Michelle Boorstein, writing in the Washington Post's The Trail, sounded more like she was presenting a glowing Barack Obama campaign press release than a political story when she announced the hiring of Obama's new religious affairs adviser: Posted on 06/27/2008 6:16:52 PM PDT by PJ-Comix
Michelle Boorstein, writing in the Washington Post's The Trail, sounded more like she was presenting a glowing Barack Obama campaign press release than a political story when she announced the hiring of Obama's new religious affairs adviser:
Shaun Casey, who teaches religion and politics at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C., has been hired by the Obama campaign to focus on outreach to evangelical voters.
Casey, who has been informally advising the Obama campaign on faith issues for a year, next month will become a formal part of the faith outreach staff, Casey said today. His title will be senior adviser for religious affairs.
The Obama campaign plans a strong push to attract religious voters -- with small group "faith forums" held around the country, regular meetings with clergy of various faiths, frequent appearances in religious media and a faith outreach staff of a half-dozen that may grow as the general election nears. Expert observers, however, say they find the senator's outreach to white evangelicals the weakest part of the effort. It will be Casey's job, he explained, to get Barack Obama's story and policy positions out into the evangelical world.
It will also be Shaun Casey's job to explain to evangelicals his own religious beliefs such as his bizarre conviction that "Jesus was an illegal alien" which he proclaimed in Faithful Democrats:
...I am convinced Matthew included the flight to Egypt by Jesus and his family to show that Jesus' own story was part of the ancient story of Israel. They, too, fled to Egypt, suffered persecution, were redeemed by God, and then were empowered to live lives in solidarity with sojourners and aliens wherever they encountered them. Likewise disciples of Jesus throughout history pick up the same ministry of solidarity with displaced people. Jesus was an illegal alien and that ought to shape how we enter the current debate. But too often political ideology clouds good theology. In the current debate over immigration policy it distresses me to no end that so many of my fellow church goers ignore this fundamental tenet that should be central to our identity. Instead as theological amnesiacs we insist on a secular law and order ideology over a biblical mandate.
Great way for outreaching to evangelicals by reinterpreting the Bible to conform with trendy leftwing 21st century political ideology. Apparently Ms Boorstein did little research on the background of Shaun Casey who was previously in the news running cover for Obama over the Reverend Wright controversy. Boorstein also seems to imply that Casey himself is an evangelical without actually saying so:
Casey, who was raised an evangelical and received his undergraduate degree from Abilene Christian University before heading to Harvard Divinity School, has also informally advised Sen. John Kerry and Democratic Party chair Howard Dean in the past.
So Casey was "raised an evangelical" but does that mean he is one now? Boorstein does not say. She also neglected to tell the readers that Casey is a visiting fellow with the far left Center For American Progress which, along with Media Matters, is heavily funded by billionaire George Soros. Among the "charitable" projects of this group is a blatant attempt to silence conservative talk radio. Perhaps CAP visiting fellow Shaun Casey can cite for us the Bible passage justifying censorship.
It’s stunning how stupid these people are...I geuss next they’ll tell us Jesus was from outer space.
Just healing the people and turning water into wine that other Sons of God wouldn’t perform.
So this guy is from the religious left?
There are religious leftists, though they are not too well known. But they talk about the Bible verse which says “Blessed are the peacemakers”, which they interpret to mean that wars should not be fought. And they use this to lecture us about the Iraq war. And they say how Jesus preached to the poor, and urged us to take care of the poor, which they interpret to mean that government programs for the poor must be expanded.
This is like the liberals who always want to compare the Holy Family to the 'homeless' at Christmas, when their situation was more like a family who drove into NYC, and couldn't find a hotel room for the night.
Casey soon to be under this.
And Mary and Joseph were homeless... We hear that every Christmas too. But did they not have a home in their own town?? They were travelers who could not find a place to lodge, not homeless.
I saw the Obamamessiah feed 5,000 democrats with 5 loaves of whole wheat bread and two buckets of tofu....
So this pasty tub of lard is supposed to erase the memory of Jeremiah Wright? Are these people serious?
who=how :)
Uhm, no he was a registered Roman subject. The whole reason for MAry and Joseph’s return was for the Census being taken.
Quite the track record.
So Jesus was a migrant looking for agricultural work?!? And Mexican’s coming across the border are fleeing a king that is killing all male children.
