PRESIDENTIAL CHRISTIANITY

Our President was in campaign mode back in April of 08 when he let slip this famous comment about bitter clingers to guns and religion:

“You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing’s replaced them,,,it’s not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.”

Ironic how things have a way of coming full circle. The President has surged the guns in Afghanistan and now he's talking about his religion. The cynic in me would wonder why all of a sudden, he's goin' to church and talking about his Christianity. It might be because so many people think he is a Muslim. If you lived across the street from him and watched him come out of his front door Sunday after Sunday with a golf bag over his shoulder, you might draw a different conclusion than that he is a religious man.

What's that? AHHH...the voices are hollering "don't judge!"

Well, facts are facts. And at the end of this piece, I will say that no one but God can read a man's heart. I'm not asking for that job, but I can "assess" fruit. Jesus called us to know others by their fruit. He expects us to be discerning so that we can make informed decisions.

So here's a brief fruitcheck.

1. FACT. Barack Obama has given credit for his Christianity to differing scenarios. In 2007, he said "my mother was a Christian in Kansas...I was raised by my mother and I've always been a Christian". Well, no one has "always" been a Christian, but since 2007 he gives credit to his mentor/pastor for introducing him to Christianity. In other words, he learned from Jeremiah Wright how to come to God. But in fact, what the President learned was black liberation theology. He did not learn Christianity. That statement is not judgmental, but just the way it is. Christianity is built on one foundation; black liberation theology is built on another. They do not coincide. If Barack Obama is a Christian, he has come to the Lord since his 20 years at Trinity. The hateful things that were said from the pulpit at Trinity do not come close to passing for Christ's teachings.

2. FACT. Barack Obama's first act as President was to sign abortion legislation. He bragged that would be his first act and it was accomplished on his first day. None of the Senators in Illinois or in the U.S. Senate (where he formerly worked)...voted for the most extreme part of this abortion legislation. But Barack Obama voted to withhold life-saving measures to failed abortion babies that were born alive. NO ONE but Senator Obama voted "yes" on this hideous option of a baby either being left to die alone, or be suffocated. A quick "fruit check" would not include the taking of human life, let alone make it the law of the land.

3. FACT. The President gave reasons that he chose to be a Christian. He said Jesus' principles of living (such as doing unto other and being his brother's keeper) were attractive to him. Trouble is, God gave us the procedure for coming to Him and we don't get to say how it happens. Christianity is not a buffet choice. It requires a mourning over personal sin, an acknowledgment of that sin to God, and a plea. The President may well be attracted to Christianity for the reasons he gave, but he doesn't BECOME a Christian that way.

"Doing unto others" is a phrase that Jesus spoke in Matthew and Luke. But it also is referred to other ancient civilizations who had a code of justice such as Babylonia, Persia, and China. This "doing unto others" is not unique to Christianity and does not define Christianity.

The "brother's keeper" principal seems an odd choice for the President. First, it was not something Jesus called us to do. It was an excuse the murderer Cain verbalized when he smarted off to God ("am I my brother's keeper?"). If the President wanted to show Christian charity, he HAS a half-brother he could help. The brother lives in a meager hut in Africa without electricity. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/barackobama/2595688/Barack-Obama-is-my-inspiration-says-lost-brother.html

Or, President Obama could help his Atlanta aunt who has been on welfare since she came to America illegally from Kenya (receiving $700/month disability, free medical care, food stamps, and housing). She has twice been ordered to be deported, but just recently a judge gave her a "pass". So maybe President Obama has been his sister's "keeper" in getting her deportation revoked, but I wish he would give her some of his money so I wouldn't have to pay her way.

All this being said, do I know whether all this religious movement on the President's part is calculated toward winning favor with the electorate...or is a heartfelt reach toward God? Can't say. Do I know whether someone in Barack Obama's path has explained Christianity and helped him see his need of Christ? Dunno. God is good and He places people strategically for just such a purpose. I've prayed for that scenario. Maybe that HAS happened and President Obama just does not know how to verbalize his quest.

But here's where we come in. We are not called to evaluate his heart, but we are called to discern his leadership because we're on the ship with him. We are also called to use that discernment as we respond to the voting responsibilities we have as citizens.

While mankind tends to twist and turn and flip and flop...it only makes more precious the One who never changes and who is always true. El Roi is the God who sees. He knows President Obama's heart and He can be trusted to treat the president justly. All we have to do is keep an eye on the fruit...because what President Obama DOES (and not what he says) affects us.

THE EDUCATION POSER

Our President made education remarks yesterday. He spoke some true things, so why brand him a poser?

First know that these words are from a teacher who has homeschooled and also taught in public and private schools. My grandmother taught second grade in the same room for 32 years. Our daughter teaches; her husband is a principal. We have two grandchildren in the public schools. We are all about education. These remarks are not directed at education.

President Obama is on the ropes and all his poll numbers are in the tank. There is nowhere for him to go on the issues that top the list (economy/security) because he has bupkis to show there. So he fakes to the middle and picks a topic with which no one can disagree. Who would not want better schools? But things are not that simple. Consider his comments on three levels... veracity, good-for-the-goose/good-for-the-gander, and a hail mary.

VERACITY

Two years ago, this President said a lot of very reasonable things that sounded good. But even the simplest of campaign promises did not materialize. Why would we now assume he is telling the truth about education? Would it be to his advantage to deflect public attention from the top tier issues? Yes. It is less than 35 days until the midterms. Can he make a convincing case for school improvement? Of course! Many inner-city public schools are dying on the vine. Would he REALLY fire the incompetent teachers? Hmm. His biggest supporters are unions. Think the teacher unions will fawn over such ideas?

GOOD FOR THE GOOSE/GOOD FOR THE GANDER

One lady asked the President..."but what about your girls going to private schools". To be fair, there is a good case that could be made about the security of presidential daughters in public schools. Got that. But the reason that question rings true in our minds is because the President has a track record of calling the "people" to one thing while reserving another thing for himself. Such as?

We tighten our budget while the President is living large and going on six

summer vacations (plus the First Lady's nice trip to Spain).

We are invited to a job summit to help us run our businesses, while the

President runs his business with a cabinet comprised of

only 8% who have any business experience.

We are told that there is a point when we have enough money...

while his purse bulges and First Dog Bo rides a separate jet to vacation.

THE HAIL MARY

The Washington D.C. school system tried the voucher system. That system was a fair way for ANYONE to pick their schools and not be a prisoner of the public school system. But who stopped that voucher system in Washington? The ones opposing the voucher system were the same voices that continue to fund the present broken system...the President and his party and the unions. When they squashed the program, a desperate cry went up from the scholarship students who were attending the private schools. Would they have to go back to public? The President compromised and set aside money to pay their education through 12th grade. Those students squeaked through, but what about the rest of the next generation from public housing?

The voucher system would create competition. The beauty of competition is that it floats all boats. If public schools are shaken up for a while...GOOD! They will compete for survival and that will be purifying. The president could prove his words about how he cares about children.

This link says it so well...think outside the box, President Obama, and give the children a choice! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7FS5B-CynM