Obama: "I am a PROUD CHRISTIAN"...

[CyberPieHole]

...wow...how nice for him.:eyes:

[polichick]

1. That was to combat that Muslim rumor, and to speak to SC fundies. nt

[Island Blue]

8. And probably to combat that disgusting e-mail

that has been going around. I'm not at all a fan of politicians wearing their religion on their sleeves, but I sort of understand why he brought it up here.

[Bluebear]

73. Why does he always need an interpreter to said what he "meant"?

[EffieBlack]

94. Funny - people trash him when he doesn't defend himself, then trash him when he does.

And since I can't figure out a better way for him to counter the "He is a secret Muslim" rumor than to say, "I am a proud Christian," (I guess he could have said, "No, I'm not, but that wouldn't have gotten him very far) I don't understand what the uproar is about.

Oh, wait a minute. Yes I do. There is an ugly strain of anti-religion bubbling under in DU. Anyone who even mentions their religion is likely to get slammed by those in here who are so offended by anything related to religion that they cannot tolerate even the thought that someone else may believe in God.

[ClericJohnPreston]

97. Because he always needs defending!

DUH.....

[ronnykmarshall]

2. So?

[CyberPieHole]

41. I've had all the bible thumping to last me a lifetime from the repub in the White House...

I am sick and tired of candidate's adopting the cloak of "pious" as a ploy to win votes. Calling yourself a "Christian" does not make one so...actions speak louder than words. That's whats "so".

[Kucinich4America]

59. Tell it to Hillary

When she goes to her regular prayer breakfast with her right wing dominionist buddies.

[VarnettaTuckpocket]

69. Tell it to Obama when he bases his opposition to gay marriage on his Christianity

"I'm a Christian. And so, although I try not to have my religious beliefs dominate or determine my political views on this issue, I do believe that tradition, and my religious beliefs say that marriage is something sanctified between a man and a woman."

http://pilgrimsole.blogspot.com/2007/12/god-is-still-speaking.html

[Kucinich4America]

81. So which homophobe are you voting for?

There's only one candidate in this race who is in favor of gay marriage. And he's the one ignored by the Whore Media and excluded from the debates.

[VarnettaTuckpocket]

85. That's right, time to wake up and smell the coffee

Kucinich is through, so is Edwards probably. Between Hillary and Obama, you have shown yourself to believe Obama is the lesser evil. I disagree, I think Hillary is, an opinion I share with people like Paul Krugman.

[Kucinich4America]

95. 28 years of Bush-Clinton is the greatest evil

8 more years of that is unacceptable. Hillary is not your friend. Obama, admittedly has some weird friends. Edwards and Kucinich aren't out of this yet, despite what the media whores tell you. Edwards could very well win South Carolina. At the very least, he will finish a strong second there. Hillary's not going to do well there at all, unless she's controlling the DIEBOLD database.

Right now, any of the 4 could take Supercalifragilisticexpealidocious Tuesday, as long as they get the word out, and fuck what the Whore Media thinks. Naturally I'd prefer it was Dennis, but right now I'm hoping for Edwards. Of the three media annointed candidates, he's the better one for any number of reasons. And when it comes to same sex marriage, his family is already on board. They can work on him. Compare that with Hillary overturning a law that her husband signed. Not very likely.

[Critters2]

108. At least Obama's denomination supports gay rights.

Hillary's says "homosexuality is incompatible with the Christian faith." Obama's was the first to ordain gay clergy and support marriage equality.

[msongs]

3. we must embrace christ. you are all sinners nt

[TankLV]

11. speak for yourself...don't include ME in your fairy tales...

[Joe the Revelator]

4. If Hillary's campaign hadn't sent out the muslim smear, he wouldn't have to label himself.

[bullwinkle428]

19. The Muslim smears started well before Hillary started

her campaign!

[CyberPieHole]

42. So Obama's pandering to Donny McClurkin was done to show how "Christian" he was?...

Besides the Hussein Obama "muslim" email has been around for a while and it will continue to go around for some time to come.

[Hoof Hearted]

45. Jesus H. Christ. Pull you head out of your paranioia. That muslim smear started long before the

campaign and you can be sure it was FR/drudge/name your favorite fundy racist that did it.

Look it up on Snopes if you don't want to take my word for it.

[jackson_dem]

106. When did Hillary do that?

[OhioChick]

5. What's Wrong With That Statement? n/t

[Control-Z]

28. Religion should not be

included in political talking points.

[OhioChick]

74. I Believe He Did That

To Put the "Obama is a Muslim" Rumors to Rest.

[Control-Z]

83. Possibly tonight. n/t

[Recursion]

103. Why not?

I'm interested in knowing the religious beliefs of the people running for President, just like I'm interested in knowing a lot of other things about them.

