Posts Tagged ‘Barack Obama’

« Older Entries

ACTION: Stop Ugandan “Kill the Gays” Bill Author from Speaking at National Prayer Breakfast

Sunday, January 17th, 2010

For those who don’t know, there’s a proposed bill in Uganda that would criminalize homosexuality – prescribing a life sentence or even the death penalty for those found to be gay or lesbian. This hateful bill, which should be odious to anyone with a conscience, has been pushed by a Christian leader in Uganda, David Bahati. And according to the Uganda Daily Monitor, Bahati is going to be speaking at the National Prayer Breakfast here in the U.S. on February 4 – an event the President also traditionally speaks at.

No matter what differences of opinion we might have on the question of whether homosexuality is permissible for Christians, it’s clear that the proposed bill in Uganda should be opposed by anyone who calls him- or herself a Christian. A bill prescribing the death penalty for gay men and lesbians is completely incompatible with any understanding of the love of Jesus Christ. The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Uganda has spoken out against this bill, as have prominent American Christian leaders including Rick Warren. That the author of such a hateful and disgusting bill is being invited to speak at the National Prayer Breakfast should certainly raise questions about the true agenda of the group organizing the Breakfast – a Christian group called The Fellowship.

We need to stand together as one faith – conservatives, liberals, moderates – and condemn this bill. We need to stand together and demand that the prime mover of such an un-Christian bill not be honored with a prime position at the National Prayer Breakfast. Anyone who calls him- or herself Christian needs to make his or her voice heard – honoring David Bahati is incompatible with Christianity.

Unfortunately, The Fellowship, who organizes the prayer breakfast, isn’t all that interested in receiving input from concerned citizens. They don’t have a webpage, and the National Prayer Breakfast also doesn’t have a webpage. (One would think that any group that was truly acting out of the love of Christ wouldn’t have anything to hide, but that’s neither here nor there.) So we’re going to have to work this from the other end.

Call the White House at 202-456-1111 or email the White House from this page to call on the President to condemn Bahati and demand of The Fellowship that Bahati be uninvited. Also, members of Congress generally attend this breakfast; call your Representative and Senators and let them know that they need to demand that The Fellowship disinvite Bahati. Finally, call on your denominational leaders or other prominent figures in your Christian tradition to publicly denounce Bahati and demand that he not be invited to this Prayer Breakfast.

The name of Christ is being dragged through the mud by those who would make His banner one of hate and punishment instead of one of love and forgiveness. You have an opportunity to stop that. Will you take it?

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in Christian Community | No Comments »

Psalm 109:8 and Violent Rhetoric

Wednesday, November 18th, 2009

The Christian Science Monitor is reporting on a new phenomenon making its way throughout evangelical culture: bumper-stickers that read “Pray for Obama: Psalm 109:8″. If you take the time to look up the verse you see this:

8 May his days be few;
may another take his place of leadership. (NIV)

Okay, cute, right? They want someone else to be President. How amusing. Whatever.

Except that the Psalm doesn’t stop there. It goes on to say:

9 May his children be fatherless
and his wife a widow.

10 May his children be wandering beggars;
may they be driven from their ruined homes.

Aaaaaaaand now we’re getting into the territory where things turn decidedly un-Christian.

It’s pretty clear to me that this imprecatory psalm isn’t innocuous; at the very least, the person praying this psalm is praying for the death of the President. If one considers the link between violent language and violent deeds – a link we’ve talked about before – it becomes pretty clear that this could be seen as a clarion call to assassination.

Frank Schaeffer (son of Francis Schaeffer) makes this point succinctly in his interview with Rachel Maddow about this phenomenon:

“But now it turns out [in right-wing rhetoric] that he joins the ranks of the unjust kings of ancient Israel, unjust rulers to which all these Biblical allusions are directed, who should be slaughtered if not by God then by just men [. . .] Really, this is trawling for assassins, and this is serious business.”

I’d like to echo what Schaeffer said right there: This is serious business. Words do things; violent rhetoric breeds violent actions. When someone is praying for the President to be struck down by God, it’s only one step further for that person to decide that he or she is God’s instrument to carry out what he or she sees as God’s justice. This is scary stuff here – and it’s only being compounded (again, as Schaeffer points out) by the Manichaean, apocalyptic worldview many evangelical Christians are succumbing to.

