REVrant 33.5 - Barack Obama, the "Muslim" rumors, and his Pastor

Q&A: Barack Obama | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction.

A friend sent me this link to a Christianity Today interview with Barack Obama.  (Thanks, DH)  Then, I also found this link to a Beliefnet interview Obama did:

http://www.beliefnet.com/story/228/story_22894.html

I am not planning to endorse any candidate on my Blog.  That’s not my purpose.  But, I do have passion to speak the truth about any or all of the candidates, whether Republican or Democrat.  Obama has been the victim of a slanderous rumor and I hope these interviews will put this rumor to rest.  I encourage you to check these columns out for the following reasons:

1. It’s time to take Obama’s word that he is NOT really a Muslim.  I’ve received those forwarded emails from several people and I hope that we will all do our best to quell these unkind and politically motivated rumors.

2. Obama makes a gripping comment in the Beliefnet interview – “It's a tricky thing, anybody's relationship with their pastor!”  AMEN. (You have no idea how I’m holding back on a dozen comments I’d like to make right now!) Obama is referring to his current pastor – Jeremiah White – who made a slanderous comment about Bill Clinton in his sermon last weekend.  His church’s magazine also recently gave an award to controversial black Muslim leader, Louis Farrakhan.  The candidate is not a carbon copy of his pastor, and should not be accountable for everything his pastor says or does.  I thought Obama did a good job of kindly and respectfully making the point that he doesn’t agree with his pastor on everything.

3. Obama makes a very clear statement of faith when he says, “I believe in the redemptive death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.”

REMEMBER – I am not endorsing Obama (or anyone!).  I’m calling on my Christian friends to be careful that we are not guilty of spreading scurrilous rumors. 

Comments

[Liz]

Thank you so much for posting this. I haven't gotten one of the e-mails yet, but I'm hearing surprising things from friends who have: In many cases, conservatives who were also on the forward list and who would never vote for a Democrat have immediately replied to everybody on the list to debunk and denounce those rumors. Whoever is spreading them made a grave miscalculation. It's good to see that there's a limit to people's tolerance for this kind of thing, because it happens in politics far too often, on both sides.

I'm reading Obama's book "Dreams From My Father," in which he talks a bit about how he first got involved with his church, and it's interesting. Whatever one thinks of his politics, there's no denying the man can write. (And speak.)