[Unsane]

6. So he should let muslim emails pervase?

[thoughtcrime1984]

67. Of course not- anyone who can't see the value of his statement

to help quell the Muslim e-mails isn't worthy to even speak politics on DU.

[mondo joe]

7. Pride is a sin. NT

[DURHAM D]

9. Absolutely - Pride goeth before a fall.

That is what popped into the mind of every true Christian.

[TankLV]

10. yes - how very SMUG and shameless for him! still TRYING to defend the INDEFENSIBLE!

[Egnever]

77. Chritianity is now indefensible?

WTF is wrong with you?

[Proud2BAmurkin]

12. "Ick"

[itsrobert]

13. Shameless

No wonder Dr King wouldn't endorse him.

[GoldieAZ49]

14. Christian

So was JFK, RFK and MLK

So what is the problem with Obama being a Christian?

[mondo joe]

17. I recall JFK saying his religion would not come before his work as President or the laws

of the United States.

[GoldieAZ49]

24. yes he did

He did have to give a speech regarding his religion. He was the first Catholic candidate and had to reassure the voting public that the Pope would not have any influence over his presidency.

[mondo joe]

25. It would be nice if the current crop would have such good boundaries.

[Bluerthanblue]

93. ??boundaries??- All the people cited, invoked

God and Jesus in their speeches.

JFK quite often- RFK also quite often, FDR oh yes, and MLK, well duh-

JFK didn't hide or toss his faith when he was elected. He made it very clear, that as a Catholic, in his role as leader of this country he would NOT allow the POPE to dictate what he did, but in his individual, personal life, he would be faithful to his church.

It was a difficult concept for people to grasp-

peace

[Sparkly]

15. He has to emphasize that.

He's been pressing it hard through the bible belt, because of the rumors about his being a Muslim. (Which shouldn't be controversial even if it were so, but...)

[bunnies]

16. bunnies: "I am a PROUD atheist"

But Im smart enough to know that a vast majority in this country are Christian.

If you hate Obama enough to read this as a bad statement... then I really feel for you.

[krabigirl]

55. I'm an atheist who knows nothing good comes from courting evangelicals..

[peoli]

18. what are you? a proud athiest?

[Skittles]

102. anything wrong with that? / nt

[Little Star]

20. Sounds just like some shrub we all hate!

[HughMoran]

21. He needed to do that to dispell the "Muslim" lie

It was perfectly fine.

[LittleClarkie]

22. The HORROR!

Eh. What's the hubbub, bub.

[robbedvoter]

23. I so have enough of them proud christians!

[jefferson_dem]

26. NOooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

To the lions with him!

[ACapsizingBoat]

27. which was obviously in response to the "Obama's a muslim" rumor...

[peoli]

29. Fuck you all who mock someones beliefs. seriously.

[krabigirl]

48. ? who was mocking??

[Hekate]

57. Have your read this thread? nt

[More Than A Feeling]

62. Marketplace of ideas, buddy. No protectionism for religion! nt

[CyberPieHole]

66. Fuck Obama for pandering to Xtian bigots...

fuck anyone who thinks religion belongs in the political arena.

Besides "Pride" is one of the 7 deadly sins.

[Name removed]

79. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

82. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[mzmolly]

88. Ahh, apparently "hate and vile words" are limited to the non-Christian DU community?

Well this gets more interesting by the minute.

[mzmolly]

87. Can you share the bigotry in HIS remarks above?

I'm obviously missing something. :shrug: Also the 7 deadly sins aren't actually listed in the Bible per se.

[onenote]

110. you know, you're embarassing yourself here...and not helping HRC

I'm not an Obama supporter (I'm still undecided among Obama,Clinton and Edwards, but could comfortably support any of them in the general).

Anyway, as a Clinton supporter, you might think twice about saying "fuck anyone who thinks religion belongs in the political arena." At least you might think twice if you take a moment to read these two speeches given by HRC:


http://www.hillaryclinton.com/news/speech/view/?id=1362
http://www.hillaryclinton.com/news/speech/view/?id=5189

[Egnever]

78. Couldnt agree more

How bout this for an idea FREEDOM OF RELIGION!

This type of post is pathetic.

[Tarc]

30. Obama is trying to swipe the bigoted evangelical vote

away from Huckabee.