But of course, we Christians know that many of the people who would pray this psalm don’t really want to see President Obama struck down – they just want him voted out of office in 2012. Fine. But that’s not what this psalm says, and if we’re nothing else in this world, we should be honest. Praying for God to strike down political leaders we disagree with is not Christian – and those who display bumper stickers, or T-shirts, or coffee mugs bearing a Bible reference that calls for Michelle Obama to be made a widow and Sasha and Malia to be “fatherless” and “wandering beggars” soil the name of Christ in this world. They give all Christians a bad name with their implication that such thinking is in any way in line with Christian morality or values.

In other words – all Christians should stand side-by-side against such thinking. There’s nothing “cute” or “amusing” about a bumper sticker or a T-shirt that calls for the President of the United States to be killed, whether that be by God’s hand or man’s. For the sake of the Gospel, for the sake of Christianity’s reputation in a skeptical world, we must stand against this phenomenon and be vocal about our stance. We must make it clear that such rhetoric is in no way Christian, and that those who would pray such a thing are not praying in the Holy Spirit.

The upshot of this is clear: If you’re a Christian, and someone you know has one of these bumper-stickers, you have a responsibility to say something to them – particularly if they’re part of your church. If responsible Christians don’t stand up against hateful and violent language among us, we shouldn’t be surprised when the world thinks we’re hateful and violent. We need to stand up to our fellow Christians and let them know that things like this bumper-sticker are not of Christ, and tell them in the name of Jesus that they need to stop using violent and hateful language.

And we need to pray for President Obama, whether or not we agree with his politics, as Paul says in 1 Timothy:

I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.

May we continue to hold up our President and all our leaders in prayer during these troubling times.

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in Christian Community, Religious Right | 5 Comments »

Sotomayor and the WOMEN of Iran

Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009

Judge Sonia Sotomayor, a wise Latina woman, made the headlines for several days – if not a few weeks – as she was slandered and labeled a dubious character because of a comment she made a while back about a wise Latina woman making better decisions than a white male. Regardless of what anyone thinks of the comment one should look beneath the surface to reach the source of the comment:
Power.

The fact is that women, regardless of their age, race, or class, have been subjected to various forms of the sin of sexism. Women, for the sheer fact that they are women, have been and are abused, stereotyped, taken advantage of, etc., and as we see in the brave and courageous faces of the women of Iran, silenced and subjected to abuse, violence, all because of an age old myth that the God of heaven and earth has ordained that female be less than and subject to male. (Incidentally, this myth has made its mark in many religious traditions). This sinful lie has made its home in our hearts causing all of us to give in and to live in ways that are not reflective of the kingdom which Jesus spoke of.

So, when Sotomayor made this comment she was – may I conjecture – speaking of her experience as a Latina woman who has had to struggle harder to find power in this world than most white males. As a result, her experience as a Latina woman would be different than that of a white male who would have power by the sheer fact that he is a white male. The experience and insight of a person who has had to struggle more for power always has something unique and powerful to offer those of us who have not had to struggle as much to gain power. Therefore, some might be appalled and perplexed by the statement, but we must realize that what we say and what we do always has context; experience will always inform how we think (even those who are interpreting and making and enforcing law).

All that being said, we see the tragic and at the same time inspiring events unfold in Iran as we see the faces of women who are legally 2nd class citizens in that country courageously stand up to the sinful forces that have so cruelly and violently enforced the myth. We see the face of men and women who want to have power for and with one another and not over and against each other. Now more than ever the voices, the stories and the EXPERIENCES of these women are finding their way into our homes and soon, if not already, we will begin – only begin – to realize how some of us are simply given more power than others for the sheer fact that we are male, or that we are American, or this or that, and there is no reason to be defensive, but instead to humble ourselves, especially as people of faith, and ask how we might live in ways that our more reflective and proactive in  destroying the various myths we’ve internalized about women, about Muslims and so on, and cherish one another seeking to have power WITH and FOR each other and not OVER and AGAINST one another.

