Obama: 'I'm a Christian by choice'

[sonomak]

Source: USA Today

A woman in New Mexico today offered President Obama some fresh chili peppers, as well as two equally hot questions: Why are you a Christian? What about abortion?

"I'm a Christian by choice," replied Obama, who has spent a good part of his public life fending off false claims he is a Muslim.

Obama said his family was churchgoing, and "my mother was one of the most spiritual people I knew, but she didn't raise me in the church."

"So I came to my Christian faith later in life," the president said, "and it was because the precepts of Jesus Christ spoke to me in terms of the kind of life that I would want to lead: being my brother's and sister's keeper, treating others as they treat me."

Read more: http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2010/09/obama-im-a--christian-by-choice/1

[maxsolomon]

1. not good enough for the secret muslin accusers.

see, christians is borned, not made. :sarcasm:

[BillStein]

2. I thought they were re-borned?

[SpiralHawk]

7. Yah, but you need the long-form Re-born certificate to qualify

according to the Official Birfer Party (R) propaganda.

[Scout]

22. "long-form Re-born certificate to qualify"

:rofl:

thanks, i needed the laugh!

me, i was born alright the FIRST time :hi:

[Jamastiene]

11. I think it is re-borned again.

:P

[phleshdef]

3. "treating others as they treat me.", hehe, I think he misspoke there.

[Blue Meany]

4. Aha! He's not a *true* believer. He just "chose" to be a Christian

because Christ happened to agree with him about social issues. He never said anything about *belief.* He never said anything about being born again or giving his life to Christ. He isn't really a Christian <heavy sarcasm>...I can hear it already.

[safeinOhio]

6. Perhaps he was born

OK the first time.

:crazy:

[jmm]

9. Until he produces a real birth certificate we don't even know if he was born a first time.

;)

[demwing]

23. I want Jesus to provide a birth certificate

and then I'll say its fake because under father's name it says "I Am"

[msanthrope]

25. Jesus H. Christ

[Raschel]

5. 'WHY 'are you a Christian? OMG. What next.

Freaks.

[bowens43]

8. How sad.......

There should be a religious test for public office....if you're a believer you should be disqualified.

Seriously, how can he be trusted to lead the free world if he believes in invisible deities?

[No Elephants]

16. Constitution specifies: no religious test for the Presidency.

Most of our Presidents believed in invisible deities--and all said they did. I have no problem with it as long as they obey the Constitution and keep Church and state separate and obey Jesus and keep their religion private.

[merqz]

34. The constitution does not require that a president keeps his/her

religion "private". But you can certainly prefer if they do.

[fascisthunter]

10. why does being christian even fucking matter if this country has freedom of religion

it just shows how religiously nuts this country really is... can you imagine a Jewish, Islamic or athiest as a President? Didn't think so, yet these right wing fanatics claim THEY are the ones being persecuted. Nutcases...

Religion should never be used a litmus test and the fact that it is is crazy!

[Jamastiene]

12. We don't really have freedom of religion in this country.

"Freedom of religion" just means you can choose which denomination of Christianity you want to believe.

If you aren't a Christian, you are a heathen...one of them there devil-worshipers.

Or, at least, that is how I was told it down here in the Bible Belt. I'm going to hell, the opposite of where they are going, apparently. I'm wondering how it could be hell without them though. It sure wouldn't be heaven with them. I guess that's just the devil talking to me. :evilgrin:

[No Elephants]

17. Meh. I think we're all going to heaven. Or none of us are.

[merqz]

35. We most definitely DO have

freedom of religion in this country. And unlike many countries, we are free to even ridicule or make offensive speech about religion. Numerous other countries (in Europe, etc.) criminalize this.

We do not have an official church, like England and a monarchy attached to it. Nor do we have State run tithing, like in Germany.

We are a majority Christian nation, but to say we don't have religious freedom is silly.

[Jamastiene]

36. Come to the Bible Belt and say you are Wiccan,

THEN make that claim.

If you did that here, even in passing in a simple conversation, you would learn really quick what freedom of religion we do NOT have in this country.

Until you believe in another religion in the Bible Belt, you don't have a clue.

[Enthusiast]

14. I remember all the animosity

toward Kennedy because he was a Catholic. There was outright bigotry.

[AsahinaKimi]

28. I think it will be a hell of a long time

Before we see a Non Christian in the White House. Religious Bigotry is just as bad as Racism. I for one, am tired of having people in my face, telling me what I should or should not believe. Some religions push for bringing in more people into their membership. They become over zealous about it. Even in some cases violent.

Violence should not be what religion should be about.

[krabigirl]

30. I agree, and I am tired of it also.

However, I don't care if a President is CHristian..unless he tries to impose it on all of us. Candidates aren't running for the office of the Pope.

[AsahinaKimi]

32. Unfortunately

There are some people who DEMAND that our Government become a Christian Theocracy. This Nation, while predominately Christian has other members of faith here:

Unaffiliated, including atheist or agnostic 11.6%%
Judaism 1.2% to 2.2%
Islam 0.6% to 1.6%
Buddhism 0.5% to 0.9%
Hinduism 0.4%
other 1.4%
*source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_the_United_States

Even the smallest "other" must be protected by the laws of our nation.

[fascisthunter]

33. well said

in fact violence is the antithesis of spirituality. Any religion to claim different would essentially be admitting to not being about spirituality itself.

[Igel]

13. Ah.

'So I came to my Christian faith later in life," the president said, "and it was because the precepts of Jesus Christ spoke to me in terms of the kind of life that I would want to lead: being my brother's and sister's keeper, treating others as they treat me."'

So his sources are equally Cain and Jesus.

That sums it up for most churches, I guess.

[Gormy Cuss]

15. Aren't all American adults who are Christian "Christian by choice?"

Did I miss the memo on forced Christianity?

(not picking on Obama specifically -- it's the phrasing that seems quite odd to me.)

[No Elephants]

19. he seems to be saying his mom did not get him baptized or take him to

church--he did not grow up in a Christian home or follow a family religious tradition.

However, among fundamentalists, none of that is how you become a Christian anyway. You must have a "come to Jesus" moment. And, yes, that is a choice.

[Kringle]

37. so Obama was baptized, or not? .nt

[Jackpine Radical]

21. Some people are born into situations in which the inculcation

starts early. They are baptized at birth, sent off to indoctrination sessions, pushed through confirmations, etc. Many of them don't have much opportunity to question why they're riding that train. Others come from more secular backgrounds and find something appealing in a given faith, and adopt it. Others, despite being raised in a faith, may question it and reject it and then come back to it or find another, more congenial one. I would think the matter of choice in each of these instances is a matter of degree. I imagine Obama was saying that he came from a secular background and made the decision to become a Christian later in life.

[demwing]

24. He's making a comment on "Choice" due to the abortion question

thats all

[t0dd]

18. That's good. In other news: "I'm still an atheist, thank God"

nt

[CreekDog]

20. Ironically, they doubt him because he hews so closely to the New Testament

:eyes:

[TheWatcher]

26. "being my brother's and sister's keeper, treating others as they treat me."

As long as they are not GLBT, of course.

[Bluenorthwest]

27. Of course.

[krabigirl]

29. what an idiotic woman..why do people care so much about the religion of an elected official?

[Yeahyeah]

31. Before or after he decided to be a politician?

[HopeHoops]

38. HE LIES! HE LIES! HE LIES! HE LIES!

A "REAL" Christian wouldn't want to help the sick, the poor, the homeless, or anyone other than the ultra-rich people. Just ask any teabagger.

:evilgrin: