Rev. Rob Schenck Asks Whether Barak Obama Is a Real Christian?
Schenck, of Faith and Action, after exhaustive analysis, decides:
Based on Schenck's definition of Evangelical Christianity, he is right to say that Obama does not meet that definition. Curiously, however, Schenck's piece is titled "Barak Obama: Sheep or Goat?"—a reference to Matthew 25:31-46, in which the Son of Man separates the nations "as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats." Sheep, of course, go to heaven; goats go to hell.
Schenck suggests that Obama may be a goat because of his understanding of scriptural authority, uncertainty about certain beliefs, membership in a progressive congregation that has an "exclusive commitment to a cultural and national identity" (African American), and advocacy of same-sex unions. Jesus, by contrast, says that our identity as cloven-hoofed mammals is contingent on whether we have fed the hungry, welcomed the stranger, clothed the naked, and visited the sick and imprisoned. Oddly, one's stance on gay marriage is not mentioned.
By Jesus' standards, Obama's membership in a congregation that "has welcomed gay members, done outreach to people living with AIDS and advocated progressive positions on many social issues" helps the senator earn sheep status.
The fact is Barack Obama isn’t really different from other liberal Christians. And, as is so often the case with liberals, he condescendingly reaches down toward those considered his benighted hillbilly Evangelical cousins with a kind offer of enlightenment. He does it more smoothly, with a bit more panache, but he does it just the same.
Barack Obama is not an Evangelical Christian. Each of us must decide how much weight to give this fact as he continues to make the rounds in our churches, but we must keep it at the forefront of our minds.
Based on Schenck's definition of Evangelical Christianity, he is right to say that Obama does not meet that definition. Curiously, however, Schenck's piece is titled "Barak Obama: Sheep or Goat?"—a reference to Matthew 25:31-46, in which the Son of Man separates the nations "as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats." Sheep, of course, go to heaven; goats go to hell.
Schenck suggests that Obama may be a goat because of his understanding of scriptural authority, uncertainty about certain beliefs, membership in a progressive congregation that has an "exclusive commitment to a cultural and national identity" (African American), and advocacy of same-sex unions. Jesus, by contrast, says that our identity as cloven-hoofed mammals is contingent on whether we have fed the hungry, welcomed the stranger, clothed the naked, and visited the sick and imprisoned. Oddly, one's stance on gay marriage is not mentioned.
By Jesus' standards, Obama's membership in a congregation that "has welcomed gay members, done outreach to people living with AIDS and advocated progressive positions on many social issues" helps the senator earn sheep status.
posted by Tinley | 4:38 AM
3 Comments:
I suppose Rev. Schenck is free to set up his own definition and then decide if certain individuals meet it.
I recently posted about John Wesley's definition of a real Christian over at my blog. I wonder how Barack would stack up on that list.
So Shenck is saying that Christians must be "evangelical". Or is it that Christians cannot be liberal?
Personally I am sick and tired of this kind of thing. He ought to first consider the plank in his own eye...
And he wonders why liberals try to "enlighten" evangelicals?
I would worry about this if it didnt come from a republican think tank such as this Faith and Action.
Churches in California get their non-profit status revoked for comments less than these.
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