[mondo joe]

32. Yay! Let's hear it for getting bigots to vote for us!!!

[krabigirl]

56. Great, until it's time to pay the piper...

[mzmolly]

89. I hate to break it to DU-ers but the vast majority of Americans consider themselves "Christian."

*GASP*

[TokenWasp]

31. Too bad Christians are supposed to be humble. n/t

[David Zephyr]

33. He is a Christian. He is not a "Muslim" as some in Hillary's campaign got caught saying.

.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

34. I think he said it for two reasons:

1) To combat the false "Obama is a Muslim/Madrassa" e-mail that's going around -- he even mentioned the e-mail in interviews.

2) To help get votes from members of the dominant religion in this country, many of whom are not hate-filled bigots.

[krabigirl]

60. It would be nice to say that there is nothing bad about being a Muslim, for fuck's sake!!!

[Starbucks Anarchist]

70. Of course it would.

But we're talking about a country where 70% believed Iraq was behind 9/11.

[Yael]

35. He said that the mistakes Dems make is not going after the evangelicals

[krabigirl]

49. Yuck!!

[pleah]

36. I am sick of people playing this card. I don't want anymore religion in the White House!

[CyberPieHole]

43. Thank you...that is exactly my point.

I don't care what religion Obama is or says he is...I just don't want it to be the basis for any of his policy decisions.

[VarnettaTuckpocket]

46. He's already on record basing a policy decision on his Christianity, his anti gay-marriage position

"I'm a Christian. And so, although I try not to have my religious beliefs dominate or determine my political views on this issue, I do believe that tradition, and my religious beliefs say that marriage is something sanctified between a man and a woman."

http://pilgrimsole.blogspot.com/2007/12/god-is-still-speaking.html

[krabigirl]

53. THANK YOU!!!

[RedEarth]

37. So what..........

[jonnyblitz]

38. Thank GAWD he is a member of the CORRECT religion and

not one of those EEEVIL ISLAMICS!!!11 :sarcasm::eyes:

[krabigirl]

50. LOL I know.

[NJObamaWoman]

39. So if he's a Christian. That doesn't mean he's evil.

[krabigirl]

51. The whole "courting evangelicals" sucks. Sorry.

[Hekate]

72. Does it suck if he's countering the lies about being a Muslim "Manchurian candidate" & jihadist?

What exactly is the man supposed to do after those kinds of bigoted smears? Engage in a reasoned theological debate with his shadowy attackers? Rise above it all and let them continue to spread their slime -- the way John Kerry did with the Swiftboat liars, until it was too late? Ignore it the way McCain did back in 2000 and 2004 when his family was slandered?

Ignoring trash like that does not help. It won't go away. The slander against Barack Obama is as vile as anything that was used to bring down Kerry, McCain, or Max Cleland. The people who made it up and pass it along don't just aim to win an election -- they aim to destroy people. And they do.

Barack Obama is a Christian -- no big surprise, since the vast majority of Americans identify themselves as Christian. He's not a theocrat, he's simply trying to counter the lies.

Hekate

[CyberPieHole]

84. Was there an apostle named Hussein?

Obama being a "proud Christian" and all.:shrug:

[Hekate]

99. What the HELL kind of question is that? Kindly explain yourself.

[Recursion]

105. You mean Evangelicals like Jimmy Carter?

I don't know who he's endorsed; maybe Obama is looking for his support

[rucky]

40. He made some excellent points

I hope you got past that first line to hear them.

[Califooyah Operative]

44. and the problem?

You know a lot of us are proud Christians right? I don't think Edwards or Clinton would reject that label. Not to mention there's dirty, false, rumorous emails that Obama is trying to combat.

So what's your point?

[krabigirl]

47. I know, who cares? But, sadly, it does matter in US politics.

One day, I hope we'll be like France, where you'd be laughed at if you talked about God when you are campaigning.

Or, wait, if we could be like we were back in 1776, that would be cool too.

[ursi]

52. well, someone who likes Hillary made sure everyone heard his middle name in ads in NV

before our caucus. What was the point of that?

[krabigirl]

54. pretty lame, that

[Rockholm]

61. Well, many have started with the Rodham bit, so...

I guess middle names are on the table....HUSSEIN.

[Hekate]

101. AFAIK Hillary used her maiden name professionally for years after marrying Bill

When he ran for president she embraced the last name of Clinton, but continued to keep Rodham as part of her name. Her full name is Hillary Rodham Clinton. She uses it, always has. I don't know what point you are trying to make here.

As for Hussein, it's a common name in Muslim cultures -- which his father came from. Our good ally the late King of Jordan was named Hussein. Remember him? King Hussein? He was a friend to us.

My mother chose our first names to match our father's very Irish last name. My Asian-American classmates in Hawaii ALL had middle names reflecting their parents' heritage. It's an ethnic pride thing, maybe you wouldn't understand.

Hekate

[Celeborn Skywalker]

58. And?

90% of America won't be offended by that statement and rightly so.

