OBAMA: May not be a Muslim but ... !

My Muslim Faith | Snopes
Obama: I have a deep faith | CHICAGO SUN-TIMES | Cathleen Falsani
HT - Obama: Never a Christian | WND
HT - Barack Obama: Never a Christian | BLACK KETTLE

... he is ALSO NOT "a Christian ... in the Christian tradition."

The CRIB is not saying Senator Obama does not have the right to say he is a Christian in the mistaken belief that he is ... as thousands of others do every day ... but that if he does, he should expect those who know differently to call him out on that false claim.

That's where Snopes, Obama, and the MSM apparently fail; they don't adequately understand orthodoxy and so do not discern the difference between those who are saying he is a Muslim and those who are saying he is not a Christian.

The following is the text of my critical email to Snopes' Urban Legends regarding their seemingly deliberate twisting of the context and interpretation of the now infamous Obama misstatement of his faith in an interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos.

A quick reading of the Snopes piece might help: please go there and read it!

The CRIB welcomes critical comments on our analysis but will delete diatribes and DNC talking points or position paper quotes ...

Thank you for your excellent Internet site and service; I've found it meaningful and useful in my blogging for a number of years now. Your readership numbers are well deserved.

However, your redaction of and spinning of "my Muslim faith" is inconsistent with your usually non-partisan commentary on controversial items.

Also, one can argue about the video and your redaction until hell freezes over and not accomplish anything ... but whether or not Senator Obama is a Christian or not is another question; the question should be left up to those who profess an "orthodox" theology ... as would be true with all faith communities. [NOTE: a fair way to address this would have been to quote from a handful of critics of his theology.]

Certainly the Senator might run down a runway with outstretched arms, making jet noises, but that would not make him a jet airplane.

Here is Obama's Christian testimony as given in a 2004 Chicago Sun-Times interview:

Asked by the reporter what he believes, Obama said: "I am a Christian. 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."

Herein lies the problem with his claims: all roads, according to "the Christian tradition," DO NOT lead to eternal life!

One must call Jesus a liar in order for this to be true; it's the antithesis of Jesus' own words," [John 14:6 - "Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me."]

The reporter even commented on this deviation from "the Christian tradition": "It's perhaps an unlikely theological position for someone who places his faith squarely at the feet of Jesus to take, saying essentially that all people of faith -- Christians, Jews, Muslims, animists, everyone -- know the same God."

It was clear to Cathleen Falsani, the reporter, what he was saying. Even more condemning is the following:

"'The difficult thing about any religion, including Christianity, is that at some level there is a call to evangelize and proselytize. There's the belief, certainly in some quarters, that if people haven't embraced Jesus Christ as their personal savior, they're going to hell.'

"Obama doesn't believe he, or anyone else, will go to hell.

"But he's not sure if he'll be going to heaven, either.

"'I don't presume to have knowledge of what happens after I die," he says. "When I tuck in my daughters at night, and I feel like I've been a good father to them, and I see in them that I am transferring values that I got from my mother and that they're kind people and that they're honest people, and they're curious people, that's a little piece of heaven.'"

Snopes shouldn't presume to report conclusively concerning this issue.

What is true and not "false" is that he DID slip and DID say what he said. Your spin doesn't assist in the search for truth.

SPECIFIC DISTORTIONS IN YOUR REPORT:

"When the subject of the interview turned to Senator Obama's assertion that Republicans were attempting to scare voters by suggesting he is not Christian" -- you offer no evidence to support his claim, nor did you indicate that those who have questioned his faith were doing so on the basis of strong orthodox tenets AND his own testimony.

"... John McCain had not specifically promulgated the false rumor that he (Obama) was a Muslim." -- once again you fail to differentiate between those making the claim he is a stealth Muslim and those who are making the claim that he cannot be a Christian "in the Christian tradition" based on his own testimony.

"... George Stephanopoulos - apparently not understanding the context of Senator Obama's response" -- mistakenly attempted to correct him ... " -- one presuppositional statement ["apparently not understanding"] cannot be used to authenticate another ["mistakenly"]; the whole paragraph is fallacious because of this ethical error. This is not reporting; it is commentary but without the disclaimer.

"This non sequitur briefly threw Senator Obama off track; he repeated the words 'my Christian faith' and then returned to the point he was trying to make." -- this has the forensic smell of a DNC talking points memo and NOT something normally found at Urban Legends. What astounds me is your "non sequitur" above leading into a defense against another which you cannot prove since it is based on a mindset that only Senator Obama can verify.

This email will appear on my blog this morning, you may, if you wish, respond in the comments.

Some of Obama's comments are so unorthodox (e.g., "I don't presume to have knowledge of what happens after I die") that it calls into question the twenty years of teaching and preaching of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

Scripture is clear: "And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment ... " [Hebrews 9:27; see also Matthew 25:46]

Remember, the issue is not to prove he is a stealth Muslim, but rather show that he is NOT "a Christian ... in the Christian tradition."

The Bible tells us [those of us who hold to the orthodox doctrine of the inspiration of the Scriptures] "you will know them by their fruits" and that "out of the mouth come the things of the heart."

Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.'

Matthew 7:22-23

Christianity, Election 2008,
False religion, Obama, Orthodoxy,
Politics, Religion, Snopes