Time’s Amy Sullivan, who worked tirelessly to sell Barack Obama as an acceptable choice for Bible-toting Evangelicals -- a choice that most evangelicals didn't accept -- reported Obama has refused to pick a D.C. church as his religious home. In his latest move copying George W. Bush, he’s going to designate the Evergreen Chapel at Camp David as his official church. Now go away, she insists to people still disturbed by his longtime pastor Jeremiah Wright.
She quotes Obama religion adviser Vashti McKenzie: "Everybody needs to just back off and settle down. Let him choose where he's comfortable, choose where he and his family are going to be spiritually fed, and then let it be his choice." Sullivan added her own "Amen."
Between the lines, a cynic can see all the political convenience on display: no flashy minister, and not much ministerial contact either:
Camp David's current chaplain, Lieut. Carey Cash, leads the services at Evergreen. If the White House had custom-ordered a pastor to be the polar opposite of Jeremiah Wright, they could not have come as close as Cash. (As it is, the White House had no hand in selecting Cash. The Navy rotates chaplains through Camp David every three years; Cash began his tour this past January.) The 38-year-old Memphis native is a graduate of the Citadel and the great-nephew of Johnny Cash. He served a tour as chaplain with a Marine battalion in Iraq and baptized nearly 60 Marines during that time. Cash earned his theology degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth — and, yes, that means Obama's new pastor is a Southern Baptist.
Cash and his wife also have five children, some of whom may find themselves acting opposite Sasha and Malia in the Christmas pageant. But if the experience of past Camp David chaplains is any guide, Cash won't necessarily have the opportunity to form a pastoral relationship with Obama. "We used to tell people our job was to run like a five-star resort," said Patrick McLaughlin, who was chaplain at Camp David from 2002 to 2005, in an interview with Religion News Service. "One of the things you value when you go on vacation is peace and quiet." His contact with Bush outside worship services, McLaughlin said, was "very little."
Obama clearly figured it would be hard for Republicans to attack him for making the same spiritual choice as President Bush. Republicans haven't made a big deal out of their presidents holding a church membership, although Democrats would snap a bit at Ronald Reagan not going out to church when the Moral Majority was in vogue.
The difference here is the same one the Amy Sullivans have always tried to obscure, regardless of the noxious Wright association: evangelicals and conservative Catholics can easily see that Obama's social liberalism on sexual issues, everything from abortion to transgender rights, is dramatically at odds with traditional religious values.
—Tim Graham is Director of Media Analysis at the Media Research Center.
Editor at Large
Comments Policy
"Maintenance staff at
June 29, 2009 - 07:45 ET by SickofLibs"Maintenance staff at Evergreen Chapel are set to begin the laborious task of covering up crosses and other Christian imagery."
Obama's Religion
June 29, 2009 - 07:51 ET by V the KDoes anyone believe Barack Obama worships any higher power other than Barack Obama?
Yes
June 30, 2009 - 08:04 ET by misterbee241Baal and Molech. Both of these Babylonian dieties required child sacrifice.
"I dont need to read a newspaper to know the world's been shaved by a drunken barber."
Walter Brennan, The Colonel, Meet John Doe, 1941
no flashy minister, and
June 29, 2009 - 07:57 ET by motherbeltno flashy minister, and not much ministerial contact either:
No kidding.
Does anyone think he is going to go to Camp David every weekend for services?
<Chris Matthews imitation> HAH!
This is typical of a man who used his Church in Chicago and his supposed Christianity for political means: for his community organizing in Chicago, and then on the national campaign trail.
Then when he got to Washington, he had no use for Church on Sunday, save Easter. Having "his church" at Camp David makes it convenient for him to not go.
I can just hear him now; shades of his Paris excuse to snub Sarkozy: I would like nothing better than to go relax and go to church at Camp David every weekend; unfortunately I have too many duties here, with the economy, the wars, and energy legislation....
