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Obama: When I struggle, I just think of Jesus’ agony in the garden
Hotair ^ | 04/04/2012 | Tina Korbe

Posted on 04/04/2012 10:41:20 AM PDT by SeekAndFind

At a prayer breakfast this morning, President Barack Obama said he looks to the story of Jesus' passion, death and resurrection for inspiration whenever he struggles:

The president got "Amens" from religious leaders at a White House prayer breakfast in the East Room as he recounted Jesus saying, "In this world, you will have trouble."

Obama says he's among those who sometimes question God's plan for him. But he says that's precisely when he recalls the "triumph" of the Easter story, and Jesus overcoming his doubts and fears before the crucifixion.

This isn't the first time Obama has cited Jesus and his Christian faith as an animating force in his life. A media double standard applies here, as it does in so many things: When GOP candidates talk about religion, they're often criticized for somehow not respecting Thomas Jefferson's principle of the separation of church and state, but, to my knowledge, Obama has never been criticized along the same lines for his religiously themed comments.

In the interest of avoiding a double standard myself, though, I’ll write that I find Obama’s comments encouraging. They display none of the weak understanding of Scripture that some of his past comments did; they’re just a generic tribute to the Easter story near the Easter holiday. While such a tribute might very well have had a partial political motivation, it might also have been sincere. Either way, it says something positive about this country that our president knows statements like these won’t hurt his standing in the eyes of the electorate.

More importantly, though, the passage he cited is a good one for any president — but especially for progressive presidents — to contemplate. “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace,” Jesus says in the Gospel of John, Chapter 16. “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” Perhaps pondering that verse with regularity will help Obama to realize that earthly utopia is neither the aim of Christianity nor a possibility in this fallen world. Perhaps that realization, in turn, will inspire him to recognize, “The purpose of politics is not redemptive” and that “When governments seek after utopia, they end in oppression and disaster, because man and society are infinitely complex, and cannot be reshaped by an aristocracy of experts. Humility is the only proper attitude for governing authorities,” as Heritage Foundation president Ed Feulner has written.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: jesus; obama; obamamessiah; prayerbreakfast
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1 posted on 04/04/2012 10:41:27 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind

You lie!


2 posted on 04/04/2012 10:43:57 AM PDT by Psycho_Bunny (Burning the Quran is a waste of perfectly good fire.)
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To: SeekAndFind

Conservatives talk about faith IN Jesus.

Barry thinks he IS Jesus.


3 posted on 04/04/2012 10:44:56 AM PDT by CaptainPhilFan
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To: SeekAndFind

Yes, Obama, you probably remember that scene well.

No doubt some of the demons that inhabit you were there that night to tempt the Lord.


4 posted on 04/04/2012 10:45:41 AM PDT by PetroniusMaximus
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To: SeekAndFind
Words fail.

Were there any reports of lightning bolts striking nearby during the speech.

5 posted on 04/04/2012 10:46:07 AM PDT by rdcbn
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To: SeekAndFind

I figured he’d say Jesus’ agony in the Garden of Eden. Lib politicians misquote the Bible on a regular basis.


6 posted on 04/04/2012 10:47:23 AM PDT by BipolarBob (If I had a son who jacked jewelry and dealt drugs, he would've looked like Trayvon.)
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To: SeekAndFind

I’m sure Jesus would’ve supported partial birth abortion, or that the whole issue of life was above his pay grade./s


7 posted on 04/04/2012 10:47:28 AM PDT by Marathoner (2 goals this year: (1) S##tcan Obamacare; (2) S##tcan Obama)
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To: SeekAndFind

Since when did he decided prayer breakfasts where worth having? Oh yeah, it’s election time....


8 posted on 04/04/2012 10:47:28 AM PDT by b4its2late (Patience is not a virtue, it is a waste of time.)
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To: SeekAndFind

I find that to be blasphemy and telling as to how “sick” Obama is.


9 posted on 04/04/2012 10:47:28 AM PDT by Sacajaweau
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To: SeekAndFind

Hey Barack!

How much of Christ’s agony was reflecting upon the 1,000,000 babies, killed every year, in the nation graced with the greatest wealth and liberty in history?


10 posted on 04/04/2012 10:47:31 AM PDT by G Larry (We are NOT obliged to carry the snake in our pocket and then dismiss the bites as natural behavior.)
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To: SeekAndFind

This Presidency is just one giant facepalm after another.


11 posted on 04/04/2012 10:47:33 AM PDT by alancarp (Liberals are all for shared pain... until they're included in the pain group.)
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To: SeekAndFind
Was that before or after, Obama let doctors kill late term babies that refused to die during the Abortion. And later threw them into a dumpster to die with out love or compassion? And fired a nurse who tried to save them or comfort them?

Is that the kind of “struggle” he is referring to?

12 posted on 04/04/2012 10:47:54 AM PDT by PSYCHO-FREEP (If you come to a fork in the road, take it........)
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To: SeekAndFind

Judas Iscariot had a walk-on part in the Garden. That’s what he must be thinking of.


13 posted on 04/04/2012 10:48:11 AM PDT by agere_contra
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To: SeekAndFind

Remember that even the devil can quote scripture.


14 posted on 04/04/2012 10:49:02 AM PDT by Biggirl ("Jesus talked to us as individuals"-Jim Vicevich/Thanks JimV!)
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To: SeekAndFind

“...and then the prophet Mohammed (pbuh) came to the garden and picked Jesus up on his flying horse, Barack, and carried him to Paradise to be with Abraham, Elijah, Moses, Noah, Adam and the other Muslim prophets, chief of which is Mohammed (pbuh), Allah Akbar...” Mr. Obama added.


15 posted on 04/04/2012 10:49:22 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet (Ich habe keinen Konig aber Gott)
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To: SeekAndFind

It’s a mystery to me why any believing Christian would want anything to do with the festival of humbug, smarm, idolatry, and moral vanity that is the American “prayer breakfast”.


16 posted on 04/04/2012 10:49:22 AM PDT by Romulus (The Traditional Latin Mass is the real Youth Mass)
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To: SeekAndFind

The arrogance and hubris from this toord is breathtaking.


17 posted on 04/04/2012 10:50:18 AM PDT by tgusa (gun control: deep breath, sight alignment, squeeze the trigger .......)
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To: PetroniusMaximus



"And he answered Him saying "My name is Legion for we are many."

(Mark 5:9)


18 posted on 04/04/2012 10:51:02 AM PDT by shibumi (Cover it with gas and set it on fire.)
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To: alancarp
This one gets the rare and coveted Papal Facepalm.


19 posted on 04/04/2012 10:51:16 AM PDT by NeoCaveman (SMOD 2012)
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To: SeekAndFind
Anybody remember this dreck?


20 posted on 04/04/2012 10:51:20 AM PDT by Joe 6-pack (Que me amat, amet et canem meum)
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