Quote of the day
posted at 10:37 pm on June 9, 2009 by Allahpundit
“It was also puzzling how a major statement about religion could seem so detached from religion. Obama projected himself as a floating spectator of other people’s beliefs (as in his memory of hearing the call to prayer in Indonesia). Though he identified himself as a Christian, there was no sign that it goes very deep. Christianity seemed like a badge or school scarf, a testament of affiliation without spiritual convictions or constraints. This was one reason, perhaps, for the odd failure of the speech to acknowledge the common Middle Eastern roots of Judeo-Christianity and Islam, for both of whom the holy city of Jerusalem remains a hotly contested symbol.
Obama’s lack of fervor may be one reason he rejects and perhaps cannot comprehend the religious passions that perennially erupt around the globe and that will never be waved away by mere words. By approaching religion with the cool, neutral voice of the American professional elite, Obama was sometimes simplistic and even inadvertently condescending, as in his gift bag of educational perks like ‘scholarships,’ ‘internships,’ and ‘online learning’ — as if any of these could checkmate the seething, hallucinatory obsessions of jihadism.
The Cairo speech will certainly not be Obama’s final word on this important subject, which I hope will remain on the front burner throughout his presidency. But before he can sway hearts and minds, the president will need to show that he understands the ultimate divergence and perhaps incompatibility of major creeds. At the finale, his recitation of soft-focus quotes from the Koran, Talmud and Bible came perilously close to a fuzzy New Age syncretism of ‘all religions are the same’ — which they unequivocally are not. The problem facing international security is that people who believe something will always be stronger and more committed than people who believe nothing — which unfortunately describes the complacent passivity of most Western intellectuals these days.”
Blowback
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After his preliminary apologizing ,which must be done in a prone prostrated position, President Hussein must denounce the crusades and all disbeliever attacks on the Prophet, Peace be upon Him. He must also endorse all the righteous Islamic courts, including their application of divine Sharia blasphemy laws. He must also throw the full support of the country he rules behind the U.N. resolution passed in December prohibiting defamation of Islam including making such defamation a crime under international law and turn over to us any such criminals that are in his country. This obviously must include the infidel blogers and most all of the infidel commenters on this infidel web sit.
Aleph on June 9, 2009 at 11:40 PM
I’m not either Cindy, but how sad is it that we’re even having this discussion? Has to be a first for this country.
Knucklehead on June 9, 2009 at 11:40 PM
Obama is an atheist
pearson on June 9, 2009 at 11:40 PM
Of course, we will have more demands later.
Aleph on June 9, 2009 at 11:41 PM
And such a church with those connections!!! It’s really distressing that such an affiliation was not just ignored but glossed over. I can never think of it without imagining young children listening to that. I tell myself they are in Sunday school.
Cindy Munford on June 9, 2009 at 11:41 PM
Is there software that helps you blog?
chacker on June 9, 2009 at 11:41 PM
No prob. welcome
elduende on June 9, 2009 at 11:41 PM
That is actually a tough question to answer.
He professed Christianity in public while planning to deal with Germany’s troublesome Christians after the war. Led by Cardinal Galen, Germany’s Christians had put a serious cramp in his efforts to exterminate the “unfit”.
There is not much direct evidence that Hitler personally was into the occult/paganism, but he surrounded himself with people who were and the Aryan superiority he ascribed to was deeply tied to paganism. Himmler, a believer in Ariosophy, is a prime example of this.
18-1 on June 9, 2009 at 11:42 PM
“lack of fervor”,dang, I thought it was the abundance of the coolness quotient.. or something
runner on June 9, 2009 at 11:43 PM
Although difficult, i try to separate between what I would like, from what is. There are many things that are real, but i don’t like. There may be things that are real, but I don’t yet accept the evidence. If there is no evidence, it’s a non-issue, for me.
OldEnglish on June 9, 2009 at 11:43 PM
Considering Obama’s preference for anti-semtic and racist churches perhaps it is for the better.
18-1 on June 9, 2009 at 11:44 PM
I was thinking today that society has really watered down religion, bending it to mean what they want or need it to be for them. Now the Constitution is getting the same treatment. Very depressing.
