"america Is No Longer Christian"

[StMichael]

[url="http://worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.printable&pageId=67735"]http://worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE...mp;pageId=67735[/url]

JERUSALEM – Some have been taking issue with largely unnoticed comments made last year by Sen. Barack Obama declaring the U.S. is "no longer a Christian nation" but is also a nation of others, including Muslims and nonbelievers.

The comments have been recently recirculating on Internet blogs.

"Whatever we once were, we're no longer a Christian nation. At least not just. We are also a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, and a Buddhist nation, and a Hindu nation, and a nation of nonbelievers," Obama said during a June 2007 speech available on YouTube.

At the speech, Obama also seemingly blasted the "Christian Right" for hijacking religion and using it to divide the nation:

"Somehow, somewhere along the way, faith stopped being used to bring us together and started being used to drive us apart. It got hijacked. Part of it's because of the so-called leaders of the Christian Right, who've been all too eager to exploit what divides us," he said.

Asked last year to clarify his remarks, Obama repeated them to the Christian Broadcast Network:

"I think that the right might worry a bit more about the dangers of sectarianism. Whatever we once were, we're no longer just a Christian nation; we are also a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, a Buddhist nation, a Hindu nation, and a nation of nonbelievers," Obama wrote in an e-mail to CBN News senior national correspondent David Brody.

"We should acknowledge this and realize that when we're formulating policies from the state house to the Senate floor to the White House, we've got to work to translate our reasoning into values that are accessible to every one of our citizens, not just members of our own faith community," wrote Obama.

Obama did clarify his statement about the "Christian Right."

"My intention was to contrast the heated partisan rhetoric of a distinct minority of Christian leaders with the vast majority of Evangelical Christians – conservatives included – who believe that hate has no place in our politics.

"When you have pastors and television pundits who appear to explicitly coordinate with one political party; when you're implying that your fellow Americans are traitors, terrorist sympathizers or akin to the devil himself; then I think you're attempting to hijack the faith of those who follow you for your own personal or political ends," wrote Obama.

The Illinois senator's speech declaring the U.S. "no longer Christian" was met with little fanfare. But it has been getting some recent play.

A television commercial that aired in South Dakota by a group calling itself the Coalition Against Anti-Christian Rhetoric juxtaposes the audio of Obama's "no longer Christian" statement over images of the presidential candidate dressed in Somali garb and a picture of Obama with his hands rested below his waist while other politicians place their hands over their hearts during the Pledge of Allegiance.

"It's time for people to take a stand against Barack Hussein Obama," declares the voiceover on the commercial.

The Gateway Pundit blog took notice of Obama's speech about the U.S. being a nation also for Muslims and non-believers.

"This won't play well in the Bible Belt," commented the blog in a recent posting.

Obama's campaign has long utilized faith as a central theme. The candidate's Christianity and his former membership in the controversial Trinity United Church of Christ have been much scrutinized.

His comment about the "Christian Right" echoed similar statements made by Merrill A. McPeak, Obama's military adviser and national campaign co-chairman.

As WND reported, in a 2003 interview with The Oregonian newspaper, McPeak seemed to compare evangelical Christians to the terror groups Hamas and Hezbollah.

The Oregonian interviewer asked McPeak whether "there's an element within Hamas, Hezbollah, that doesn't want Israel to exist at all and always will be there?"

McPeak responded by comparing the two terror groups to "radical" Oregonians.

"There's an element in Oregon, you know, that's always going to be radical in some pernicious way, and likely to clothe it in religious garments, so it makes it harder to attack. So there's craziness all over the place."

Oregon has a large evangelical Christian community.

Edited June 23, 2008 by StMichael

[Alycin]

In case you haven't noticed, America *does* contain religions of all sorts and is not *just* a nation of Christians. Why does such a fact offend you so much?

[Alycin]

Also, for the zillionth time, it was the national anthem, not the pledge, and [u][b]reputable[/b][/u] news outlets have retracted statements that say it was the pledge.

[Lil Red]

+J.M.J.+
there may be a million 'fake' reasons not to vote for Obama, and one very good reason not to: he advocates for the slaughter of the unborn. getting that fact out there is my main mission. i will not waste time with this other fluff stuff.

[Alycin]

[quote name='Lil Red' post='1580434' date='Jun 23 2008, 04:54 PM']+J.M.J.+
there may be a million 'fake' reasons not to vote for Obama, and one very good reason not to: he advocates for the slaughter of the unborn. getting that fact out there is my main mission. i will not waste time with this other fluff stuff.[/quote]



I agree completely. That is the most important thing and the only reason one really needs to NOT vote for him. HOWEVER, when Christians spread lies or repost things without fact checking, it makes us all look bad and makes us lose credibility. I don't like that.

