Posted on 04/06/2010 7:41:39 PM PDT by NoCmpromiz
President Obama bared his soul before a cross section of Christian leaders at a White House Easter breakfast on Tuesday (April 6), where he spoke publicly of his faith in redemption through Jesus in his most personal terms since becoming president.
"We are awed by the grace he showed even to those who would have killed him," Obama said, pausing occasionally to glance at written notes. "We are thankful for the sacrifice he gave for the sins of humanity. And we glory in the promise of redemption in the resurrection."
Obama said the Easter breakfast, along with a recent Passover Seder and a Ramadan dinner last fall, was part of his pledge to make the White House "a place where all people would feel welcome." Presidential aides also said it gave Obama the opportunity to thank Christian leaders for their community service.
"For those who are wondering or have doubts about whether he is authentically Christian, I think today's message puts all doubts to rest," said the Rev. Kirbyjon Caldwell, another Houston megachurch pastor who attended Tuesday's breakfast.
Obama's father was a Kenyan Muslim-turned-atheist, his mother an agnostic, and his Indonesian stepfather an unorthodox Muslim. Caldwell, who is close to Obama and his predecessor, President George W. Bush, said he is galled by the number of Americans -- one in 10 according to a 2009 poll -- who refuse to believe Obama is Christian.
Caldwell was also one of about 20 black clergy -- from denominational heads to pastors who knew Obama when he was a community organizer in Chicago -- who gathered with the president privately before the breakfast.
(Excerpt) Read more at blog.beliefnet.com ...
>>I think most Christians would say “He even showed grace to those who would (were about to) kill Him,” or “He even showed grace to those who killed Him.” <<
It is worse than that — He (yes, it is sad when people don’t know the difference between “He/Him” and “he/him”) granted both FORGIVENESS and INTERCESSION (a lesson that many do not learn) to His killers. This was accomplished though the grace of His Father.
Jesus didn’t SHOW grace — He HAD it.
You will know them by their ‘fruits’
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In, that verse (Matt 7) Christ is talking about false prophets, not behavior of believers. However, I definitely would classify zero as a false prophet and therefore the verse you referenced would be correct.
Yes, and that passage does give us reason to examine the tree...
Luke 6:43-45 (NIV):
43"No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. 44Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. 45The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.
And it seems from various reports, that there are a lot of fruits in 0bamacommie's past but that has been the subject of other threads. (Sorry, couldn't resist...)
Yes it says prophets..but it can also be applied to non believers. Just because it says prophets does not mean it it’s not applicable toward everyone. How do you choose between evil and good? By judging the fruits of that person...their actions. But If it makes you happy...
“Actions speak louder than words.”
Excellent. Thank you.
I’ll bet you a Cadbury Egg that Obama did not write his speech.
Anyone can SAY he’s a Christian. It takes a real Christian to ACT like one.
Obama’s Actions Speak Louder Than His Words.
Matthew 10 : 16 I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.
No, there are other verses that show how believers are to behave towards others (both believers and not). To apply that verse to everyone does violence to basic hermeneutical principles.
Therefore it would be improper to apply that to any group other than false prophets.
“Actions speak louder than words”, while perhaps biblical in principle is not a biblical text, nor does it work with the context of Matthew 7.
That said, I consider Obama to be a false prophet, so I do not object to Matthew 7 being used in relation to him.
I was thinking the same thing. He’s never made a straight statement on the subject.
It would be interesting to parse this statement and compare it to the muslim depiction of Jesus. I’ll bet they’d dovetail perfectly.
‘Bam’s got this “takiya” thing down.
If someone says they’re a Christian and talk about Christ crucified for our sins and redemption, then it is not within my power to see inside that person’s heart and call him deceiver just because I hate his politics.
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James 2 speaks about works in the life of a believer. We are to judge that. We are commanded elsewhere to judge those who claim to be Christian by their behavior and their doctrine.
While we can’t see into another’s heart, Christians, true Christians will wear their ‘heart’ on their sleeves.
You are correct.
Obama's (or his speech writer's) vocabulary is imprecise, to say the least (sometimes it is downright deceptive).
Obama likes to employ Christian buzz-words, but doesn't really understand what he is talking about.
Thank you. :-)
This is gonna be fun, and some ‘oprah Christianity’ going on ping!
BARF!!!
What? Did he finally release his sequestered documents? Is his past resurrected?
-PJ
>>Obama likes to employ Christian buzz-words, but doesn’t really understand what he is talking about.<<
Just like everything else. He is shooting for the “fool all of the people all of the time” paradigm (a word I uses guardedly).
Well, I may hate his politics and what he’s trying to do to the country, but if he’s talking about Christ dying for sins and redemption then I can’t speak against his being a Christian.
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I can. Not everyone who claims to be a Christian is one.
Obama likes to employ Christian buzz-words, but doesn’t really understand what he is talking about.
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Exactly.
:)
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