And don't get me started on his cynical use of the messiah imagery.... I won't judge the man; that's for God to do. But in my opinion, based on what I see, he is a world-class hypocrite.
He is like the son in the parable who, when told by his father to go work in the vineyard, said yes, sir, absolutely, you bet! And then went off and did his own thing.
Just my opinion, of course.
I didn't think it was physically possible, but this both sucks and blows. -Bart Simpson
you know motherbelt
June 29, 2009 - 07:58 ET by candanceI'm not trying to question anyone's salvation, but I cannot understand the point of this. Apparently in his world you can be a Christian without a) believing half the stuff in the Bible b) going to church, c) defending your own religion while in Muslim countries or d) acting with a smidge of humility in knowing there is a savior you need to depend on.
I would like to say that he
June 29, 2009 - 08:13 ET by motherbeltI would like to say that he started to believe the messiah image that his followers bestowed upon him, but I have to go with my first opinion above: he's not a real Christian, but he played one on the campaign trail.
I didn't think it was physically possible, but this both sucks and blows. -Bart Simpson
Religion
June 29, 2009 - 09:56 ET by ACWI believe that religion and how it is practiced or not is a private matter.
Then he should have kept it
June 29, 2009 - 11:22 ET by motherbeltThen he should have kept it "private" while he was running for President.
I didn't think it was physically possible, but this both sucks and blows. -Bart Simpson
agreed
June 29, 2009 - 12:37 ET by candanceBefore the election, he visits the prayer wall in Jerusalem, uses the Sermon on the Mount to defend gay rights, invites black gospel singers to perform on the campaign trail, and asks little old ladies to keep him in their prayers.
As soon as he gets elected his religion is a private matter that has nothing to do with anything.
Just take Obama at his word. He is not a Christian.
June 29, 2009 - 13:40 ET by Mike BrattonOne quote, from 2004: "I believe that 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."
A non-negotiable, foundational belief of Christianity is the exclusivity of Christ for salvation. In the words of a former pastor of mine, if there are "many paths" to salvation then "Calvary was the blunder of the ages."
There are misguided, unfortunate souls in this world--and then there are people like Barack Obama, who use Christianity as a prop. In his current state, not only is Obama a non-Christian, he is actively anti-Christian.
-Mike
www.thebrattonreport...
This was not about Obama.
June 29, 2009 - 15:36 ET by ACWMy comment is not about Obama or any other politician or citizen. It is simply my belief.
Amen, motherbelt
June 30, 2009 - 08:17 ET by misterbee241.... and Amen.
'"I dont need to read a newspaper to know the world's been shaved by a drunken barber."
Walter Brennan, The Colonel, Meet John Doe, 1941
ACW...
June 30, 2009 - 08:14 ET by misterbee241Jesus was very specific - he told us to keep quiet about the things he taught, dont share the gospel with anybody, and most of all, dont go around the world spreading the good news. Sarcasm off.
My salvation was freely given to me, and of it I will freely give. I have no problem sharing Jesus.
"I dont need to read a newspaper to know the world's been shaved by a drunken barber."
Walter Brennan, The Colonel, Meet John Doe, 1941
Obama's not a Christian OR a Muslim
June 29, 2009 - 09:48 ET by moderncommentaries83He's a "Convenientist"...as in, he'll do and say whatever's convenient in order to advance his agenda or bolster his reputation.
That's his religion.
And, frankly candace, Obama's Christian belief is no different than 99% of the liberals I know. Basically, to them, Jesus was some nice hippie dude who came and talkeda bout peace (read: pacifism), justice (read: social programming), and love (read: anything and everything but marital, selfless love). No one will go to hell because, well, that would be so unfair! Church is really a big social hour and not a moment to worship.
All the stuff about obedience, and faith, and self-sacrifice, and defending the faith? Not so important.
