Relativism, Religion, And Obama's Views

A friend of mine just recently posted this writing on her facebook and I thought it was insightful, please read and form your own opinions, not basing it upon a relativistic idea but the word of God.

My own personal conclusion came to this simplistic idea: Relativism has indeed become a religious idea in our country. I would say even those who say they are not religious tend to express their views on life with this "idea". It is a scary ground on which we tread. For relativism is embracing our own personal views and "feelings" as truth, we in turn become our own god, dictating what is and what is not by our own standard of morality and thought. I would pose that this type of living would then call into question our purpose in life as human beings, why are we living? What are we living for?

Here is her post:

"Today I read an article at ChristianityToday.com entitled, "Obama's Fascinating Interview with Cathleen Falsani." You can read it in full here: http://blog.christianitytoday.com/ctpolitics/2008/11/obamas_fascinat.html It features an interview that was done back in March of 2004 on the subject of Obama's spirituality.

I offer my commentary on several quotes from the interview because I believe it is important that we take a closer look at what Obama is truly saying.

In this day there are many things we are fighting to protect in our country -- the definition of marriage, the sanctity of life, our rights to free speech, and all the other Christian values that make our nation great. For it is a beloved nation.

But first and foremost among these, and foundational to all of them, is -- must be -- how we perceive God. The definition of marriage is important to us because we know how sacred it is in God's Eyes -- it is an earthly symbol of the Church's union with Him as His beloved, pure, faithful Bride. The treasure of life that is each created human being is important to us because we believe that man was created in the image of God -- that he is the living handiwork of God, fashioned with Love, breathed into with the Breath of life, and formed heart and soul to know and embrace God and to bring Him joy. Our view of each issue rests on and is molded by our view of God.

So as you read my notes, I ask you to consider what is happening in our nation. I ask you to consider, how is God being perceived? And what do the people believe a Christian believes? What do we accept as Christianity? Because if it is not what Jesus revealed to us, I believe it is worthless. I believe it is not saving. I believe it is not truth.

Frankly, the "in" thing right now is for Christians to speak about the good points in Obama's policies and beliefs and to pray that he will have wisdom and will succeed. I beg of you to tell me why we are doing this. If Hitler were taking power of our country would we commend him for his numerous apparently good youth programs that keep kids off the street? Would we commend a few aspects of his initial professed "christian" belief in God? If a dangerous man broke in to your house and was within reach of harming your little children, would you pray that he would have wisdom and would succeed in wielding control? Obama gained his rule illegally -- through lies, deception, and corrupt dealings and funding. How is it different?

Friends, I encourage you to stand out from the crowd. I am not saying to ignore the good things -- or to not pray for this man. But I am urging you to what I believe most important; speak the truth, pray for the children. You can align yourself with those advancing evil in the ways you agree and seek common ground. But righteousness does not win that way. We cannot fully love the children that way. Freedom does not remain real under those conditions. Good never truly claims victory when there is compromise. And we must seek victory. Or children will perish.

You see, I wondered after reading this interview and thinking on how this man has been voted president-elect by this nation's people, what would this once beautiful America's founding fathers think if they could see it all now -- oh how they wanted it to be a nation under God's rule and reign, a righteous nation of justice and principle and freedom for all! And then I thought of them up in Heaven. And I realized that from that perspective, and with such love for the dream they saw, like God, they would probably have to turn their heads away, and just weep.

Friends, we must act. Let your love for this country, for its people, be known by your efforts to save her, to rescue them from the slippery slope they are headed down. Pray for Obama as he rules, if you must; but neglect not to pray with all your hearts for those sentenced to destruction or death by his rule. For they are many. They are young. And few will survive without your help.

Stand for true Christianity. Speak of it. Defend it with your life, your aspirations, your success, your reputation laid on the altar. Live it.

Let your love be known. For Jesus. For the children. For America.

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FALSANI:
What do you believe?

OBAMA:
I am a Christian.

...I'd say, probably, intellectually I've drawn as much from Judaism as any other faith. So, I'm rooted in the Christian tradition. I believe that there are many paths to the same place...

"Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'"
John 14:6

Can one say they are "rooted in the Christian tradition" who does not believe the words Jesus spoke to be truth?

FALSANI:
Have you always been a Christian?

OBAMA:
I was raised more by my mother and my mother was Christian.

This answer strikes me as strange. But the question, too. No one has ever "always" been a Christian.

OBAMA:
...I'm a big believer in tolerance. I think that religion at its best comes with a big dose of doubt.

"And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him."
Hebrews 11:6

FALSANI:
Do you pray often?

OBAMA:
Uh, yeah, I guess I do.

It's not formal, me getting on my knees. I think I have an ongoing conversation with God. I think throughout the day, I'm constantly asking myself questions about what I'm doing, why am I doing it. ...