I thot he fed them all one load of crap and they ate every bite.
True. If they had the coin to request lodging, they were not homeless … just between homes. ;-)
“I thought he fed them all one load of crap and they ate every bite”
Oh he did, that was the point behind the whole wheat bread, see, he fed them their own crap and the ate every morsel and asked for more..
This, along with the “no drill Democrats; will make McCain’s job easier.
Exactly right!
Serious as a fart attack!
Thank You, Jesus!!
I might gently suggest that Jesus wasn’t born when his Joseph and Mary found themselves moving to Bethlehem. ;-)
re: Harvard Divinity School
I once dated a woman who was a grad student at HDS (this was in the mid-80s). From what she described of her profs and fellow students it had long been a hot-bed of far left politically correct b.s. that would make much of Beserkly look moderate. Not surprisingly, that relationship (me with her) couldn’t last. If this guy was not already a flaming leftist when he reached HDS he certainly imbibed it well there. I doubt that there are many traces of Christianity remaining at the Harvard Divinity School.
Good idea! We could crucify the invaders.
Yet another seminary-trained scholar who looks down the well of history to see the “historical Jesus” and sees his own face (or at least what he wants to see).
When the family of Jesus fled to Egypt to avoid prosecution (so to speak), then, perhaps he might have been considered an illegal alien … not before. ;-)
“Uhm, no he was a registered Roman subject.”
Bingo. This would be akin to a person fleeing prosecution by crossing a STATE line, not a national boundary.
They were political refugees, if you want to get all moderin about it.
“From what she described of her profs and fellow students it had long been a hot-bed of far left politically correct b.s. that would make much of Beserkly look moderate.”
Most main-line seminaries are the same. I once visited a United Methodist seminary and was surprised to see several Communist cabinet ministers from Nicaragua.
In fact, the seminary that I attended rarely had any white males on the Dean’s List. When I asked about this problem, I was told that any sexism or racism that might be present against white males was justified as a sort of payback.
Obama’s faith issues advisor.....yeesh.
???????????
None. I met a recent grad of the school and asked what denomination they belonged to. The Answer? I'm not particularly religious so I don't actually belong to any.
With people like this teaching theology, no wonder we have few preaches worth a crap these days. He teaches from the religious pontificators and “high thinkers” of the past and present, not from a knowledge of the Bible. ;-)
The whole Eastern Levant as well as Egypt were Roman possessions, albeit administered in a variety of ways ~ Jesus was hardly an “illegal alien”.
FYI
Jesus was born in Israel, to Jewish parents... what part of that makes HIM an illegal immigrant???
This statement just goes to prove just how right Dobson was and then some in his statement about Obama.
Perhaps he can get rev wright or rev phelger to help, with this"explanation"
For some one with such self proclaimed Christian faith....he sure surrounds himself with heretics and theological morons.
Drama Queen!
I didn’t read the article, just the title. I read a few comments. I would suggest that everyone here is misreading the title...or at least mispronouncing it.
I believe in this case, jesus is pronounced “hay-zoos”. There’s lots and lots of hayzooses here in america illegally.
Am I wrong?
*GAG*SNORT* BOURBON OUT THE NOSE ALERT!!!!!!
We’re not crucifying Illegal aliens.
These people are insane! Jesus is Creator and Lord of Heaven and Earth.
Jesus was the son of a blue collar worker who with his pregnant wife was driven out of his house and home to register to pay taxes.
He was not illegal, he was a subject of Rome.
When I hear nonsense such as “Jesus was an Illegal”, I am reminded that massive imbecility walks the face of the earth.
Obama is an illegal alien too. He was born in Africa, and brought into the country without a visa, and never naturalized, even though he could have been in ‘86.
That’s one way to cure a sinus infection.
It's a simple fact. Joseph and Mary had a life and a residence in Nazareth but the Roman census required them to return to his birthplace, Bethlehem, for the census. They had official sanction to be in Bethlehem, but they had no residence there while the census was taken.
Nothing "illegal" about it, Boorstein, you moron. Anyone stupid emough to announce that "Jesus was an illegal alien" should have whatever bogus academic credentials he has taken away.
There are some from other places but not in large numbers.
How do you get Obama’s mother to Africa in the first place? Even Obama’s baby daddy didn’t go back during the time he was a student here. Remember, his baby daddy was a Harvard graduate lawyer too!
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