You can pick and choose what parts of the Bible and/or traditional Christian teaching (which has universal threads across most denominations) you'll like on any given day and repackage it all as a new brand of "spirituality" that - at the end of the day - requires nothing of you but some spoken platitudes about "Namaste" or something.
Aut viam inveniam aut faciam
A life transformed
June 30, 2009 - 08:11 ET by misterbee241The Bible is clear - a life transformed by Jesus will bear fruit. Galatians 5:22 lists the fruits of the Spirit.
While we shouldnt judge another's salvation, we certainly can be fruit inspectors.
"I dont need to read a newspaper to know the world's been shaved by a drunken barber."
Walter Brennan, The Colonel, Meet John Doe, 1941
There must not be any
June 29, 2009 - 08:53 ET by kgThere must not be any "white" and "USA" bashing churches in DC.
"DumbAssity of Dope"
this will be perfect for him
June 29, 2009 - 07:53 ET by candanceReporters confirmed that even he lived in Chicago he barely attended Wright's church. Now he has a built-in excuse for not going to church. It's too far away. Why else would he say his home church is on a vacation resort thousands of miles away from home?
As an aside, saw Jane Hall on Fox News this morning. She made the point that so many details about Obama never make the news because of him being over saturated and the public being burned out on politics. He keeps so many outrages happening you don't even have the energy to absorb the little things.
Well, candance, it's not
June 29, 2009 - 07:59 ET by motherbeltWell, candance, it's not exactly thousands of miles away, but I agree with your point (see my comment above).
Hypocrisy, thy name is Obama.
I didn't think it was physically possible, but this both sucks and blows. -Bart Simpson
You're thinking of Camp
June 29, 2009 - 08:09 ET by SickofLibsYou're thinking of Camp David Letterman, which is in California.
Please
June 29, 2009 - 10:50 ET by ChaitealoverWe have enough libtards here in California, don't blame us for Letterman, too. He lives in New York and has a "ranch" in Montana.
Chai
“When all government...in little as in great things, shall be drawn to Washington as the center of all power, it will render powerless the checks provided...” Thomas Jefferson
Typical.....just voting
June 29, 2009 - 07:55 ET by stancoyleTypical.....just voting present again!!!!
0bama doesn't need to worry about proving
June 29, 2009 - 08:11 ET by dduckw0rth0bama doesn't need to worry about proving to me he's a Christian. Not only is it a pointless exercise at this juncture, but also it is God he will be answering to. Besides, this is not a Christian nation anymore, thanks to 0bama and his fellow robotic hypocrites.
"The people have spoken!/// INDEED. Slightly over half don't have a CLUE what they spoke for. Enjoy the process as these people slowly get CLUES over a 4yr period. Painful, but enjoyable."
Barack Obama on his Christian Faith
June 29, 2009 - 08:17 ET by Retired GeekBY CATHLEEN FALSANI Sun-Times Columnist, 2004
all quotes are from Barack Obama in that interview and published by Chicago Sun Times.
"I'm rooted in the Christian tradition. I believe that 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. That there are values that transcend race or culture, that move us forward, and there's an obligation for all of us individually as well as collectively to take responsibility to make those values lived."
"So, I have a deep faith," Obama continues. "I'm rooted in the Christian tradition. I believe that 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."
---------------------------------------------------------
Cathleen Falsani comments:
It's perhaps an unlikely theological position for someone who places his faith squarely at the feet of Jesus to take, saying essentially that all people of faith -- Christians, Jews, Muslims, animists, everyone -- know the same God.
---------------------------------------------------------
"It wasn't an epiphany," he says of that public profession of faith. "It was much more of a gradual process for me. I know there are some people who fall out. Which is wonderful. God bless them.... I think it was just a moment to certify or publicly affirm a growing faith in me."
"It's not formal, me getting on my knees," he says. "I think I have an ongoing conversation with God.... I'm constantly asking myself questions about what I'm doing, why I am doing it."
"The difficult thing about any religion, including Christianity, is that at some level there is a call to evangelize and proselytize. 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."
