FALSANI:
What do you believe?
OBAMA:
I am a Christian.
So, I have a deep faith. So I draw from the Christian faith.
On the other hand, I was born in Hawaii where obviously there are a lot of Eastern influences.
I lived in Indonesia, the largest Muslim country in the world, between the ages of six and 10.
My father was from Kenya, and although he was probably most accurately labeled an agnostic, his father was Muslim.
And I’d say, probably, intellectually I’ve drawn as much from Judaism as any other faith.
So, I’m rooted in the Christian tradition. I believe that there are many paths to the same place, and that is a belief that there is a higher power, a belief that we are connected as a people. That there are values that transcend race or culture, that move us forward, and there’s an obligation for all of us individually as well as collectively to take responsibility to make those values lived.
And so, part of my project in life was probably to spend the first 40 years of my life figuring out what I did believe - I’m 42 now - and it’s not that I had it all completely worked out, but I’m spending a lot of time now trying to apply what I believe and trying to live up to those values.
The most important Christian value is that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior. Didn’t see much mention of that value in Obama’s answer. It makes me wonder, if he was asked directly, “Is Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior?”, what do you think his answer would be? I think he would reel off about three or four sentences about helping the poor, and so on. But he would not answer that question with a “ Yes.”
You forgot to include the part where Falsani asks him about Jesus. He starts out by saying “Jesus is an interesting guy for me...I try to live my life like he did” Nothing about Jesus being his Lord and Savior. How can he say he is “rooted” in the Christian faith when all his other references were to Islam. Such a poser.