Posted by Helen on: 10.24.2006 /
Barack Obama announced on Sunday that he’s thinking seriously of running for President in 2008. The following article was in last week’s TIME magazine:
My Spiritual Journey by BARACK OBAMA
Here are a couple of excerpts. Feel free to discuss other parts of the article if you prefer.
I am suggesting that perhaps if we progressives shed some of our own biases, we might recognize the values that both religious and secular people share when it comes to the moral and material direction of our country. We need to take faith seriously not simply to block the religious right but to engage all persons of faith in the larger project of American renewal.
What our deliberative, pluralistic democracy demands is that the religiously motivated translate their concerns into universal, rather than religion-specific, values. It requires that their proposals must be subject to argument and amenable to reason. If I am opposed to abortion for religious reasons and seek to pass a law banning the practice, I cannot simply point to the teachings of my church or invoke God’s will and expect that argument to carry the day. If I want others to listen to me, then I have to explain why abortion violates some principle that is accessible to people of all faiths, including those with no faith at all.
For those who believe in the inerrancy of the Bible, as many evangelicals do, such rules of engagement may seem just one more example of the tyranny of the secular and material worlds over the sacred and eternal. But in a pluralistic democracy, we have no choice. Almost by definition, faith and reason operate in different domains and involve different paths to discerning truth.
The story of Abraham and Isaac offers a simple but powerful example. According to the Bible, Abraham is ordered by God to offer up his “only son, Isaac, whom you love,” as a burnt offering. Without argument, Abraham takes Isaac to the mountaintop, binds him to an altar, and raises his knife, prepared to act as God has commanded.
Of course, we know the happy ending–God sends down an angel to intercede at the very last minute. Abraham has passed God’s test of devotion. He becomes a model of fidelity to God, and his great faith is rewarded through future generations. And yet it is fair to say that if any of us saw a 21st century Abraham raising the knife on the roof of his apartment building, we would call the police; we would wrestle him down; even if we saw him lower the knife at the last minute, we would expect the Department of Children and Family Services to take Isaac away and charge Abraham with child abuse. We would do so because God doesn’t reveal Himself or His angels to all of us in a single moment. We do not hear what Abraham hears, do not see what Abraham sees, true as those experiences may be. So the best we can do is act in accordance with those things that are possible for all of us to know, understanding that a part of what we know to be true–as individuals or communities of faith–will be true for us alone.
This is not to say that I’m unanchored in my faith. There are some things that I’m absolutely sure about–the Golden Rule, the need to battle cruelty in all its forms, the value of love and charity, humility and grace.
Comment by: Paul
1I like the guy, he seems to talk a lot of sense in a way that speaks about engagement rather than just entrenchment but I feel that reason and faith are not as inseperable as he proposes.
For me reason shapes my faith and faith shapes my reason - I don’t follow a God that asks me to leave my brain at the door nor do i resort to just reason to determine what is reasonable… I don’t think I am alone, we all have our faiths, our own personal beliefs that are shaped by our experiences a cyle of doing, forming, adding it/rejecting it as a belief.
What I find a lot harder is starting from an ‘objective’ thought and trying to form a belief out of it…
But that’s jus my particular belief, lol
Comment by: David H
2I really dislike politics. I personally don’t attempt any integration of them with my faith. However, I like what Obama has to say. He is someone I have been hearing about for a while and I will certainly keep my ear on him in the future. I just hope he doesn’t end up swallowed by the beast. Many spiritual people have gone into politics thinking they would bring a purifying influence. But power and money and greed seem to have a much greater ability to corrupt.
Comment by: Marty SB
3I appreciated Obama’s story and feel positively inclined to him. I particularly appreciate people who have unique stories of how they came to their belief or non-belief and particularly how that manifests in their lives. I like his constant focus on the manifestations of what people believe or not believe - rather than either side/groups feeling absolutely assured that somehow they have been endowed with “The Truth.”
I think he is a potential President - but I am concerned that he has achieved such high popularity (he seemed to be more popular than any of the other potential candidates in a AOL compilation of AOL subscribers who chose to answer - not a poll) so early. He now becomes the target of those who want someone else. As much as I like him - I can’t imagine voting for someone with so little experience for President.
I think we desparately need someone who has the moderate religious views that he has - including being opennly respectful to those with no beliefs.
I look forward to the day that a Black is President. I look forward to the day when a woman is President. And Yes - I look forward to the day when a non-believer is President. Not because they are any of these things - but because they are the best person to lead our country.
Comment by: Jim Henderson
4I like him
Comment by: Stephan
5A few years ago I addressed a group of Christian students at the University of Minnesota. I told them some similar things to what Obama said - feel free to bring your Christian beliefs into the public arena, but be prepared to support them without appeals to religion.
I like what I have seen of Obama, but I think he needs a little more “seasoning” before he can be considered a serious presidential candidate. I hope, along with David H, that he does not become poisoned in the process.
Comment by: Jim Henderson
6Thats exactly why I would vote for him
Comment by: Helen
7Marty SB wrote:
Me too - and I look forward to this person demonstrably doing a better job of being President than several of the white male theists who preceded them, thus proving that there’s absolutely no reason to favor white male theist candidates just because they are white, male and theist.
Comment by: David H
8Some would contend that it isn’t what these presidents believed that made them bad, it’s that they don’t believe anything more than that they should be president. Well they may absolutely believe that while money can’t buy you happiness, enough of it can make you the leader of the most powerful nation on earth.
Comment by: Julie Marie
9As far as Obama goes, I like what I hear but I am so jaded now I tend to dismiss anything coming out of a candidates mouth as calculated to match exactly what I want to hear.
I’m just plain disgusted with politics. but I can’t exactly storm out of the room, because it does matter. So I’ll grit my teeth and slog through another campaign full of manipulations, and try to figure it out.
Local politics for just a minute - I read something I just could not believe, in the Charleston County school board election. Our schools are really bad. So there’s lots of activity and lots of opinions on how to improve them. Half of the candidates are anti school superintendent. Personally, I think she is giving it everything she’s got, but she inherited a school system suffering 30 years neglect (physical plant) and apathy (parental). One of the candidates for school board criticized the superintendent for missing a plane flight and having to rebook because she was on “CPT”. I didn’t know what that meant, but the letters to the editor soon filled me in…it means “colored people time”. I am hoping she loses so badly that it is an embarrassment.
Comment by: April Terry
10I enjoyed that article so much! Thanks for drawing our attention to it. Much like Julie Marie, I have felt like I had to divorce myself from politics. One day, I was frustrated with the current political climate and I posted an article called, “The Jesus Who Transcends Politics.” I got the most posts that I have ever had on my blog! Many people let me know how much they appreciated my thoughts. I think that speaks to the frustration many people have of Christians using Jesus to support their own political/world view.
Comment by: Doreen
11I’m curious as to how Christians can ever be disinterested in or divorced from politics. I think self-identifying as a Christian is, in and of itself, a political act.
Performing random acts of kindness, building a house for Habitat for Humanity, things like that are all political acts.
Now not liking our 2-party system or the way we elect congress members or presidents, that’s a different story!
Comment by: lisa w
12I really like him. I have since I heard him long ago at the Convention. I think he could hold up well under fire.
presence and fortitude.
Comment by: Helen
13Me too Lisa - I hope he does run for President in 2008.