"I don't presume to have knowledge of what happens after I die," Obama said. "When I tuck in my daughters at night, and I feel like I've been a good father to them, and I see in them 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"
→ Beware infidel!!
June 29, 2009 - 08:28 ET by Cool Arrow"John McCain has not talked about my Muslim Faith" - BHO
Under my plan of a cap & trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket - BHO
"It wasn't an epiphany,"
June 29, 2009 - 08:34 ET by Jack BauerThat's right. The more he gradually thought he could be President, the more he talked about his Christian "faith."
→ Epiphany
June 29, 2009 - 08:40 ET by Cool ArrowAnd, yea, it came to pass that he found solace in his god, who told him "Barack, It is right and just that you deceive the followers of Jesus. For they are infidels to allah"
Under my plan of a cap & trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket - BHO
Obvious
June 30, 2009 - 08:27 ET by misterbee241It's pretty obvious from his statements that he was taught nothing about Jesus and salvation in his radical church in Chicago. And I think Christianity is the only faith that requires its members to spread the word. Islam requires conquest in the name of Allah at the point of a sword or gun.
Obama seriously needs prayer to get him on the right track. And he seriously needs to sit down and read his Bible too.
"I dont need to read a newspaper to know the world's been shaved by a drunken barber."
Walter Brennan, The Colonel, Meet John Doe, 1941
Ther is no requirement in
June 29, 2009 - 08:40 ET by Dan The Man 2Ther is no requirement in the Bible to attend church regulary because that is not what makes us a Christian. It does go on about a personal relationship with Jesus, a base where we can learn and refresh our faith and having people around us who we are accountable to.
For most people that is a church in whatever form. It can be 2 people or 20,000 people; it can be made of one building or many house churches.
So as long as Duh One and his family are being fed then they are ok. However, looking at his record I doubt Obama is a Christian (only God knows for sure) and I also doubt he is getting fed from teh word every day.
So it doesnt matter where he goes to church, either Camp David or puts out a prayer rug and faces Meca 5 times a day.
→ Prayer rug
June 29, 2009 - 08:43 ET by Cool ArrowOr a pentagram tagged onto the Oval Office floor?
Under my plan of a cap & trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket - BHO
oh the irony, a pastor
June 29, 2009 - 08:45 ET by kangaroooh the irony, a pastor that's clinging to guns and religion, LOL
You Too can feel the Obama Partnership - coming soon?
June 29, 2009 - 09:12 ET by Retired Geek"...That experience guides my conviction that partnership between America and Islam must be based on what Islam is, not what it isn't.
Barack Obama, Cairo Egypt, 2009
Here is an example of the Barack Obama partnership with Islam, based on true Islam.
--------------------------------------------------
"DHAKA June 29, 2009: A widow was whipped 202 times and a man 101 times following a fatwa by a religious leader for their alleged involvement in "anti-social activity" in a village in southeastern Bangladesh, prompting local protests and action by the police.
Piara Begum, a widow of 40, and Mamun Miah, 25, were whipped before hundreds of people at Khaiyar in Comilla district Saturday night.
The woman fell unconscious and was rushed to hospital. Doctors said she was critically injured and needed to be given intensive treatment.
Miah was whipped 101 times, The Daily Star newspaper said Monday.
Punishment under a fatwa is held illegal as per a high court ruling of 2001 in Bangladesh that has a predominant Sunni Muslim population.
The police arrested six people, including Moulana Mohammed Manirul Islam, a religious leader working in the local madrassa.
Piara Begum filed a case with the Debidwar police station under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act."
Obama obviously went the
June 29, 2009 - 09:41 ET by ConservativeMissourianObama obviously went the safe and less controversial route by choosing this church as "his." It is safe because Bush chose it as well. Also, he can't get flack for not choosing one either. I'm not sure if his faith is as strong as he is always boasting though. It seems like a decision he made very nonchalantly so it would stay off the radar.