Cindy Munford on June 9, 2009 at 11:44 PM
Heh.
progressoverpeace on June 9, 2009 at 11:44 PM
Dr Evil on June 9, 2009 at 11:29 PM
Oh man, I can’t get past the visual of Sting throwing a temper tantrum on the big screen. He stunk, man.
Hmm… I have completely forgotten that series. Will have to revisit.
catlady on June 9, 2009 at 11:46 PM
Darlin, you’re doing fine. My only advice is if someone says something that really really makes you mad, ask some questions before you light into them. Nuance and tone can get lost in text.
Cindy Munford on June 9, 2009 at 11:46 PM
I, somehow, doubt that behaviour began it 622 AD.
OldEnglish on June 9, 2009 at 11:46 PM
Just relax and speak (er, type) your mind, chacker. Welcome to this site.
ddrintn on June 9, 2009 at 11:46 PM
I think that he and the lovely Michelle finally decided on joining the Frisbeetarian Mother Church of Greater Metropolitan Washington D.C.
MB4 on June 9, 2009 at 11:47 PM
So have you considered that God’s a reality that you are unhappy about, rather than a non-reality?
I forgot who was criticizing the “Americanizing” of religion but basically, the writer was saying that we’ve been so interested in accommodating faiths, which is admirable, that we’ve unanchored faith from all real meaning. I read God and Man at Yale a few months ago for the first time, and it was already institutionalized in the colleges (or, at least, at Yale) by the 40′s! All truth is being heaved out the window, just as it was in Europe.
emailnuevo on June 9, 2009 at 11:48 PM
Quite so, but they were the perceptions of the day, and much different to those of today (women, blacks, slaves, etc).
OldEnglish on June 9, 2009 at 11:48 PM
Just don’t pay attention to detractors, Chacker
And keep it light.
More fun that way
Keep the grill burnin!
I’ll be drinkin for the both of us!
blatantblue on June 9, 2009 at 11:49 PM
One of the great problems we conservatives face is the the Left has succeeded in labeling moderate Bush as some extreme right winger. Bush did give us a couple of good SC justices…but he also splurged on social spending.
True, compared to Obama Bush was “right wing” on economics, but compared to Obama every American president has been “right wing” on economics.
I am still astounded at how Obama has gotten away with looting the treasury.
18-1 on June 9, 2009 at 11:50 PM
Quite right. I was going to go into the cultures but I didn’t see the point … I mean, look at what we’re up against. Paglia is one of the more rational ones and she’s just utterly lost.
progressoverpeace on June 9, 2009 at 11:51 PM
What’s really funny is that most of our colleges and universities started out as religious institutions.
Cindy Munford on June 9, 2009 at 11:52 PM
Hitler was an altar boy who wanted to be a priest or an artist when he grew up. Then the madness took over.
Trinity Church practices Black Liberation Theology. They portray Jesus as a revolutionary leader, like Castro or Che. They do not believe in His resurrection. Again, Obama is a ego-driven Chameleon. When he walks into a room, he always believes he is the smartest one there. Therefore, he believes he can convince those in the room he is whatever he says he is.
kingsjester on June 9, 2009 at 11:53 PM
This is a great point. If you take the USA out of the picture, who do you think would win in a war between the Middle East and Europe?
pearson on June 9, 2009 at 11:54 PM
I’m heading for bed here, but I want to thank Upstater85 for the answers given, as well as others I cannot recall. I’m at the point of being so tired I can barely even see the letters on my keyboard.
Hick on June 9, 2009 at 11:54 PM
And if Obama is truly an atheist, it means he believes he is the most powerful sentient being in the universe.
pearson on June 9, 2009 at 11:55 PM
I don’t know, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I think they meant it for everyone, they just weren’t sure how to get there. At least we know for sure that slavery was a debating point. Those three things must remain fundamental or we are in deep trouble.
Cindy Munford on June 9, 2009 at 11:55 PM
I think another big problem is that conservatives are viewed as anarcho-capitalists. We were the ones responsible for the Great Depression, from which humanity was saved through the valiant efforts of liberalism wielded by St. FDR. How many times do we hear “You are for deregulation!” Meaning, “You are for sweatshops and child labor and 20-hour workdays!”
ddrintn on June 9, 2009 at 11:57 PM
No. There is no evidence, hence it’s a non-issue.
