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Mr. President, Giving Spiritual Counsel To Ministers Is Above Your Pay Grade
Townhall ^ | 05/22/2015 | Michael Brown

Posted on 05/22/2015 12:10:10 PM PDT by SeekAndFind

Mr. President,

With due respect for your office and the tremendous responsibilities you face, I must take strong exception to comments you made at a recent Evangelical-Catholic leadership summit.

Those comments were unhelpful, inaccurate, unbiblical, and, sad to say, hypocritical.

During a panel discussion, you urged these leaders to spend less time on “divisive” issues like abortion and redefining marriage, putting more emphasis instead on dealing with poverty.

Speaking as a professing Christian, you said, “When it comes to what are you really going to the mat for, what’s the defining issue, when you’re talking in your congregations, what’s the thing that is really going to capture the essence of who we are as Christians, or as Catholics, or what have you, [poverty] is oftentimes viewed as a ‘nice to have’ relative to an issue like abortion.”

You also said, “I think it would be powerful for our faith-based organizations to speak out on [poverty] in a more forceful fashion,” claiming that the redistribution of wealth is “vital to following what Jesus Christ, our Savior, talked about.”

Mr. President, may I first ask who gave you the spiritual authority to give such strong counsel and even criticism to church leaders?

When you were first running for president and Pastor Rick Warren asked you when human life began, you responded by saying that to answer that question was “above my pay grade.”

All the more then, it is above your pay grade to chide church leaders for standing up for human life, especially when they have ample reason to say that life begins at conception. And, since you claim to be unsure of when human life begins, how can you advocate such an aggressive pro-abortion position? That’s like saying, “Our intelligence sources are not sure if there are children in that schoolhouse, but since it may be used to store terrorist munitions, let’s blow the place up.”

Would you be so cavalier with the taking of innocent human life on the battlefield? How then can you be so cavalier with the taking of innocent human life in the mother’s womb? And how can you criticize those who are contending for the preservation of innocent human life?

Your comments are also hypocritical in that you urge these spiritual leaders to deemphasize “divisive” issues like abortion and redefining marriage yet you commend other spiritual leaders who support abortion and same-sex “marriage.”

As part of your second inauguration, you asked Bishop Eugene Robinson to offer a prayer, specifically because he was the first ordained gay Episcopal bishop. (I note that you also endorsed his book on same-sex relationships.) You had another minister pray at your inaugural ceremony, and he also prayed a pro-homosexual prayer.

How then can you criticize Catholic and Evangelical leaders for standing firm on marriage – because it is “divisive” – while giving your very public platform to ministers who want to redefine it? How can you chastise those ministers who stand with the Scriptures and all of church history while applauding those who violate Scripture and cast off church history? And again I ask, since when it is the role of the president to fashion spiritual policy and interpret Scripture?

On a more fundamental level, how can you criticize these leaders for taking a stand on “divisive” issues when you would be the first to commend 19th century Christian leaders who opposed slavery and 20th century Christian leaders who opposed segregation?

Slavery was the most divisive issue our country has ever faced, costing hundreds of thousands of American lives during the Civil War and almost tearing our nation apart, yet you are absolutely right in standing with the Christian leaders who sought to free the slaves. And you are absolutely right to stand with the ministers who fought against segregation, despite the divisive nature of that issue.

Often, Christians must lead the way in taking stands that are divisive – Jesus Himself said that He came to bring a sword of division (see Matthew 10:34-37) – and to counsel these leaders not to emphasize critically important issues because they are divisive is to fly in the face of the Word of God.

Finally, sir, your comments were also off point in alleging first, that Jesus advocated redistribution of wealth (as opposed to compassionate and sacrificial care for the poor) and second, that Catholics and Evangelicals spend far more time and energy opposing abortion and the redefining of marriage than they do helping the poor and the needy. The opposite, in fact, is overwhelmingly true, as has recently been demonstrated.

I continue to pray for you, sir, hoping against hope, that God would make you the greatest and most effective president in our history.

It’s not too late for a change of heart.


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: christians; liberals; obama; spirituality

1 posted on 05/22/2015 12:10:10 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind

Satan tried to give guidance to Jesus, too


2 posted on 05/22/2015 12:11:36 PM PDT by faithhopecharity ("Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body.")
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To: SeekAndFind

0bama is a minister of the Satanic cult. He believes in abortion and infanticide, sexual perversion and abominations, intimidation and coercion of his opponents, division, and of course lies, lies, and more lies.


3 posted on 05/22/2015 12:14:39 PM PDT by grumpygresh (Democrats & GOPe delenda est. U.S. Federal government = 1930s Nazi gov.)
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To: SeekAndFind

Amen

Thank you.


4 posted on 05/22/2015 12:15:43 PM PDT by MeshugeMikey ("Never, Never, Never, Give Up," Winston Churchill ><>)
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To: faithhopecharity

Or Saul to Samuel, and God wasn’t pleased that Saul acted outside of his duties with respect to God.


5 posted on 05/22/2015 12:16:46 PM PDT by Morpheus2009
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To: Morpheus2009

ok yes (but Satan is still a very apt comparison in this case, ha!)

Concerning evil, both hands do it well.
The prince asks, also the judge, for a bribe,
And a great man speaks the desire of his soul;
So they weave it together. (Micah 7)


6 posted on 05/22/2015 12:24:41 PM PDT by faithhopecharity ("Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body.")
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To: SeekAndFind

Its those twenty years sitting there listening to Rev. Wright....he thinks he can walk on water better....


7 posted on 05/22/2015 1:13:57 PM PDT by HarleyLady27 (Get the USA out of the UN then get the UN out of the USA; send bamaboy back to Kenya ASAP!!!!)
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To: SeekAndFind

Anything about the Christian Bible is above Obama’s pay grade.


8 posted on 05/22/2015 1:16:18 PM PDT by Starstruck (I'm usually sarcastic. Deal with it.)
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To: HarleyLady27
RE: he thinks he can walk on water better....

Worse than that, he thinks he has the power of Jesus to stop the oceasn from rising.

Remember his inaugural speech?

Excerpt:

" I am absolutely certain that generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment when we began to provide care for the sick and good jobs to the jobless; this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal; this was the moment when we ended a war and secured our nation and restored our image as the last, best hope on Earth."
9 posted on 05/22/2015 1:25:06 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind

Every word of this speech is lies. He has done the opposite for this country. Where was he when the hurricanes devastated NY and NJ? Why didn’t he stop them? He makes me want to puke.


10 posted on 05/22/2015 3:25:40 PM PDT by Catsrus
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To: SeekAndFind
Who invited 0bama ?
11 posted on 05/22/2015 3:54:05 PM PDT by TYVets
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