[krabigirl]

64. 90%?

[goodgd_yall]

63. Yeah---out of context it sounds bad, but

as other posts have pointed out---it's to put to rest those muslim rumors. He has to lay it on thick.

[krabigirl]

65. Yeah, well, he could have said there's nothing wrong with being Muslim...

[Renew Deal]

68. So is the majority of the Democratic party.

Also, Obama has been attacked on this, so he deserves to reply.

[Bluebear]

71. "God delivered me from homosexuality!!!"

Heard at a Barack Obama event. By the master of ceremonies.

[Danger Mouse]

75. oh no!!!! lock up our children!

sigh.
non-issue.

[mzmolly]

76. And this is troubling because????

Wasn't MLK a "proud Christian?"

[mondo joe]

80. Pride is a sin. I never thought of MLK as proud, but humble. NT

[mzmolly]

86. Ah, so it's the "pride" thing. I do hope he'll say "I'm a humble Christian" at the next debate to

quell these serious concerns. ;)

A few key quotes from MLK on this day of remembrance.

"I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over, and I've seen the Promised Land."
~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

"To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.
~ Martin Luther King, Jr."

"Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will.
~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

[mondo joe]

92. For what it's worth, I've had enough of a Preacher In Chief for one lifetime.

I long for a time when religion was a more personal than political matter.

[CyberPieHole]

100. After the "born again" bible loving W Bush...why would anyone want more of that?

It's so hypocritical...if someone is truly pious and religious, I don't really need to have them share their spiritual awakening with me. I don't want to be anywhere near someone who wants me to convert or wants to make me see god(dess) through their eyes. "Pride" in one's religious beliefs is not needed in the political scene.

[onenote]

113. which is why I assume you were very bothered by this speech by HRC

http://www.hillaryclinton.com/news/speech/view/?id=1362

[MrSlayer]

90. And I proudly proclaim to be my own god.

Good for him.

[BenDavid]

91. Do I really need to know that. Words and deeds is what makes

the person.....that was what hrc was getting across that obama has plenty of words but his deeds do not back him up.....

[Bread and Circus]

96. I'm a proud agnostic so stfu

and if you really think about it, Jesus was one of the best spokespeople for progressive causes that their is.

Just because it's "cool" on DU to hate Christians doesn't make you cool.

It just makes you a bigot.

[ClericJohnPreston]

98. Dammit!

Keep F'in religion out of a debate for a while, huh?

I've seen enough death in this world and it's history at the hands of "righteous" Christians.

I am sick of Fundie like oratory, passing for morals. Christianity with these folk is about good intentions. Well, the road to Hell is paved with good intentions.

If you don't believe that, ask good Christian, George W. Bush, about it.

[Critters2]

109. He's not a fundie.

He belongs to the most liberal Christian denomination in the country. All Christians are not fundies.

[FrenchieCat]

104. I am a proud Christian too? Do you have a problem with that?

[Hekate]

114. Not me, FrenchieCat. Sorry that so many other DUers can't see past their own pain &/or bigotry. nt

[Politicub]

107. Well whoop di doo... Does he want a cookie?

Or a Communion wafer?

[Tom Rinaldo]

111. Funny, so was MLK Jr. So is Jimmy Carter

I could list some other proud Christians who I am proud to be in solidarity with but it is pointless if those two examples don't suffice.

If anyone here thinks that Democrats should start automatically equating those who are sincere in their Christian faith with negative values; welcome to the coming Republican century.

Who do we want to write off after the Christians? Jews? Muslims? Wiccans? Atheists perhaps?

Give me a reason to be upset with actual positions Obama takes and maybe I'll get upset, but not for being proud of his personal faith.

Does anyone seriously think Democrats should claim to be ashamed to be Christians, or that Democrats need to all leave their churches?

What nonsense.

[yardwork]

112. I understand why Obama said that, and I think it's sad that it's necessary.

I don't blame Obama. Every candidate has to be a Christian. Just once I'd like to have a viable candidate who was not Christian, but that probably won't happen in my lifetime.

Sometimes I get so tired of this country and it's narrow-mindedness.

[McCamy Taylor]

115. I think the "Reagan change" comment was meant to address the "Black Muslim" rumor too

However, both comments struck me as inappropriate. A strong leader does not rush to wrap himself in the flag when he is attacked. He stands up to bullies and shows them that he is not afraid.

I do not want a president who is all preachy about being a Christian. I am not a Christian. I have never been one, and I never intend to become one, and I do not see what it has to do with being president. Obama annoyed the hell out of me when he said that. Couldn't he have just said something like "Faith is a private matter"?

[Occam Bandage]

116. "We are trying to inject faith into policy." - Sen. Clinton.