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Location: The Land Mass Between NOLA and Mobile, AL
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I just want to preface this posting to say that I believe, based on all available evidence, that Obama is a Christian who has been influenced, at least to some extent, by his Church's subscription to Black Liberation Theology, a branch of theological thought that is not very far removed from Latin American Liberation Theology. Among theologians and other thinkers about Christian philosophy, these strands themselves are not very far from mainstream thought, although they could be beyond the pale according to some very punitive and restrictive ideas about Protestant Christianity. As I understand liberation theology, their adherents advocate that people should advance the social gospel of Jesus (for example, the Sermon on the Mount), while eschewing so-called Christan ideologies that advocate for the exaltation of rich people and the idea that such people are blessed merely because they are successful in the world.
While personally I am an agnostic, I am extremely curious about why some people are so quick to say that Obama is either Muslim or unchristian, and I wonder about the evidence upon which they base their claims. There is a poster here who bases such claims merely on the provenance of the President's middle name; I don't think that is good enough evidence because "hussein" means handsome in Arabic, and in addition to that, there are a lot of people worldwide who speak Arabic and thus give their children Arabic names who are not Muslim. Primary examples that come to mind are Coptic Christians and Sikhs, the latter of which were notoriously slain in WI quite recently.
I'm hoping that what I have said above will illustrate the diversity of Christian and Muslim thought in the U.S. and why that is important to democracy; maybe I have a different point of view because I have often hailed cabs in NYC, and I have seen for myself how badly immigrants from the Middle East want to fit in to their adopted country. They have cab licenses; they run bodegas; inner city residents depend on the flowers, fruits, and vegetables that they line their stores with. They work tirelessly; and, since 9/11, they've been pulled out of their shops, fruit stands, and cabs, and they've been beaten and scorned. They don't deserve this treatment because they are some of the hardest working Americans and immigrants that I have ever met.
So, why should you care about all of this? The main point I'm trying to make is that while there is no evidence that Obama is a Muslim, who cares if he might be? There is no religious test for office written into the constitution, and in fact, such a test is prohibited by law and that very document. I'm waiting for someone to explain to me why such a test should apply now? You all claim to want to interpret the constitution in its original form. It would be much easier for me to buy your arguments if you would be consistent: either there is a religious test or there isn't. You can't have it both ways. Please answer this "so what" question: you not only need to provide proof that Obama is a Muslim, but you also need to prove how that matters in a substantial way given the way the Constitution that you so often cite was written.
Location: On the "Left Coast", somewhere in "the Land of Fruits & Nuts"
8,852 posts, read 10,460,349 times
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So What if Obama Were a Muslim?
Quote:
Originally Posted by diva360
The main point I'm trying to make is that while there is no evidence that Obama is a Muslim, who cares if he might be? There is no religious test for office written into the constitution, and in fact, such a test is prohibited by law and that very document. I'm waiting for someone to explain to me why such a test should apply now? You all claim to want to interpret the constitution in its original form. It would be much easier for me to buy your arguments if you would be consistent: either there is a religious test or there isn't. You can't have it both ways. Please answer this "so what" question: you not only need to provide proof that Obama is a Muslim, but you also need to prove how that matters in a substantial way given the way the Constitution that you so often cite was written.
IMHO, your case is articulate and well-reasoned.... if one is willing to take the "Obama is a Muslim" folks at face value. Unfortunately there seems to be plenty of evidence that this, and the many other "he's not one of us" claims (birthers, 'uppity Kenyan', socialist, Hitler, etc.), all basically come down to much "darker" reasons (pun intended).
So you're no more likely to get a rational answer from the kinda folks who believe these sorta things, than you would from the KKK or Timothy McVey, 'cuz reason and logic have absolutely nuthin' to do with where they're coming from.
If Obama were Muslim then all he'd be guilty of is lying (a dishonest politician, STOP THE PRESS!) about his religious beliefs. Being Muslim is no bar to being POTUS unless he decides to start a jihad in the WH which I find highly unlikely.
There's plenty of reasons to dislike the man and want him out of office come next January. Let's stick to the real, truthful reasons and leave the silly conspiracy theories behind.
“Reliance of the Traveller, A Classical Manual of Islamic Sacred Law”
HOLDING ONE’S TONGUE CHAPTER
PERMISSIBLE LYING
r8.2 The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said,
“He who settles disagreements between people to bring about good or says something commendable is not a liar.”
“I did not hear him permit untruth in anything people say, except for three things: war, settling disagreements, and a man talking with his wife or she with him (A: in smoothing over differences).”
Therefore, a Muslim President could swear to uphold our Constitution and be lying through his teeth in the name of his religion.
He's supposed to be our Commander in Chief. He failed to protect our Americans abroad, APOLOGIZED to the Muslims for a stupid You Tube video, had the maker of the video ARRESTED AND PERP WALKED AT 12:30 AM, spent $70,000 for a commercial in PAAAHKISTAN apologizing for the video and we are supposed to wonder where Barack Hussein's allegiance lies?
Vote this lying traitor OUT on Nov. 6th!
(Anybody else notice that Obozo seems to have stopped using the Paaaahkistan pronunciation?)
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