And so, the biggest challenge, I think, is always maintaining your moral compass. Those are the conversations I'm having internally. I'm measuring my actions against that inner voice that for me at least is audible, is active, it tells me where I think I'm on track and where I think I'm off track.

: : :

FALSANI:
Have you read the Bible?

OBAMA:
Absolutely.

I read it not as regularly as I would like. These days I don't have much time for reading or reflection, period.

FALSANI:
Do you try to take some time for whatever, meditation prayer reading?

OBAMA:
I'll be honest with you, I used to all the time, in a fairly disciplined way. But during the course of this campaign, I don't. And I probably need to and would like to, but that's where that internal monologue, or dialogue I think supplants my opportunity to read and reflect in a structured way these days.

"We need to constantly challenge our accustomed behaviors in the light of the Gospel. We may say that we are following our conscience, but are we informing our consciences with the truth about these issues?"
-Bishop Robert Hermann

Obama talks about an "inner voice" telling him what is right and wrong. He seems to call conversing with that voice an "ongoing conversation with God." And this has replaced (literally replaced) being informed with God's truth in Scripture. This is frightening to me.

FALSANI:
Who's Jesus to you?

(He laughs nervously)

OBAMA:
Right.

Jesus is an historical figure for me, and he's also a bridge between God and man, in the Christian faith, and one that I think is powerful precisely because he serves as that means of us reaching something higher.

And he's also a wonderful teacher. I think it's important for all of us, of whatever faith, to have teachers in the flesh and also teachers in history.

Is Jesus "powerful" to you because "he serves as that means of us reaching something higher"? Or is the Son of God who died for your sins -- who died in your place -- something more powerful in your life? I'm not criticizing Obama's lack of passion in speaking of Jesus. But I am concerned that he speaks of Jesus as if He is some sort of stepping stone. And then I'm not sure what he's saying with the last line of his comment, but it doesn't sound like he's talking about the One and only person by whom we might be saved -- the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

FALSANI:
Do you have people in your life that you look to for guidance?

OBAMA:
Well, my pastor [Jeremiah Wright] is certainly someone who I have an enormous amount of respect for.

I have a number of friends who are ministers. Reverend Meeks is a close friend and colleague of mine in the state Senate. Father Michael Pfleger is a dear friend, and somebody I interact with closely.

I'm not even going to comment on that.

OBAMA:
... This is something that I'm sure I'd have serious debates with my fellow Christians about. I think that the difficult thing about any religion, including Christianity, is that at some level there is a call to evangelize and prostelytize. There's the belief, certainly in some quarters, that people haven't embraced Jesus Christ as their personal savior that they're going to hell.

FALSANI:
You don't believe that?

OBAMA:
I find it hard to believe that my God would consign four-fifths of the world to hell.

I can't imagine that my God would allow some little Hindu kid in India who never interacts with the Christian faith to somehow burn for all eternity.

That's just not part of my religious makeup.

I'm curious, if he believes this, then why claim association with any form of Christianity?

FALSANI:
Do you believe in heaven?

OBAMA:
Do I believe in the harps and clouds and wings?

FALSANI:
A place spiritually you go to after you die?

OBAMA:
What I believe in is that if I live my life as well as I can, that I will be rewarded. I don't presume to have knowledge of what happens after I die. But I feel very strongly that whether the reward is in the here and now or in the hereafter, the aligning myself to my faith and my values is a good thing.

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.

FALSANI:
Do you believe in sin?

OBAMA:
Yes.

FALSANI:
What is sin?

OBAMA:
Being out of alignment with my values.

Out of alignment with his values? So being pro-life is a sin in his mind? Speaking about conservative values is a sin? No wonder he wants to pass the Fairness Doctrine and the Freedom of Choice Act. How relative is law becoming.

FALSANI:
What happens if you have sin in your life?

OBAMA:
I think it's the same thing as the question about heaven. In the same way that if I'm true to myself and my faith that that is its own reward, when I'm not true to it, it's its own punishment.

Six words: He has no fear of God.

OBAMA:
Alongside my own deep personal faith, I am a follower, as well, of our civic religion. I am a big believer in the separation of church and state.

... I'm very suspicious of religious certainty expressing itself in politics.

Does that mean he is suspicious of the Ten Commandments? Or our country's founding documents -- that spoke with certainty of God's Sovereignty? Of the founding fathers reasons for believing that we each have inalienable rights? Of Christians believing there is absolute right and absolute wrong in God's Eyes concerning the murdering of the unborn?

FALSANI:
Do you ever have people who know you're a Christian question a particular stance you take on an issue, how can you be a Christian and ...

OBAMA:
Like the right to choose.

I haven't been challenged in those direct ways. And to that extent, I give the public a lot of credit. I'm always struck by how much common sense the American people have. They get confused sometimes, watch FoxNews or listen to talk radio. That's dangerous sometimes. But generally, Americans are tolerant...

Even with how "tolerant" he sounds, I'm concerned with how he will try to handle these "dangerous" and "confusing" influences in the coming days."