OldEnglish on June 9, 2009 at 11:57 PM
Pretty much everything did. The birth of individualism is found in Genesis (1:27) -
And G-d created man in His own image, in the image of G-d created He him …
But the atheists (not all, but the modern left) are too stupid to recognize all that they owe to religion, whether they believe in it, or not. They are like 5 year olds using crayons on masterpieces and then being so proud of their “work”.
progressoverpeace on June 9, 2009 at 11:57 PM
I forgot who was criticizing the “Americanizing” of religion
Was it that Pravda article? They sure took a hit at religion in America and the TV churches. Not exactly an unwarranted swipe.
Cindy Munford on June 9, 2009 at 11:58 PM
The founders were brilliant. Without life, there is no liberty. Without liberty, there is no pursuit of happiness. Without the pursuit of happiness, there is no life worth living.
pearson on June 9, 2009 at 11:59 PM
and that private property rights were necessary for individual liberty to even be possible.
progressoverpeace on June 10, 2009 at 12:00 AM
I wonder how many votes the Left could get if they did not control the schools and the media. The trope of as Hoover as the avatar of extreme economic libertarianism who sat back and did nothing about the Great Depression has to end…
18-1 on June 10, 2009 at 12:01 AM
Done, done, and done. Europe has already surrendered with the Archbishop of Canterbury holding the white flag and Prince Charles driving the welcome wagon. Mark Steyn called it, and he was right as always. That war is lost, and we are in the process of rolling over now.
Laura in Maryland on June 10, 2009 at 12:01 AM
Indeed!
pearson on June 10, 2009 at 12:02 AM
Follow-up: The new ontological craze is the idea of the multiverse. Given the odds of our universe existing as it does, and it being dependent on just six numbers (to steal from Martin Rees), it is argued that there must be billions of universes whose specifications are not fit to support life (or even three dimensions), and that the odds finally played out for us somehow. These are supposed to be impossible to reach.
Believable/reality?
emailnuevo on June 10, 2009 at 12:03 AM
Absolutely! But, it would be interesting to be able to bring the Founders into the “now”, and watch their reaction to today’s “reality”. Parts of the Foundational Documents were indeed universal, if not concrete, but some were written with “then’ in mind. That is what i meant by perception.
OldEnglish on June 10, 2009 at 12:04 AM
I’ve read her also and she really is miles ahead of the Leninists in power now.
When does Stalin show up?
Speakup on June 10, 2009 at 12:05 AM
I can just see BO, Rohm and the boys having a moment of quiet prayer…/s
d1carter on June 10, 2009 at 12:05 AM
Hah! can we just skip over til we get to the Night of the Long Knives part?
elduende on June 10, 2009 at 12:09 AM
I think I would be hoping that they would be so in awe of technology that they wouldn’t have time to be disappointed in what we have done to their work. They gave us the tools to change with the times and the three separate but equal branches of the government spend most of their time trying to run roughshod over each other in a mad power grab. I know we deserve everything we have gotten but it still doesn’t feel good.
Cindy Munford on June 10, 2009 at 12:10 AM
I think we are more in a French Revolution mode. The modern liberals look at GITMO as if it were the Bastille. I’m waiting for The Terror. How long did it take the French? Things move faster, these days.
progressoverpeace on June 10, 2009 at 12:13 AM
Hah. Considering we’re only 5 months in and the boy wonder has already alienated half the planet, destroyed the economy, and caused a run on ammo in our country we’re in countdown mode…when we see a Jacobin we’ll know the shiite has hit the fan…
elduende on June 10, 2009 at 12:19 AM
That theory began in the realization that the universe does not conform to our current understanding of it (size, mass, energy, etc), bringing in the Bubble Theory as a way to explain the anomaly. The problem with investing in new theories is that it opens a can of worms, as people start to ponder the theoretically possible, under such a condition.
If the Bubble Theory proved to be correct, then there would be no interaction between the bubbles, else it would be one bubble only – and that puts us right back where we started.
OldEnglish on June 10, 2009 at 12:19 AM
What about the anti-conservative actions taken on college campuses, against Carrie Prejean, etc. Isn’t this the American version of The Terror?