Edited June 23, 2008 by Alycin

[Paladin D]

[quote name='Lil Red' post='1580434' date='Jun 23 2008, 05:54 PM']+J.M.J.+
there may be a million 'fake' reasons not to vote for Obama, and one very good reason not to: he advocates for the slaughter of the unborn. getting that fact out there is my main mission. i will not waste time with this other fluff stuff.[/quote]

Agreed.

He's more pro-death than most other politicans on Capitol Hill.

[Paladin D]

[quote name='Alycin' post='1580443' date='Jun 23 2008, 06:06 PM']HOWEVER, when Christians spread lies or repost things without fact checking, it makes us all look bad and makes us lose credibility. I don't like that. [/quote]


Also agreed.

[Lil Red]

[quote name='Alycin' post='1580443' date='Jun 23 2008, 03:06 PM']

I agree completely. That is the most important thing and the only reason one really needs to NOT vote for him. HOWEVER, when Christians spread lies or repost things without fact checking, it makes us all look bad and makes us lose credibility. I don't like that. [/quote]+J.M.J.+
agreed - that's where i was going with the million fake reasons thing, but my brain is slow today

[ardillacid]

[quote name='Lil Red' post='1580434' date='Jun 23 2008, 04:54 PM']+J.M.J.+
there may be a million 'fake' reasons not to vote for Obama, and one very good reason not to: he advocates for the slaughter of the unborn. getting that fact out there is my main mission. i will not waste time with this other fluff stuff.[/quote]
That may be great for you, a practicing catholic, but try convincing an atheist, agnostic, or apathetic christian with just that. Not gonna happen.

[Alycin]

[quote name='notardillacid' post='1580571' date='Jun 23 2008, 06:12 PM']That may be great for you, a practicing catholic, but try convincing an atheist, agnostic, or apathetic christian with just that. Not gonna happen.[/quote]


doesn't change the fact that spreading misinformatiob about someone is still wrong.

[BG45]

[quote name='Alycin' post='1580443' date='Jun 23 2008, 06:06 PM']

I agree completely. That is the most important thing and the only reason one really needs to NOT vote for him. HOWEVER, when Christians spread lies or repost things without fact checking, it makes us all look bad and makes us lose credibility. I don't like that. [/quote]

Amen. To back up with some Scripture; gotta have it being the Prot here...

Colossians 3:9 "Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;"

Exodus 20:16 "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour."

[Lounge Daddy]

[quote name='Alycin' post='1580581' date='Jun 23 2008, 06:18 PM']doesn't change the fact that spreading misinformatiob about someone is still wrong.[/quote]
Absolutely. It's not hard to find facts through reputable sources. And there are plenty of very good factual reasons not to vote for Obama. Whisper campaigns and spreading falsehoods and partial truths are wrong; not to mention unhealthy, if someone is buying into the baseless paranoia.

[Lil Red]

[quote name='notardillacid' post='1580571' date='Jun 23 2008, 04:12 PM']That may be great for you, a practicing catholic, but try convincing an atheist, agnostic, or apathetic christian with just that. Not gonna happen.[/quote]
+J.M.J.+
there are just as many atheists and agnostics horrified about his record when it comes to partial birth abortion and infanticide. it's not a christian/religious issue - it's a human issue.

[kujo]

I agree with the general sentiment of this thread, mainly that his comments are not nearly as inflammatory as the author of the article appears to believe. We are not a "Christian nation," but a nation founded by Christians who believe in the fact that all men and women are created equal by a loving God who knows us from before we are even conceived. Furthermore, because we are all creations of an all-powerful, ever-living God, we must love and respect each other as brothers and sisters, enacting laws and policies that ensure that all have the equality of opportunity to live in peace and pursue some level of happiness and fulfillment, with as little government's intervention as possible. Finally, we are a nation where all people, regardless of their religion or code of ethics is allowed to live without fear of oppression or discrimination so long as their beliefs do not put at risk the safety and rights of others.

Most Americans--Muslims, Jews, Christians, Catholics, Buddhists, Hindus, agnostics, atheists, Pastafarians--believe these truths, holding them not only self-evident, but precious and dear. And, while our roads diverge on many many issues, we can all find our common ground at the place where liberty and justice must be protected.

[Mercy me]

However, you cannot deny the Judeo-Christian roots of this nation.