Free Republic

Is this man on drugs or something... Charismatic mega Church prosperity teacher Joel Osteen brands the US President as «A good Christian, who is doing a good job in a difficult time. Joel Osteen and his wife These questions came to mind while watching Joel Osteen and his lovely wife, Victoria, on CNN’s “Larry King Live” last week. King pointed out that many Americans are still confused about Obama’s religion and asked, «Does it matter?» «Well, it matters to me,« said Osteen. «It matters to me that I know he loves the Lord, and I think it’s important that he...

President Obama condemned the beheading of journalist James Foley and ISIS in a strongly worded statement to reporters moments ago, but didn’t offer specifics on how the U.S. would react policy-wise to ISIS killing Americans. “Today, the entire world is appalled by the brutal murder of Jim Foley by the terrorist group, ISIL. Jim was a journalist, a son, a brother, and a friend. He reported from difficult and dangerous places, bearing witness to the lives of people a world away,” Obama said from Martha’s Vineyard. (snip) “Let’s be clear about ISIL. They have rampaged across cities and villages, killing...

With the raging war between the Sunni and the Shiites in Iraq, and with the presidents apparent animosity toward the Iraqi government it seems important to understand if Obama has ties to the Sunnis or to the Shiites. Does anyone on FR know the answer to this?

President Barack Obama gave a speech at the National Prayer Breakfast Thursday with language striking pro-life themes — ironic given the massive pro-abortion record he has compiled in two terms as president. Obama took the podium at the 62nd National Prayer Breakfast at the Washington Hilton and spoke to a crowd of about 3,500. barackobama7“Each of us is wonderfully made in the image of God- we believe in the inherent dignity of every person,” Obama told the attendees. “No society can truly succeed unless it protects the rights of all of its people.” “Extremists succumb to an ignorant nihilism that...

President Obama offered a public prayer Thursday for two Americans held separately by North Korea and Iran, saying his administration will continue to fight for their release. Mr. Obama said at the annual National Prayer Breakfast in Washington that the U.S. “will do everything in our power” to gain the release of Kenneth Bae, a Christian missionary in prison in North Korea, and the Rev. Saeed Abedini of Boise, Idaho, who remains imprisoned in Iran SNIP The president prayed, “Let us never forget those who are persecuted today, among them Americans of faith. “

President Obama and the First Lady joined thousands from the Washington elite early Thursday for the National Prayer Breakfast, an event that hit a decidedly more spiritual tone in 2014 than the highly politicized spirit at the 2013 occasion.  The first couple was joined by Vice President Joe Biden for the annual affair, with USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah slated as the keynote speaker. Conservative pundit Dr. Ben Carson was the keynote speaker at the 2013 affair. He was criticized by some for using his speech to criticize the President's healthcare reform instead of delivering a spiritual message.

Author and speaker Diana Butler Bass suggests that we are in the process of reinventing American civil religion, the way we think about God and national purpose. And she says President Obama is part of that process. Obama, like his predecessors in the White House, has generally drawn the older form of civil religion complete with biblical language, social justice evangelicalism, and the themes of orthodox theology. But, she suggests, something has changed in the last couple of years. His speeches have included a view of God with an appeal to a wider faith audience, she says. “Gone is the...

HONOLULU — President Obama celebrated a low-key Christmas in Hawaii this year. He sang carols, opened presents with his family, and visited a nearby military base to wish the troops “Mele Kalikimaka” — the Hawaiian phrase meaning “Merry Christmas.” But the one thing the president and his family did not do — something they have rarely done since he entered the White House — was attend Christmas church services. “He has not gone to church hardly at all, as president,” said Gary Scott Smith, the author of “Faith and the Presidency: From George Washington to George W. Bush,” adding that...

“Barack Obama, thank you for doing everything and all the kind stuff… Thank you for all the stuff you helped us with,. You are good, Barack Obama. You are great and when you get older you will be able to do great things. Love, Steven.”

A northern Arizona family that was lost at sea for weeks in an ill-fated attempt to leave the U.S. over what they consider government interference in religion will fly back home Sunday. Hannah Gastonguay, 26, said Saturday that she and her husband "decided to take a leap of faith and see where God led us" when they took their two small children and her father-in-law and set sail from San Diego for the tiny Pacific island nation of Kiribati in May. But just weeks into their journey the Gastonguays hit a series of storms that damaged their small boat, leaving...