Finally, in these challenging times President Obama is being urged to take more action as the oppression, suppression, and violence against the Iranian people increases. May we be hard pressed to think and pray for this situation because, as Martin Luther King Jr. has reminded us, “Violence begets violence.” What fruit would an attack on Iran produce? Would it help the survivors of the oppressed in this country?

May God grant the men and women of Iran God’s peace, comfort and continued courage.  Amen.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Christian Community, Gender Equality, Interfaith Relations, Peace Concerns | No Comments »

Gareth Higgins: Eschatology or Bigotry?

Thursday, May 28th, 2009

Over at the Sojourners’ Culture Watch blog, Gareth Higgins has an excellent post on the discourse that’s still swirling around certain segments of the evangelical Right that wants to paint President Obama as the Antichrist – and, more importantly, the unwillingness of the Right’s spokespeople to stand up to their own compatriots and vociferously challenge this characterization:

The sum: I don’t know what Glenn Beck actually believes about the book of Revelation (for what it’s worth, I happen to think it’s an amazing book of metaphorical prose offering comfort to people being persecuted and naming the metaphysical core of the universe: that the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it, rather than a dimestore almanac of future events), but he’s certainly happy not to challenge his listeners when they suggest that President Obama is in league with Satan. I know many of us feel like we say this every day: We need a better conversation in this country.

Absolutely. I’d also add that the things Beck’s caller sees as signs that Obama is the Antichrist – raising taxes on the rich, exercising oversight over troubled industries, working toward a more cooperative foreign policy – are utterly banal, and point to a recurring problem in the discourse of the Christian Right. When you’re doing everything in your power to cultivate a Manichaean worldview among your audience, they’ll be inclined to see the most small and normal things – like differences in opinion on tax policy, for example – as the surface elements of a deep and conspiratorial struggle between Good and Evil. If everything is viewed in the light of a dispensational eschatology, a battle between the divine conspiracy and the demonic conspiracy, then everything one disagrees with is a sign of the demonic conspiracy – it can be no other way. A charismatic figure who wants to enact progressive policies can’t just be someone with different opinions; he must be the Antichrist.

This idea severely poisons our politics, which rests on the idea that people with just and good intentions can and will disagree on public policy matters – in fact, the system is designed for them to disagree and come to reasonable compromises. If every matter of public policy is another battleground in the ultimate war between Good and Evil, then compromise anywhere, on any matter, is sin. This not only leads to people thinking along the lines of the Glenn Beck caller described by Mr. Higgins, but also to things like the decline of the moderate wing of the Republican Party (as evidenced by the recent departure of Arlen Specter from that caucus in the face of a radical right-wing primary challenge) – which leads to an inability to get things done in the halls of our state and federal legislatures. If politicians can’t compromise for fear of getting booted by their own party for being a [D/R]INO*, then they can’t be effective legislators – because our entire system is built on compromise.

Anyway, Mr. Higgins’s whole post is well worth the read. Take a look and join in the conversation – either on the Sojourners blog or over here.

* [Democrat or Republican] In Name Only

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Christian Community, Religious Right | 3 Comments »

Obama appoints Miguel Diaz as Vatican Ambassador

Thursday, May 28th, 2009

I was delighted to read this morning that President Obama has named Miguel Diaz as the new US Ambassador to the Holy See. Diaz is a Catholic theologian at St. John’s University Seminary and member of Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good. He’s written extensively on systematic theology – particularly Trinitarian theology – and about theology from a Latino/a perspective.

From the news story:

The Roman Catholic theologian from Minnesota nominated as U.S. ambassador to the Vatican is a “gifted bridge-builder” whose ability “to bring people together for spirited discussions and honest interchanges” would serve him well in the highly sensitive role, a colleague said Wednesday night. . . .

“I am very honored, grateful, and humbled that President Obama has nominated me to serve as ambassador to the Holy See. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, I will continue the work of my predecessors and build upon 25 years of formal diplomatic relations with the Holy See. I wish to be a bridge between our nation and the Holy See.”

