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Michelle Obama Visits Fla. Megachurch; Urges Religious Groups to Fight Obesity
The Christian Post ^ | February 12, 2012 | Anugrah Kumar

Posted on 02/12/2012 5:14:32 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet

First lady Michelle Obama Saturday visited the Florida megachurch where one of President Obama's spiritual advisers is the pastor. She encouraged faith-based groups to join her campaign against obesity, saying "your bodies are temples given to you by God." "Sometimes folks won't do it if it wasn't said right here," she said, speaking to about 3,000 people from more than 120 congregations and organizations, representing over 15 faiths and denominations, at Northland, A Church Distributed in central Florida.

The Rev. Joel Hunter, a spiritual adviser to President Barack Obama and who serves as senior pastor of the Northland church, introduced Mrs. Obama as a "talented, caring, a very physically fit first lady" who is most proud of being "Malia and Sasha's mom." She was in Orlando on the last day of her three-day tour to mark the second anniversary of her "Let's Move!" initiative to fight childhood obesity.

"You serve as a beacon for those who are lost, a refuge for those who've been forgotten," she told religious individuals and groups. "And our faith communities don't tend only to folks' spiritual health but to their emotional and their physical health as well," she said. "Think for a moment about the scripture that tells us that your bodies are temples given to you by God. That is a core teaching of so many of our faiths – a teaching that calls us to honor and nourish the bodies we've been blessed with, and to help others do the same."

She said one-third of children in America are overweight or obese and therefore at risk for serious conditions like diabetes, cancer and heart disease "that undermine their health, that diminish their prospects, and they cost our economy billions of dollars each year."

While Michelle Obama might like to keep her campaign separate from politics, her tour, which comes months before the presidential election, boosts the president's image. Reporters asked her about her husband's re-election bid while she was touring in Dallas on Friday, to which she replied, "I want him to be my president for another four years." She added that her approach to campaigning is, "This is the time that I have to give to the campaign and whatever you do with that time is up to you, but when it's over, don't even look at me... No calls. No anything."

While Obama's talk at the church on Saturday drew a lot of cheering and laughter, her arrival at the church campus was marked by anti-abortion protests. Activists held up placards declaring abortion as murder, but didn't mention her husband's administration by name.

The first lady praised Pastor Hunter's megachurch, which has a congregation of 15,000. It's no accident, she said, that the Northland church hosts classes to "help folks lead healthier lives."

"It's no accident that, long before we ever started 'Let's Move,' so many congregations were already sponsoring health ministries and fitness classes, hosting food pantries and summer nutrition programs for our kids."

Obama also mentioned the National Council of Churches, which she said had joined with Ample Harvest, an organization that helps gardeners donate fresh produce to 4,700 of their local food pantries. "The National Baptist Convention is aiming to have health ambassadors at all of their nearly 10,000 churches by September," she added. "And some of their churches have already created "no fry" zones in their congregations."

She said all faith communities were promoting a healthy lifestyle. "Muslim community leaders are hosting sports tournaments to encourage young people to get active," she said. "The Jewish Community Centers Association is working with JCCs around the country to grow gardens, and to get fresh food into underserved areas, and they're [creating] early child wellness programs."

She told the crowd that members of Let's Move Faith and Communities, which was created to partner with faith-based groups, had sponsored more than 1,000 summer nutrition sites providing millions of healthy meals for children in need. "So just imagine what we could achieve if every single organization and every single congregation in America got involved in this way… Imagine how many children we could feed… Imagine how many lives would be transformed."

The first lady recalled the days when she was growing up, saying, "You might not even understand how life was back then. Most of us led reasonably healthy lives. We walked to and from school every day – rain or shine." But the times have changed. "How many of us find ourselves looking forward to that fried chicken and mac and cheese, pound cake, after church on Sunday?" she asked. "Some people come to church just for the fried chicken."

She also underlined the need to revive the tradition of cooking and eating in the kitchen. "We still do that at the White House. It's a little, bitty kitchen – big, old house, everybody sitting in the kitchen. No matter where – you're sitting in the kitchen. I'm not cooking, but … but we still like the kitchen. Dirtying every pot, cooking everyone's favorite dishes, talking, laughing, sharing stories late into the night. That's family."