Loxodonta on June 10, 2009 at 12:20 AM
Indeed! Our “perception” of right and wrong has been altered for us – to our detriment.
OldEnglish on June 10, 2009 at 12:22 AM
Good night folks, sweet dreams.
Cindy Munford on June 10, 2009 at 12:22 AM
Thank you for your always helpful posts, Good night.
Loxodonta on June 10, 2009 at 12:24 AM
It’s a soft version, but it’s there.
progressoverpeace on June 10, 2009 at 12:32 AM
No, Obama definitely believes there is a God. Unfortunately, he thinks he’s The One.
single stack on June 10, 2009 at 12:47 AM
OldEnglish on June 10, 2009 at 12:19 AM
They also needed multiple universes because Big Bang Theory required or appeared to require inflation occuring at a rate that should be impossible. The only solution was to propose that “our” universe, or the precursor to our universe, arose out of a process that could not not exclude the propagation of countless non-contiguous baby universes.
It was my understanding that the cyclical universe theorists – who believe that Big Bang is one of those consensus positions that is about to be overturned after decades of accepting complicated and decreasingly convincing pateche, and who don’t require a rapid generation of multiverses in their models but who do need multiple quasi-universes – were still awaiting experimental evidence that it was hoped might decide the question one way or the other.
CK MacLeod on June 10, 2009 at 12:49 AM
So let’s see, that would be…e, pi, Obama’s birthday, …
chemjeff on June 10, 2009 at 12:54 AM
Can I have my pi a la mode, please?
Loxodonta on June 10, 2009 at 12:57 AM
The only thing Obama worships is TOTUS.
SnarkVader on June 10, 2009 at 1:01 AM
OldEnglish on June 10, 2009 at 1:02 AM
So is using quotes, apparently.
OldEnglish on June 10, 2009 at 1:07 AM
Didn’t really read the article. Just want another opportunity to say that our current President is an embarrassment to our country, and is one of the key players in screwing it up.
Dr. ZhivBlago on June 10, 2009 at 1:11 AM
That’s way above my pay grade.OldEnglish on June 10, 2009 at 1:02 AM
So is using quotes, apparently.
OldEnglish on June 10, 2009 at 1:07 AM
Loxodonta on June 10, 2009 at 1:23 AM
figures Allah missed the best part of the article:
For example, while driving recently on the New Jersey Turnpike, I was passed by an SUV with a U.S. Marine Corps sticker and a black-and-white decal that said: “What do you feel when you kill a terrorist? RECOIL.”
what more do you need?
unseen on June 10, 2009 at 1:49 AM
Obama isn’t a Christian or a Muslim. He isn’t an atheist or agnostic. Very simply, he doesn’t care. Except about Obama.
Connie on June 10, 2009 at 2:07 AM
Then there is always the question of ‘Taqiyya’………
………. What could go wrong?
Not that Obama has been truthful about his politics…….
………. but what the hey, they have a ‘Date Night’!
Seven Percent Solution on June 10, 2009 at 2:51 AM
I’m not certain that it is possible to look into a person’s mind and identify or question their faith with any kind of objectivity or accuracy and I don’t think it’s a good idea to try. It is probably best to stick to differentiating between his words and his deeds.
Dollayo on June 10, 2009 at 3:29 AM
I think Obama’s only God is himself. To him, religion is something he puts on to help him politically. Right now he calls himself a Christian because even though he would deny it there IS a Christian majority in America. If things changed and the majority of Americans became (insert religion here) I think you would quickly see him “convert”.
qballacus on June 10, 2009 at 4:02 AM
Much better! :)
Right on! Actions run the world, not words.
OldEnglish on June 10, 2009 at 4:12 AM
All of that is true. Obama is oblivious to the fervor of the true believers of Islamic extremism. Obama does not have the capacity to comprehend it.
Terrye on June 10, 2009 at 6:30 AM
He first needs to have a heart and mind of his own – BHO shows no real convictions, be they religious, political or otherwise.
redfoxbluestate on June 10, 2009 at 6:41 AM
Sorry, AP–Obama is no atheist. He whole-heartedly worships himself. And having been declared “a God”, that makes him DEVOUT!
varnson on June 10, 2009 at 6:59 AM
This muslim Pres. we have sucks! Have you seen the unemployment numbers, gas prices, and the size of the deficit? What the hell’s wrong with him? Super freak.