He's Smart
June 29, 2009 - 10:43 ET by StogieGuyIf BO went to an actual church in DC, the thunder and lightning that would ensue as soon as he walked through the door would make for bad media.
Remember, Rev. Wright's place doesn't count as a real church, given what he's been preaching.
Jesus
June 29, 2009 - 10:56 ET by sevenJesus Christ defines Christianity. If man tries to define it, it is a man made religion. Obama needs to start posturing and acting religious for the next election. He doesn't want to have his religion as a hindrance. Oblahma is pantheistic like Oprah.
Big surprise...
June 29, 2009 - 10:59 ET by PrairieSkyI never expected Obama to choose a church in the D.C. area...Religion is nothing more than a political prop to him. He only joined Trinity in Chicago in order to ingratiate himself to the inner city black community in Chicago for political purposes. Obama could care less about religion, despite all of his phony posturing during the campaign.
"The problem is not that people are taxed too little...the problem is that government spends too much." ~President Ronald Reagan
No surprise here, as Muslims typically do not attend church
June 29, 2009 - 11:19 ET by R D HelmThey go to Mosque, instead.
-Dave
Obama's health care "reform" plan is to blow up the building in order to fix a leak in the roof-Herman Cain
Many Members of TUCC - Wrights Church
June 29, 2009 - 11:32 ET by Retired GeekMany members of 'Mentor' Wrights Church were Muslims.
Jeremiah Wright himself is an Apostate Muslim.
Most likely the Muslim congregants at 'mentor' Wrights Church were Nation of Islam members - although that is speculation on my part, since "Minister Farrakhan' conducts services himself in his own facility - although on different days.
Farrakhan was a neighbor of Barack Obama - Wright and Obama presented Farrakhan with a 'Life Time Achievment Award'.
Farrakhan is infamous for saying:
"White people are potential humans - they haven't evolved yet."
Louis Farrakhan Philadelphia Inquirer, March 2000
AND calling Barack Obama the messiah.
"...And he (Barack Obama) has involved young people in a political process that they didn't care anything about. When the Messiah speaks, the youth will hear, and the Messiah is absolutely speaking." Louis Farrakhan
Barack Obama's Eclecticism
June 29, 2009 - 11:36 ET by Retired GeekBarack Obama's beliefs and understandings of everything, seems to be based on 'Eclecticism'.
Barack Obama's knowledge is 'Superficial', he selects what appears to be best in various doctrines, methods, or styles, in everything from 'Economics' to 'Religion'.
It is evident to any thinking person, that Barack Obama has NO core standards, principles, values or belief system.
Barack Obama describes his father, after whom he is named, as "agnostic." His paternal grandfather was a Muslim. His mother, he says, was a Christian whom Obama described as "a lonely witness for secular humanism" In his 1993 memoir, Dreams from My Father.
More about Barack Obama's Spiritual Background
June 29, 2009 - 11:43 ET by Retired GeekBarack Obama as a child attended Sunday School classes where his Mother was a member of the Unitarian Universalist denomination, which was was strongly tied to the Students for a Democratic Society, Bill Ayers was a leader of SDS at the time Barack Obama attended that Unitarian church.
First Unitarian served as a sanctuary for draft dodgers and war protesters.
Carl Davidson (Marxist anti-war activist) along with Michael Klonsky (leader of the New Communist Movement) helped Barack Obama organize and conduct the Obama - 'Iraq Anti-War Rally' in 2002 and Davidson was also one of SDS’s three elected national officers in 1968.
Last time I checked, Davidson was serving as the webmaster for 'Progressives for Obama', where Tom Hayden (former husband of Jane Fonda) and former officer in the SDS, is a featured writer.
I have posted about Tom Hayden's attack piece on Sarah Palin several times.
You can read more about Barack Obama's radical and communist alliances on my blog which I posted in October, 2008.
http://hisfacts.blog...