Obama said the government doesn't have all the answers. "There's no one-size-fits-all program or policy that will solve this problem. Every family and every community is different. Each of us needs to make the changes that fit with our budgets, our beliefs, and our tastes."


TOPICS: Charismatic Christian; Current Events; Evangelical Christian; Religion & Politics
KEYWORDS: communists; friedchicken; gagdadbob; jimwallis; joelhunter; marxists; michelleatchurch; michelleobama; northlandchurch; obama; onecosmosblog; saulalinsky; socialjustice; sojourners; statists
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
What about the tiny bodies in our wombs, are they temples, Mo?

What is the sacrifice of your "religion", Mo?

41 posted on 02/12/2012 6:14:24 PM PST by Jane Long (Soli Deo Gloria!)
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To: ButThreeLeftsDo
Moochelle coming and...

Photobucket

going!!

42 posted on 02/12/2012 6:19:16 PM PST by harpu ( "...it's better to be hated for who you are than loved for someone you're not!")
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Preaching/cheerleading from this self-righteous hypocrite got old fast.


43 posted on 02/12/2012 6:20:47 PM PST by tumblindice
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Ill say it right now.

Any church that starts spouting Michelle Obama propaganda, would find no longer donating. I go to church for Church, not propaganda from big brother and the food police.

That would end any relationship I had with any church that tried it.


44 posted on 02/12/2012 6:20:56 PM PST by eXe (Si vis pacem, para bellum)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

“She encouraged faith-based groups to join her campaign against obesity, saying “your bodies are temples given to you by God.”

These people are completely tone deaf. Completely.


45 posted on 02/12/2012 6:21:05 PM PST by webstersII
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To: smvoice
From link

...-some were asking, “What would Jackie do?” While I can’t say for sure, I feel confident that her idea of a sack dress was slightly different from Lady M’s.


46 posted on 02/12/2012 6:21:47 PM PST by opentalk
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To: webstersII

“What goes into a person’s mouth doesn’t make him unclean. It’s what comes out of the mouth that makes a person unclean.”
...Matthew 15:11


47 posted on 02/12/2012 6:24:02 PM PST by tflabo (Truth or tyranny)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Moochelle needs to look in the mirror. The “rear-view” mirror.


48 posted on 02/12/2012 6:38:00 PM PST by Hoosier-Daddy ( "It does no good to be a super power if you have to worry what the neighbors think." BuffaloJack)
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To: Nachum

Keep raising the taxes, sharing the wealth, borrowing money and spitting at Jesus this country will be skinnier than an Ethiopian drought or the Sudan, any fourth world nation. When she loses forty pounds I’ll start laughing. Until then WE EAT!


49 posted on 02/12/2012 6:44:10 PM PST by Karliner ( Jeremiah 29:11, Romans 8:28, Romans 8:38"...this is the end of the beginning."WC)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
You know 2ndDV, I've read this thread, and can't help but reflect on the reality that if this thread had been about that fraud Joel Osteen (whose clap trap is posted in the religion section daily by a poster who shall remain unnamed), that the religion moderator would most likely have deleted most if not all of the comments with strong admonishment about "leaving politics out of the religious threads, etc".

I'm not at all being critical of the article or your posting it, it's a great thread and needs to be seen as it exposes the hypocrisy of the Kenyan Kid and his First Wookie.

SPEAKING of that joker Osteen, here is what that charlatan and his wife had to say about 0bama on Larry King back in 2009:

"Joel Osteen: Well, I think he [0bama] is doing a great job. I'm impressed with his skill, his calmness, his just strength under pressure. These are tough times for him.

King: And you, Victoria?

Victoria Osteen: I've been really impressed. In fact, I've been impressed [with] the first lady. She stepped up, and she's done a remarkable job.

King: Recent polls show 12 percent of Americans still believe Obama is a Muslim, and 35 percent say they don't know his religion, but to most of them it don't matter. Should it matter?

Joel Osteen: Well, it matters to me. It matters to me that I know he loves the Lord, and I think it's important that he has convictions from his faith. So to me, it matters when I'm making my personal decisions.

King: Does it matter to you, Victoria?

Victoria Osteen: It does. It matters to me. ... I believe he is a Christian."