His colleagues have a lot of nice things to say about him as well…

“The College of Saint Benedict is enormously proud that Miguel has been nominated by President Obama for this important post,” said MaryAnn Baenninger, president of the College of Saint Benedict. “Miguel is a highly-respected theologian and scholar, and an excellent teacher. Most importantly, he has a deep commitment to Catholic social justice and to inclusiveness in the Catholic Church. He truly lives a life of faith. He is the ideal candidate for this post.”

Congratulations, Prof. Diaz. We’re sure you’ll do a great job.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Christian Community | No Comments »

President Obama Speaks at Notre Dame

Sunday, May 17th, 2009

Today, amid a great deal of controversy, President Obama delivered the commencement address at the University of Notre Dame. As a rhetorical scholar, I’m very impressed (but not all that surprised!) by the way President Obama used the controversy and the public attention surrounding his visit to motivate his speech and call for common ground; I can’t help but think that that part of his speech is about as good a mission statement for the growing Christian progressive movement as we can find.

We’d also like to congratulate and express our gratitude to our friends at Catholics United and Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good for their tireless work on behalf of common ground and dialogue, in providing a space for people to express their support for Notre Dame President Fr. John Jenkins and his choice to invite President Obama to deliver this year’s commencement.

Finally, we’d like to congratulate Notre Dame’s class of 2009 – and all this year’s graduates – on their degrees. The young are this nation’s most valuable resource; young Christians are the vanguard of changing the religious conversation in this country to a more progressive one. Congrats… now go out and change the world.

Part 1:

Parts 2-4, and a transcript, after the jump:
(more…)

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in Abortion Reduction, Christian Community | 1 Comment »

The Economist interviews Douglas Kmiec – and musings about the Supreme Court

Monday, May 11th, 2009

Douglas Kmiec, who worked with the Matthew 25 Network during the 2008 election, did an interview for The Economist’s Democracy in America blog, with issues ranging from President Obama’s address at Notre Dame to the upcoming Supreme Court nomination. It’s definitely worth reading. Here are some of the highlights:

[Kmiec:] In campaigning for the presidency, Mr Obama refused to follow the opposition’s consistent ploy of using religious differences as a tool of division. To that end, the president would do well to take a page from the campaign and encourage the graduates to bring their faith into the public square, while being careful not to assume that their religion will always be given preference. 

This is an excellent message… of course we at the Matthew 25 Network believe that our faith should affect our politics. We think that things like working against poverty, opposing needless war, opposing torture, working to heal this nation’s racism and sexism, are moral issues as well as practical ones. At the same time, though, we have to recognize that we’re going into a public square where not everyone shares our religious values – and learn to talk about our political, ethical, and moral beliefs in terms that are accessible to people of any or no faith, not just for people who share our faith traditions.

Mr Obama also said he would look for the quality of empathy in his judicial selections.  The president, I believe, uses the term to convey that justices should be impartial, but not indifferent. Law and adjudication is not just a mental exercise in doctrinal neatness.  An Obama nominee should be capable of understanding the real-life consequences of judicial outcomes, especially for those who are least advantaged.  This is refreshingly attractive and informs Mr Obama’s desire to nominate justices with a broader life experience than one spent largely in a classroom or appellate courtroom.

I couldn’t agree more. While judges should follow the law, President Obama is right in pointing out that laws affect real people – that any judge who is ruling as if the law is some academic construct is missing a key part of the system.

The president of my dear alma mater Fuller Seminary, Richard Mouw, is fond of using this metaphor (originally coined by Japanese-American theologian Kosuke Koyama) about the way we look at God: do we worship a generous God or a stingy God? Is God looking to give, or to withhold?

At the risk of trivializing Drs. Mouw and Koyama’s brilliant observation – and let me be clear that by no means am I equating these things – I think we should look for a Supreme Court nominee who’s energized by seeing the same principle in interpreting the law. I think we should look for a jurist who looks at the grey areas in the law with an eye toward helping out the little guy, toward being compassionate to those who need compassion, toward bringing true justice – someone who sees the law as an opportunity for generosity rather than stinginess. That’s what I hope President Obama means when he talks about wanting a Supreme Court nominee with empathy.

