged lunatic who chortles with glee over America’s misfortunes and spreads paranoid conspiracy theories, that ought to be pointed out because it will be germane.
Is the man incapable of choosing a normal, mainstream church, the sort of place where they preach about, I don’t know, Jesus Christ, maybe? If he does, there will be no fuss from the vast majority of religious conservatives, although I suspect the secular Left might have some problems, at least those who think it’s anything other than a cynical ploy on Obama’s part.
Either way, Christianity will be just fine. It existed long before The One, and it will continue long after.
Kensington on April 7, 2009 at 11:35 PM
Sure, that’s what’s holding him back.
/sarc
notropis on April 7, 2009 at 11:36 PM
He attended some pretty big ones, including his acceptance speech at the convention and his inaugeration.
Kensington on April 7, 2009 at 11:38 PM
Yeah, it’s the fault of anyone who bothered to say something after their ears burned at the insane ravings of Jeremiah Wright.
It’s our fault that Sasha and Malia aren’t attending a normal Christian church of some sort.
Kensington on April 7, 2009 at 11:40 PM
If Obama can’t go to a church with an approved vicimology cry of “BLAME WHITEY!!” then he ain’t a-goin’ the church.
NTropy on April 7, 2009 at 11:41 PM
Thank you. I can also be mistaken, dense, rude, stubborn, old-fashioned, idiotic… I’m Catholic, so I could go on and list all of my sins of omission and commission …
Life can be very difficult. And even though it may be irrational, people do need comfort and hope.
Loxodonta on April 7, 2009 at 11:52 PM
Catholics are my favorite religious group
then again i was raised rom catholic, went to catholic schools
and people do need comfort, that is true.
blatantblue on April 7, 2009 at 11:55 PM
I feel so bad…
Maquis on April 7, 2009 at 11:56 PM
So Obama might not wholeheartedly believe in a guy-in-the-sky who has ten rules we should all live by and who magically impregnated a virgin who then had a baby who later walked on water, physically turned similar water into wine (oh, and bread into fish or something), and was killed but rose from the dead and floated up to the clouds?
Um .. I guess this is the first hint of rationality I’ve seen out of this stuffed shirt. Hope the same vein of rational thought invades his governance, but I won’t hold my breath .. not for too long anyway .. wouldn’t want to suffocate and die and descend into an imaginary dream-world where one swims in fire because he bore false witness.
Cult members, unleash your attacks .. they amuse me.
cgoode777 on April 7, 2009 at 11:56 PM
Kensington on April 7, 2009 at 11:40 PM
No, it’s the fault of the people who couldn’t let it go once he quit that church. This isn’t even about Rev. Wright anymore. Conservatives won’t be happy no matter which congregation he picks.
And it’s not like liberation theology has a monopoly on pastors drumming up converts with overheated, stupid rhetoric.
RightOFLeft on April 8, 2009 at 12:03 AM
When you write like this, from your hopes, you seem so much stronger. That will help you through your grief. So, hold on to your children. And fasten your seatbelt. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.
Bless you.
Loxodonta on April 8, 2009 at 12:19 AM
No, it’s the fault of the fact that Rev. Wright’s church is the only church to which Obama ever belonged, and the fact that all the other reverends (Pfleger, Meeks, etc.) whom he chummed around with, all used their pulpits to make ribald jokes against political figures, and to preach hatred of one group or another, so that when Jeremiah Wright’s quotes were made public, Obama was genuinely shocked…. that so many mainstream folks would be shocked at what Obama was listening to, coming from the pulpit of his self-proclaimed spiritual mentor, week in and week out for twenty years.
Now that he’s renounced that, there really isn’t much left in Christianity (as he knew it) for him to identify with.
No, but those who do, left and right and other, are still in the minority. And even among those who do, most don’t resort to personal attacks on individuals, based on political party, race, or ethnicity.
notropis on April 8, 2009 at 12:20 AM
It means that 44% of non-believers are unfamiliar with the term “deist” or they needed and excuse to buy that ugly, tacky golden Buddha that they’ve secretly wanted to buy for years.
Glenn Jericho on April 8, 2009 at 12:25 AM
I’m not worried about your opposition to the President’s policies.
As to keeping in mind the idea that Obama is, might be, or might be considered by others to be a Muslim, we disagree as to it’s strategic value. I also worry that such talk contributes to an impression liberals want to convey about their opponents: that we are stupid, dangerous, mentally ill, etc. However, I don’t think you are any of these things, just mistaken on the value of this idea.
As to:
I assume you know it’s a curse. Of course, if these were boring times, there would be so little to observe, discuss and learn. So, it brings at least one advantage.
Loxodonta on April 8, 2009 at 12:35 AM
He should become a Palintologist.
I am sure there are a few hundred people here that could start the brainwashing sessions.
The Wall on April 8, 2009 at 12:40 AM
Maybe he’s Christian the way most of my family is Catholic, i.e. avowed believers even though they (a) never, ever go to mass and (b) don’t appear at all concerned how Christ’s teachings or the Pope’s guidance might inform their daily activities.
jack herman on April 8, 2009 at 12:48 AM
There is no such thing. How can you possibly be a protestant Christian and not be evangelical?
From wikipedia;
jdkchem on April 8, 2009 at 12:53 AM
I am sure at some point we’ll see his official deification. Obamaism the new state religion.
jdkchem on April 8, 2009 at 1:02 AM
Excellent point. Romney believes that Jesus is the Messiah. He said so in that speech he gave.