Maybe There's No DC BLT?
June 29, 2009 - 12:03 ET by slickwillie2001He may have not joined a church yet because there may not be a 'Black Liberation Theology' church in the DC area. There are only a few churches in the USA that teach this particularly wicked blend of Marxism and Christianity.
Liberals often excuse his membership in the execrable Reverend Wright's church as simply politically-driven, but the Bamster has said that when he went away to college at Harvard, he took audiotapes of Wright's speeches with him 'to fortify himself'. Despite being thrown under the bus, Wright still refers to him as 'my son Barack.'
Phony
June 29, 2009 - 13:25 ET by sevenCEO's
Oblahma is a CEO. Christmas Easter Only for attendence.
slick...No DC BLT...
June 29, 2009 - 13:37 ET by PrairieSkyI doubt that there are no BLT churches in DC...DC is overwhelmingly black, and the BLT ideology is apparently widespread, so the chances that there aren't any BLT churches in DC are likely small. Obama would obviously never join a BLT church as president, because it would be politically poisonous for him.
I think the reason that Obama has declined to join any local church right now, is that there is no upside for him to do it...He won the election, and we probably won't see him attending services anywhere much until we get closer to the next election, when he thinks it can do him some political good.
"The problem is not that people are taxed too little...the problem is that government spends too much." ~President Ronald Reagan
Re DC BLT
June 29, 2009 - 14:41 ET by slickwillie2001Don't know; if the old media looked into BLT to the extent that they have investigated the Mormon church we might know. In a discussion on BLT during the election, Juan Williams on Fox News said there were "only a handful of churches in the USA that taught BLT". I expect that any BLT's will tend to be super or mega churches however.
Agree however that if there was one in DC, it would be strategically foolish of him to join it and restart searches through old sermons, etc.
Just another islamic stun
June 29, 2009 - 15:24 ET by George S PattonJust another islamic stun to lull the sheep.
I guess it's no one's
June 29, 2009 - 16:00 ET by CamelopardalisI guess it's no one's business (well, it kind of is) what church Obama worships at. I'm just wondering what is taking him so long. What's so hard in choosing a church? Does he really even want to go to church?
He hasnt found one that
June 30, 2009 - 08:38 ET by misterbee241He hasnt found one that will benefit him politically yet.
I'd suggest Foundry United Methodist in DC. The church and the pastor are very liberal theologically and politically and pro-abortion. This was the Clintons' church when they were in DC.
"I dont need to read a newspaper to know the world's been shaved by a drunken barber."
Walter Brennan, The Colonel, Meet John Doe, 1941
A church is not good enough for HIS HINEYNESS ...
June 29, 2009 - 16:11 ET by Jayke... BARRKY now requires a TEMPLE with a THRONE to go with his many HALOs.
Obama's church?
June 30, 2009 - 07:17 ET by trhugobama has found his niche. A meeting similar to the UN. A new speaker rotated periodically. No political restraints. This suits him perfectly as he doesn't have to assert ANY belief. Appropiate for world leaders such as he.
Seriously, I have seen and heard many ministers come and go. One actually tried to hit up on my mother. Knowing my mother as I do , I cannot imagine what she said or did to or about this Cretan. Pastors are commonly required to be holier types. Unfortunately they tend to be better targets for rumors, although my experience says they usually are more truth than fiction. Religious affiliations never affected my judgements. God is the ONE who gets the last word. In his eyes, either one is HIS or not!
Well, imagine that...
June 30, 2009 - 08:03 ET by misterbee241So Obama's new pastor is a Southern Baptist. Unless Cash is a theological coward, there is the chance Obama will hear the real gospel preached there. He probably wont like it. Wonder if Rev Cash will serve out his full tour time?
"I dont need to read a newspaper to know the world's been shaved by a drunken barber."
Walter Brennan, The Colonel, Meet John Doe, 1941