Anyway, the rest of Dr. Kmiec’s interview is here… and Dr. Kmiec talks about the issues in a far more intelligent way than I can. It’s definitely worth a read.

Thanks to the Faith in Public Life newsroom for the link!

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Economic Justice, News Feed | No Comments »

James Dobson and the National Day of Prayer

Saturday, May 9th, 2009

Apparently James Dobson is a little miffed that President Obama didn’t do enough for the National Day of Prayer:

Evangelical author and radio host James Dobson said that he is “disappointed” that for the first time in nearly two decades there was no representative from the White House during the National Day of Prayer event. . . .

Dobson and his wife were organizers of a four-hour program on Capitol Hill marking the nationwide day designated by Congress as a day of prayer, which brought together members of Congress, military leaders, ministers and an NFL star.

Now, first off, let’s ask exactly who gave James and Shirley Dobson the authority to declare any “official” event for the National Day of Prayer. Dobson has long been known as a member of the hard-line reactionary Christian Right movement; wouldn’t any event that wants to be bipartisan and inclusive – as this event claims to be – pick someone a little less openly allied with the extreme Right as their figurehead?

Second, there’s this little tidbit from the very end:

However, a White House source with direct knowledge of the situation, said event organizers placed restrictions on potential speakers saying that they had to be “pro-life” and the only person officially invited from the administration was Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, a Republican.

This lays bare the very heart of the problem with the extreme Christian Right as represented by Dobson. To suggest that only people who favor the criminalization of abortion are acceptable as representatives of the administration at this event – which is supposed to be inclusive of all faiths – is to suggest that religion is synonymous with being pro-criminalization on the abortion issue. It sends a message of exclusion to anyone who has an opinion that differs from the pro-criminalization party line of the Christian Right.

In addition, why is being pro-criminalization their litmus test – especially given that Jesus Christ said a heck of a lot more about the way we order our money than the absolutely nothing He said about abortion? If we’re going to have a national display of piety, and we’re going to be deciding who is and isn’t acceptable based on political positions, why is abortion the issue? Why not ask representatives to take a stand against torture, against preemptive war, against wealth inequality, against our country’s pandemic of hate?

If anything’s clear from this, it’s that James Dobson wasn’t ever really interested in having a bipartisan and inclusive National Day of Prayer. He was just interested in getting another chance to further his reactionary right-wing agenda and stick it to the Obama administration by any means necessary, including by politically hijacking a day when people of faith should be coming together in goodwill.

If using a day of prayer in a pathetic attempt to score cheap political points isn’t taking the Lord’s name in vain, then the Third Commandment has no meaning at all.

Oh, and while we’re on the subject of Bible verses Dr. Dobson should review, here’s another:

[Jesus said:] “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

Matthew 6:5-6

But of course, that would question the very notion of a National Day of Prayer…

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Interfaith Relations, Religious Right | 1 Comment »

A “Christian” Nation?

Wednesday, April 8th, 2009

Recently, Obama has taken a lot of “heat” from various sectors because he said that the United States does not consider itself a “Christian nation, a Jewish nation, or a Muslim nation…” Obama made this speech in Turkey earlier this week suggesting that the U.S. and Turkey could forge a friendship, which he asserted might send a powerful message to the global community. Some retorted, insisting that this nation is in fact a Christian nation. Many cited the assertion that the founding forbears of this country were Christian. Such arguments are important for all of us as Christians and as citizens of a very religiously diverse nation to ponder. Yet, the question inevitably will lead us to a discussion of what exactly being a Christian nation might mean:

So, founded on Christian principles by Christian forbears? Sure. Yet, are not many of these same principles also principles found in many of the other religious traditions in the United States?

Even more, is the fact that a majority of the population cites Christianity as its religion enough to argue that a nation is Christian or Muslim, or Jewish, etc.? If so, then we all must ask ourselves what this might mean; for Christians in a supposedly Christian nation it may mean that if we say we are a Christian nation that we might believe that we need to be the dominant population, the dominant ideology, etc., yet, is this a Christian perspective? Also, if we say we are a Christian nation, then does that mean that our government is Christian and that we then consider our legislative policies, such as our past or even our current policies on torture, to be Christian?Doesn’t and hasn’t the claim that we are a Christian nation meant that we have somehow allowed ourselves to believe that we are entitled to a certain status in this world? Doesn’t and hasn’t the notion that we are a Christian nation allowed ourselves to believe that we are granted a special blessing from God? Isn’t that in many ways idolatrous?

