“Obama
Offered Evangelical Entitlement Wrongly With
Birdsall’s Blessing!!”
Ramesh C. Reddy
Publisher Judd Birdsall in his
article
'Barack Obama: Evangelical-in-Chief?' wants us to
believe that Obama is an Evangelical Christian by asking us the
question, ‘What if more evangelicals knew
Obama largely shares their religious beliefs?’
However, if you look closely at the contemporary
theories of revelation and inspiration, you will come to the
conclusion that Obama does not hold to the Evangelical view of
Scripture for us to consider him an Evangelical Christian.
An Evangelical view of
Scripture states:
Holy Scriptures are to be received as the
authoritative Word of God.
If Obama believed that then he would be
against abortion, gay marriage, homosexuality, etc.
Holy Scriptures are the supreme written norm by
which God binds the conscience, and that the authority of the Church
is subordinate to that of Scripture.
If Obama believed that, he would be against
forcing chaplains to conduct gay marriage ceremonies, against
abortion, against homosexuality, against gay marriage, etc because
the Bible binds our conscience on issues of morality.
The Written Word in its entirety is revelation
given by God.
If Obama believed that he would be against
immoral actions instead of supporting them.
Holy Scriptures having been given by divine
inspiration, is infallible, so that, far from misleading us, it is
true and reliable in all the matters it addresses.
If Obama believed that he would oppose
immoral issues clearly spoken in the Bible.
Holy Spirit bears witness to the Scriptures,
assuring believers of the truthfulness of God’s written Word.
If Obama believed that, he would not go
against God in supporting issues such as abortion, homosexuality,
gay marriage, etc.
A confession of the full authority,
infallibility, and inerrancy of Scripture is vital to a sound
understanding of the whole of the Christian faith and increasing
conformity to the image of Christ.
By supporting issues like abortion, gay
marriage, homosexuality, Obama has not confessed the full authority,
infallibility, and inerrancy of Scripture. Instead of wanting to
conform to the image of Christ in all issues, it feels like Obama
wanted to conform to the pocketbook of donors by changing his view
on gay marriage.
Hence, Obama not adhering to even one of these
affirmations mentioned, he cannot be labeled an Evangelical
Christian.
An Evangelical View of Scripture is different
from a liberal view of Scripture, a Neo-Orthodox view of Scripture,
and a Neo-Evangelical view of Scripture.
The
Liberal View of Scripture states:
Only certain parts of the Bible are from God and
others are not.
Obama is picking and choosing what to believe
when he is for abortion rights, homosexuality, and gay marriage by
wanting to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act which defines marriage
between a man and a woman.
Bible itself is not the Word of God.
Since the Bible only contains certain parts from
God, one must use human reason, intelligence and the spirit of
Christ to determine which parts of the Scripture are true and which
are false.
Obama seems to fall in this category since he
supports abortion, gay marriage, homosexuality, etc. If he saw the
entire Scripture to be true than he would not support any immoral
actions but he does!
The Neo-Orthodox View of
Scripture states:
The Bible is not a formal authority which demands
belief in all it contains from the outset, but it is an instrumental
authority.
All true knowledge is knowledge which is
determined not by the subject [God] but by the object [man].
Obama wants to decide what is right and wrong when it comes
to hot button issues instead of allowing God to decide.
The propositions laid down in Scripture are
unimportant, even irrelevant. What matters is the encounter the man
of faith has with God.
Obama can fall into this camp too because he
lets man decide what issues are okay for him to support rather than
God’s Word.
The Neo-Evangelical
View of Scripture states:
It is not all the content of the Bible that is
inspired but the saving intent and truth of the Bible.
The truth of Scripture should be understood as
its unswerving purpose to save, a revelation of God’s redemptive
plan.¹
Obama can fall into this camp too because he
believes Jesus died to save him but he does not hold to the truth
that the entire Bible should be followed.
In summary, the view of Scripture can be seen in
3 ways but only # 1 is the correct way.
1.
The Bible is the Word of God
è
Orthodox View or Evangelical and Fundamentalist.
2.
The Bible contains the Word of God
è
Liberal View and Neo-Evangelical.
3.
The Bible becomes the Word of God
è
Neo-Orthodox View²
As stated before, Obama definitely does not fit
into category one for Birdsall to make us believe he is an
Evangelical Christian.
Birdsall goes on to write that
‘Obama has been extraordinarily open on
matters of faith, providing ample evidence for his repeated claim to
be a devout Christian.’
Supporting abortion rights on demand, gay
marriage, homosexuality, etc , is not ample evidence for me to
believe that he is a devout Christian.
He may consider himself a devout Christian or
even born-again by speaking Christian jargon such as believing in
Christ as His Lord and personal Savior.
However, what we can ponder on is what does Obama
think the following verses mean and what do they mean to you?
“By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from
thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise
every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A
good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good
fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and
thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom
of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in
heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not
prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform
many miracles?’Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you.
Away from me, you evildoers!’
“Therefore
everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into
practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
(Matthew 7:16-24, NIV)
“In
the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action,
is dead!” (James 2:17)
If someone says they believe in Jesus, we should believe them and accept them as a brother or sister
in Christ, but we need not accept that everyone is an Evangelical
Christian because they are not. As an Evangelical Christian, I
cannot give my vote to Obama!
Lest, this article is misunderstood, Evangelical Christians are not
perfect and need God’s sanctification in their lives daily. When the
Lord shows us what we are doing wrong, it is important to turn aside
from wrong and do what is right. We are capable of doing that when
we allow Jesus Christ to work in us. because He is the One who saves
us by His grace!
Sources:
¹Norman
L. Geisler and William E. Nix, A General Introduction to the Bible,
Moody Press, Chicago, USA, 1986.
²Summer
Institute of Christian Training, Session I:Handling the Word of God
and Scripture Memory, May 30, 1996:
Ramesh C. Reddy prays everyone lives out
God's Word from Genesis to Revelation without picking and choosing
what they want to live out. Help us Jesus! He can be reached at
rreddy@pittsburghstandard.com
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