As the Catholic Church turns this week to electing a new pope, an outsider might be knocking on the locked doors of the Sistine Chapel: Vice President Joe Biden. President Obama, armed with jokes for Saturday night's Gridiron Club dinner, kidded that Biden has a higher calling. But, the president said at the old-school event featuring skits and humor, the 70-year-old veep might have a handicap--he's too young. "Even though I'm just beginning my second term, I know that some folks are looking ahead to bigger things. Look, it's no secret that my vice president is still ambitious. But let's...

President Obama began his Inauguration Day by attending worship services at St. John’s Episcopal Church in the Nation’s Capital along with his wife Michelle and their daughters Sasha and Malia. It was a rare church appearance for the First Family. During, during their first four years residing in the White House, they found time for the Lord not even half as many times as they managed to get away for family vacays. After services yesterday at St. Johns, during which the president stood to receive a blessing from Bishop Vashti McKenzie, the First Family’s next stop was the U.S. Capitol,...

The Obama campaign is launching a new outreach effort directed at religious voters. In a new web video uploaded to YouTube Monday, Obama made an argument for faith in the public square and talked about how it guided his presidency. "Faith isn't just a footnote in our nation's story," Obama said. "It reinforces the very essence of America." "These shared moral obligations have guided me as president,"

Pardon the delay, but this Time magazine interview with Obama for the September 10 edition has to be quoted. Time’s Michael Scherer only asked process questions about why the Republicans haven’t come along with Obama. But Scherer ended with “I wonder if you could point to a couple of other things in his record and things he has accomplished that you actually admire. “ Jaws should drop as Obama said he appreciates Romney’s commitment to participating in church, just as Obama.....does? He likes that Romney “walks the walk,” and no one questions if Obama does a lot more walking on...

Best of the Web posts a 2004 interview with Cathleen Falsani of the Chicago Sun-Times in which Obama defines sin, not along traditional Christian or Muslim lines, but along self-referential lines: Falsani: Do you believe in sin? Obama: Yes. Falsani: What is sin? Obama: Being out of alignment with my values.

President Obama today made a rare appearance in church, strolling with his family across Lafayette Park to St. John’s, well known as the church where presidents pray. … Obama has been to regular Sunday services in Washington this year I think once or twice before this. …

In an interview with the Washington National Cathedral magazine, President Obama discussed how his faith influenced his politics — saying that at the end of the day 'God is in control.' “First and foremost, my Christian faith gives me a perspective and security that I don’t think I would have otherwise: that I am loved. That, at the end of the day, God is in control," Obama said. ... Obama also briefly addressed the ongoing (false) doubts about his faith — including rumors that he is a Muslim (which he is not). "I have a job to do as president,...

In an interview with the Washington National Cathedral magazine, President Obama discussed how his faith influenced his politics — saying that at the end of the day 'God is in control.' “First and foremost, my Christian faith gives me a perspective and security that I don’t think I would have otherwise: that I am loved. That, at the end of the day, God is in control," Obama said. Obama also tied faith in God to his belief in a compassionate role for government.

The one-hour interview by Cathleen Falsani was conducted when Obama was running for U.S. Senate (2004)... Among Obama's most intriguing answers, he says he believes there are many paths to God. His answers on heaven and sin, though, have drawn the most discussion: FALSANI: "Do you believe in heaven?" OBAMA: "Do I believe in the harps and clouds and wings?" FALSANI: "A place spiritually you go to after you die?" OBAMA: "What I believe in is that if I live my life as well as I can, that I will be rewarded. I don't presume to have knowledge of what...

 I’ve seen it advertised all over but have not yet read “The Amateur” by author Edward Klein yet. However, he gave an interview to CBN on The Brody File show (video at bottom of post) had a stunning recitation of his 3 hour, taped interview with “G-d Damn America,” Jeremiah Wright: KLEIN to Jeremiah Wright: Are you saying that you converted Barack Obama from Islam to Christianity?WRIGHT: “That’s hard to say.” Wright clearly gave the impression that A) Barack Obama was heavily devoted to Islam even when he came to America and that B) even Wright was convinced that he...