Or, is being a Christian nation acting and living according to the so-called Christian principles we were founded by? Lest we forget that many who said we were a Christian nation also claimed slavery and segregation were “Christian” and that Martin Luther King, Jr., during the Civil Rights era, noted that while the United States espoused certain principles, it certainly did not live up to these principles.

So, what exactly makes a nation a “Christian” nation?

Regardless of our answer, the fact is that as Christians the questions that surround this issue are complex; as Christians do we desire our religion to be the religion of the “empire”? Or, do we maintain a distinct identity that is not tied to the empire? The issues may be complex, but as Christians we can and we must, at the very least, recall the sin of nationalism and what Scripture has to say to us about this particular sin.

Also, we have to ask ourselves what is at stake behind any desire to be called a Christian nation. Is there any desire for a special blessing from God behind this claim? After all, the fact remains that we can never claim that we are “blessed” in a particular way that suggests that this blessing is beyond that which any other nation might be blessed by God. To suggest we as a nation have a particular blessing because of certain principles we espouse or a certain population we are composed of would be to suggest, for example, that that the people in African nations are suffering from drought, famine, endless murder, rape, and genocide, because they are not particularly “Christian” enough. Not very Christian, is it?

May God have mercy on our claims to blessing and our notions of what it means to be a “Christian nation.”

Tags: ,
Posted in Christian Community, Interfaith Relations, Peace Concerns | 6 Comments »

Liturgies of Progress and Lament

Monday, March 9th, 2009

Like a preteen restlessly hoping for a deeper voice, America seems anxious to get beyond difficult issues by attaching a “post” prefix to everything. President Obama enters the White House from a campaign trail where red states meet blue states. Post-partisanship. A man who is black and biracial becomes president. Now, bewilderingly for some and joyously for many, journalists often image our nation as “post-racial”. To remix Abraham Lincoln, fondly do I hope, and fervently do I pray, that this scourge of racism will go away. But alas, that day is not today.

The ubiquity of the term post-racial is more than an artifact from a presidential election cycle. Rather, it represents our readiness, as a country, to prematurely eulogize the persistent correlations between race, poverty, geographic dislocation, etc. President Obama deserves credit for treating race with a measure of nuance. Yet far too frequently, Obama exchanges his law professor subtlety for MTV multiculturalism—a place where the correlations of race and social ills shuffle into an iPod of many colors, where every kid from every nation sings,”Only in America is my story even possible”. Or, switching songs on the same playlist, “only in America can a skinny kid with a funny name… ”. As a black seminarian, I love Obamarama. But I worry that the newness of our historical moment may cause us to miss old storylines. For instance, the leading sentiment of Obama’s “Change in America” is a brilliant, but repackaged, innovation of Reagan’s talk about “Morning in America”. Even more troubling, Obama’s rapid ascent to the White House—and his rhetoric about that rise—both encourage and enable a reassertion of the myth of rugged American individualism. And that myth, if I can remix Emma Lazarus this time, is about tired and huddled masses of every nation coming to a post-racial American meritocracy. President Obama is a historic and historical figure, the latest high priest of a distinctly American and modern liturgy of progress. And in his office, he is to lead the faithful beyond partisanship in Washington, caricature on talk radio, ideology in policy implementation, and of course, the specter of racism.

For Christians, whom I presume (safely, I hope) are unwilling to participate in this liturgy of progress, the question then becomes: are there any alternatives? Perhaps, we can recover liturgies of lament from the Psalms to discipline our expectations of public servants and of ourselves as politically engaged Christians. Such liturgies can make room for suffering in our sanctuaries, rooting our ultimate hopes for beloved community in God. And if we are doubly blessed, they will reorient our political imaginations to the sweat and struggle of a liberal democracy built on incrementalism.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Christian Community, Race Relations | No Comments »

« Older Entries