JiangxiDad on June 10, 2009 at 7:13 AM
You can say that again.
Inadvertently? Hah!!
Grafted on June 10, 2009 at 7:20 AM
His religion is whatever you call worshiping oneself.
I thought that would be obvious.
bluelightbrigade on June 10, 2009 at 8:06 AM
Let’s face it, Gang. All long as Obama has himself, he’ll never be alone.
kingsjester on June 10, 2009 at 8:07 AM
Identified as a Christian from a church with an openly racist pastor. Pandering to an elitist, supremisist “faith” (in reality an all-encompasing ideology). One is bad, the other worse, but either way the only “church” I see BO faithful to is the church of Marx, and I don’t mean Groucho.
James Moriarty on June 10, 2009 at 8:23 AM
Looking at Obama’s family history – his father abandoned him early on, his mother was a woman who seemed to have many grievances against her country and our government, was a restless soul. His grandparents who raised him attended the Unitarian Church. I’ve had experience with the UU Church – most people who attend are usually disenchanted with their former religions and turn UU because they accept that everyone’s path to God is individual and is to be respected. It’s perfectly OK too if you are agnostic or atheist, deist, secular humanist. Obama lacks core beliefs.
4Freedom on June 10, 2009 at 8:25 AM
Great post
The evidence for Obama being a forty year supah seekrit Moose Limb is very lacking.
They rely on a handful of years before Obarfy was 10, and try to make those years account for the other 30-40.
It doesn’t work
That’s how the 9/11 Truthers operate. Not me
blatantblue on June 10, 2009 at 8:43 AM
Obama kinda labels himself a Christian…
Upstater85 on June 9, 2009 at 11:02 PM
Sorry if I’m repeating someone else here. Haven’t time to read all the comments, but…
Ogabe used Christianity when it was convenient during the campaign and refers to himself as a Christian still because it’s still convenient to do so in a mostly Christian nation. He used his Muslim roots (off-limits during the campaign) when it was convenient in a Muslim setting and now that it’s too late to use against him. He knows it will be down the memory hole by 2012.
For Ogabe, faith is a political tool to be used when needed and packed away and forgotten when not needed. I don’t think he sees himself as God. He sees himself above God.
SKYFOX on June 10, 2009 at 9:02 AM
(emphasis mine)
But that is exactly what the general voter didn’t want – they didn’t want his childhood, his upbringing, or his faith used against him. Voters were willing to take his Moslem connections into consideration but “using it against him” was wildly unpopular. It backfired badly in almost every case.
dieudonne on June 10, 2009 at 10:21 AM
I would like to object to this statement, but it leaves enough wiggle room so as to be interpretable as meaning nothing.
Count to 10 on June 10, 2009 at 10:51 AM
If he is, he’s a flimsy, disingenuous one.
Count to 10 on June 10, 2009 at 10:53 AM
Will you stop with this, already. Ages 5 – 10 do not comprise “a handful of years before 10″ but the bulk of the time one is building a personality and more accurately, half of his life before 10.
You don’t think he considers himself a muslim? Fine. But he clearly grew up a muslim (ages 5 – 10 are very important years, and all of them, as 0 – 5 goes beyond most people’s memories) with muslim training in a muslim country.
Do me a favor, stop whining about how you don’t want to be considered a truther. No one cares, and your insinuation about those who make perfectly good cases (backed up by what we see The Precedent do and his clear afinity for the muslim point of view, along with his obvious hostility towards the Western view) is really starting to grate.
progressoverpeace on June 10, 2009 at 11:06 AM
What spiritual convictions or self-imposed constraints would a “Christian” have who was led to “Christ” by Jeremiah Wright? Obama calls himself “Christian” to get votes from real Christians, but his true faith is that of Jeremiah Wright–”G-d d@mn America”.
The Koran says that God cannot have a son. The Bible (Luke 1:31-32) says that Jesus is the son of God. One is right, the other is wrong, but they both cannot be true.
He has already swayed too many hearts to heartlessness and minds to mindlessness. At some point, Obama will need to agree to disagree.
Steve Z on June 10, 2009 at 11:47 AM
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