Somebody send this definition of an evanglical to Huckabite and Not2bright and all the other loons.
The Wall on April 8, 2009 at 1:14 AM
I don’t know that this idea has any value at all, it’s simply interesting and the topic of this thread happens to be his religious choices/status. I don’t see us manipulating this potential fact to our advantage and I could never beat a drum to that effect, but I am always interested in what our fellow travelers on this globe think and what motivates them, and I think that is worth keeping in mind, for curiosity if nothing else.
No, I’m not interested in fueling Leftist minds with more themes and memes and outrageous fantasies about Conservatives, but they really don’t need me for that purpose. Distorting reality, both that of human nature and history and the natural world itself is what they do.
Considering how his supporters have gone into worship mode to the degree that they paint him on Unicorns and floating through magical fields of flowers with his robe open revealing all but his manhood, to include lots of depictions reminiscent of Islamic imagery as a matter of fact, and statements of our impending salvation and the planet’s as well by his power, the Left themselves have placed his religion, or Messiah-ship , front and center.
If the Left is uncomfortable with human interest in the choices he is making for his family’s spiritual well-being they perhaps ought to lay off the deification effort themselves.
:)
Maquis on April 8, 2009 at 1:33 AM
I don’t care whether he goes to church, but I do think, as a parent of young children, he should be setting a better example. Children should be given the opportunity to attend Sunday School at the very least.
bopbottle on April 8, 2009 at 4:15 AM
I guess they haven’t yet found a church with an acceptable hate America tone!
GFW on April 8, 2009 at 6:46 AM
He’s not a Christian. Watch. Listen. He can’t push the policies he does and be Christian. Christianity and abortion; Christianity and socialism; all mutually exclusive.
sheesh on April 8, 2009 at 7:24 AM
WHOA!!! Hang on, fella! Bambi has only been elected to a four-year term. Please don’t go giving him the other four years just yet!
seanrobins on April 8, 2009 at 7:37 AM
“I won.” -B. Obama
With an attitude like that, what makes you believe he thinks he needs a church?
bluelightbrigade on April 8, 2009 at 8:14 AM
Maquis at 1:33
No Christian would allow himself to be worshiped as a God.
Atheist, agnostic, or Muslim practicing taqiyya are the only logical options for his religious belief.
justincase on April 8, 2009 at 9:17 AM
After Porkulus and the release of the budget blueprint, “fringe” conservatives who warned of his far-left ideology were finally justified.
Does the lack of church attendance also justify those who doubted the sincerity of President Obama’s religious beliefs, as we’ve witnessed in the comments above?
Sure, a guy with the name Barack Hussein Obama would have incentive to avoid accusations that he is a Muslim. And sure, politicians in general have every reason to profess faith publicly no matter what they actually believe. This does not mean, ipso facto, that President Obama has been misleading everyone, though it does give us reason to pause.
Allahpundit would, of course, be of the opinion that the president’s faith or lack thereof matters very little–as Mitt Romney supporters have long argued, too. I would contend, though, that even if faith should not be a “litmus test” of sorts, the knowledge of a person’s most closely-held beliefs can certainly shed light on how he might approach a number of issues. And if these beliefs, as expressed publicly, cause an individual voter concern, then fine.
AP is right, however, to surmise that President Obama falls into some of the categories toward which “non-evangelical Protestants” gravitate for all practical purposes. That is, regardless of whether he secretly adheres to Islam, as more than 10-15% of Americans suspect, his words and deeds match him squarely with the detached, mainstream-Protestant “spiritualism” which heavily emphasizes the Social Gospel.
He professes to believe in Jesus of Nazareth, yet seems to downplay the saving power of Jesus as Christ. His Christianity is more about identity (AP’s analogy to non-practicing Catholics was apt here) and the excuse for government intervention than it is about impacting the way he lives and views the temporal world or how he is affected by human mortality. It is a religious identity driven by the need to feel accepted by non-believers and adherents of other faiths, in contrast to a religious identity rooted in doctrine even when it “offends.” Thus, it was no surprise to me when I saw one of those trite little COEXIST bumper stickers with Obama’s ‘O’ inserted in place of the peace sign (one is illustrated here).
(How shallow is a Christian faith which employs the Cross as the ‘T’ in the word “coexist”?)
Thus, although conservative Christians are perhaps misguided in questioning the sincerity of such a faith, we can certainly argue that President Obama’s theological views are sorely mistaken.
(On a tangential note, isn’t it odd that the mainstream media fussed over how President Bush didn’t believe in evolution, but won’t ask the self-professed “Christian” President Obama whether he believes that God created humans in His own image? So odd, that double standard.)
cackcon on April 8, 2009 at 9:33 AM
He did go to the Blue Mosque this week
faraway on April 8, 2009 at 9:42 AM
Did anyone really believe Obama was in Rev Wright’s church for any reason other than pandering and building his “street creds” among AA voters? Given how easily he said a) that he hadn’t paid attention for 20 years and when that didn’t work b) discard the Church & minister, his participation was likely just for political purposes.
It worked – he showed the black voter that he was “just like them”, he showed the relgious voter that he was a “good Christian.” Now he’s just showing the non-believers that just like them he thinks organized religion is a waste of time. Just a man who wants to appeal to all.
katiejane on April 8, 2009 at 9:44 AM
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