Obama Unchurched?
It seems that Senator Obama, the soon to be President Elect1 may be unchurched.
Allegedly, in the three weeks since the national elections, the senator has decided to workout on Sundays, but has not attended church. This is a marked change from past presidents who largely attended church both before and after their inagurations. We and other Christians find this behavior troubling as the senator is not modeling behaviors for the current and future generations of American Christian youth. This strikes us as a distinct lack of moral leadership. What is a parent to answer when a teenager points out that even the President skips church, so what's the big deal?
When asked about the senator's Sunday behavior, an aide stated:
"Because they have a great deal of respect for places of worship, they do not want to draw unwelcome or inappropriate attention to a church not used to the attention their attendance would draw."
Attention hasn't seemed to have been an impediment to past Presidents. Why suddenly now? There are any number of ministers, priests, rabbis, and/or imams that would make "housecalls" and hold a private worship service for the Obamas and their transition staff.
Already at least one pro-Obama site has stepped in to the senator's defense. The site notes that the reporters "ignored numerous reports of Bush's infrequent church attendance over the past eight years, as well as his reported lack of membership in a Washington congregation."
Since when does poor behavior by another mature adult excuse the behavior of another mature adult? Where does one find that teaching in scripture? One doesn't.
The current defense of the senator's Sunday behavior, or lack thereof, is to claim that the senator has not yet "shopped" for a church in Washington D.C.. To which we would ask the good senator, where have you been attending church the past two years that you have represented your state in the senate? Surely the senator has remained in D.C. over a weekend while the senate was in session. Where did the senator attend church previously?
Personally, when someone tells us about "shopping" for a church, we would ask where is that taught in scripture. No where in scripture does one find the teaching to "shop" for a church. Shopping for a church is unbiblical.
Numerous D.C. area ministers have offered to host the Obamas at their church. Most notably, the Episcopal Church has offered the National Cathedral citing their "inclusiveness". With the recent layoffs of personnel at the National Cathedral, we have no doubts that they would like the first family as congregants and the security funding that may accompany the family. The cathedral is in need of repair and maintenance.
In closing, we ask the senator to reconsider his behavior and the message it conveys to current and future Christians. We ask that you, our readers, take a few moments right now to join us and other readers in praying for the senator and for a change in behavior.
[1 For the civics challenged: During the November elections, the American people voted for their state's electors. The electors have yet to vote, thus Obama is not yet the President Elect. It seems safe that he will be elected by the electors, unless the Supreme Court determines that he is ineligible due to not being a natural born citizen.
2 Also, in the interest of full disclosure, we did not vote for either Senator Obama nor Senator McCain, but voted our conscience for the best Christian candidate on our ballot. Our state went for McCain's electors by a large margin.]
Related Posts:
Barack Obama Faith Tour Flops
Obama for Catholic Women Ordination?
Source: Obama skips church, heads to gym
Allegedly, in the three weeks since the national elections, the senator has decided to workout on Sundays, but has not attended church. This is a marked change from past presidents who largely attended church both before and after their inagurations. We and other Christians find this behavior troubling as the senator is not modeling behaviors for the current and future generations of American Christian youth. This strikes us as a distinct lack of moral leadership. What is a parent to answer when a teenager points out that even the President skips church, so what's the big deal?
When asked about the senator's Sunday behavior, an aide stated:
"Because they have a great deal of respect for places of worship, they do not want to draw unwelcome or inappropriate attention to a church not used to the attention their attendance would draw."
Attention hasn't seemed to have been an impediment to past Presidents. Why suddenly now? There are any number of ministers, priests, rabbis, and/or imams that would make "housecalls" and hold a private worship service for the Obamas and their transition staff.
Already at least one pro-Obama site has stepped in to the senator's defense. The site notes that the reporters "ignored numerous reports of Bush's infrequent church attendance over the past eight years, as well as his reported lack of membership in a Washington congregation."
Since when does poor behavior by another mature adult excuse the behavior of another mature adult? Where does one find that teaching in scripture? One doesn't.
The current defense of the senator's Sunday behavior, or lack thereof, is to claim that the senator has not yet "shopped" for a church in Washington D.C.. To which we would ask the good senator, where have you been attending church the past two years that you have represented your state in the senate? Surely the senator has remained in D.C. over a weekend while the senate was in session. Where did the senator attend church previously?
Personally, when someone tells us about "shopping" for a church, we would ask where is that taught in scripture. No where in scripture does one find the teaching to "shop" for a church. Shopping for a church is unbiblical.
Numerous D.C. area ministers have offered to host the Obamas at their church. Most notably, the Episcopal Church has offered the National Cathedral citing their "inclusiveness". With the recent layoffs of personnel at the National Cathedral, we have no doubts that they would like the first family as congregants and the security funding that may accompany the family. The cathedral is in need of repair and maintenance.
In closing, we ask the senator to reconsider his behavior and the message it conveys to current and future Christians. We ask that you, our readers, take a few moments right now to join us and other readers in praying for the senator and for a change in behavior.
[1 For the civics challenged: During the November elections, the American people voted for their state's electors. The electors have yet to vote, thus Obama is not yet the President Elect. It seems safe that he will be elected by the electors, unless the Supreme Court determines that he is ineligible due to not being a natural born citizen.
2 Also, in the interest of full disclosure, we did not vote for either Senator Obama nor Senator McCain, but voted our conscience for the best Christian candidate on our ballot. Our state went for McCain's electors by a large margin.]
Related Posts:
Barack Obama Faith Tour Flops
Obama for Catholic Women Ordination?
Source: Obama skips church, heads to gym
Labels: Politics
1 Comments:
Greetings and Christ's peace be with you, brother Ted.
We have received and read your comment with the link to the Obama video. Our first reaction is that its blatant political spam. Rather than delete it, we will in Christian charity assume you have the best of intentions, did not post out of hatred, and give your comment further consideration.
Having webmastered dozens of sites and blogs for over a decade, we have a good feel for what spam and what isn't.
God bless... +Timothy
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