In my opinion, those two enablers of the twin frauds in the White House should be banned from FR based on that alone.
50 posted on 02/12/2012 6:45:30 PM PST by mkjessup (Let's do to Mitt what his Irish Setter did to him while tied to the roof rack of his station wagon!)
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To: harpu

WOOF!!!


51 posted on 02/12/2012 6:59:23 PM PST by ButThreeLeftsDo (FR: Now, More Than Ever.)
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To: harpu

”Look Ma! No hands!!!”

52 posted on 02/12/2012 7:01:02 PM PST by Colonial Warrior (Help us OB/GYN! You are our only hope!)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Their bodies may be fat, but their souls are starving if this is the extremely week gruel ladled out at this “mega church.”

Any group that lets a political figure set up a photo op by talking about obesity instead of what Jesus has done to save sinners from an eternity in Hell is not a “church” at all. Otherwise, Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers should apply to the IRS for tax exemptions as “churches.”


53 posted on 02/12/2012 7:20:30 PM PST by txrefugee
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To: 2ndDivisionVet; mcmuffin; seekthetruth; MinuteGal; Bob Ireland; gonzo
"While Michelle Obama might like to keep her campaign separate from politics, her tour, which comes months before the presidential election, boosts the president's image. ...While Obama's talk at the church on Saturday drew a lot of cheering and laughter, her arrival at the church campus was marked by anti-abortion protests...

Her visit to the "church" is listed under:

POLITICAL EVENTS Around Central Florida in the Orlando Sentinel

However, of all the photos posted in the fawning Slantinel, there were none showing the anti-abortion protestors.

Instead, what they thought we should be restricted to seeing, were just some benign "down home" images of "The First Mom" having dinner with a local family that has embraced her Church/State "gospel of salvation by diet.":

ABOVE: First Lady Michelle Obama waves to reporters gathered near the dining room during dinner with the Halls family, at their home in Ocoee, Friday night.

First Lady Michelle Obama, in central Florida on a two-day trip promoting healthy living, visited an Ocoee family for dinner at their home, Friday night. A motorcade of security and press escorted the First Lady to the home of Kern and Patrice Halls, in the Westchester neighborhood, west of Orlando. The Halls, with their sons, Keian, 12, and Kamryn, 7, served Obama a meal of jerk chicken, brown rice and peas, sauteed zuchini and squash, and a salad. ..." Click here for more photos of First Lady Michelle Obama dining visit, Friday night.

<>

Michelle Obama speaks at Northland Church in Longwood

Meanwhile, I won't hold my breath waiting to see quotes from "Rev" Joel Hunter like this, published in the Slantinel:

Hunter: "Here’s what I think the enemy is: the luxury of being simplistic, of not understanding how complex problems are and how much cooperation is required to solve them. Evangelicals went through a period where we formed homogeneous affinity groups. You cloister together and think everybody else is the enemy. One reason I’m thrilled with Obama’s presidency is that he likes a broad spectrum of perspectives. Out of those he will glean a practical solution good for everyone. He’s got the intellectual capacity to handle the job. I’ve been in conversations with organizations our government can’t even talk to­ like Hezbollah. The enemy is never as scary or threatening up close."

Excerpt From “The New Evangelicals: Expanding the Vision of the Common Good”

IE: The "Social Justice" mantra of the Left:

Richard John Neuhaus (1936-2009):

“Socialism is the religion people get when they lose their religion”.

Pope Benedict agrees:

“[Some] are involved in a disastrous confusion between the poor of Scripture and the proletariat of Marx.”

Source: Instruction on Certain Aspects of “Theology of Liberation” Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith August 6, 1984. bttt

54 posted on 02/12/2012 7:27:05 PM PST by Matchett-PI (There is no reasoning with anyone deeply indoctrinated into the tyranny of political correctness.)
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To: All
Obama: Jesus would back my tax-the-rich policy
By Charles Riley@CNNMoneyFebruary 2, 2012: 4:12 PM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- What Would Jesus ... Deduct?

President Obama offered a new line of reasoning for hiking taxes on the rich on Thursday, saying at the National Prayer Breakfast that his policy proposals are shaped by his religious beliefs. ...[snip]

<>

Joel Hunter - "Social Justice" apologist for Obama:

Obama Ties Public Policy Decisions to Faith at Prayer Breakfast
By Michelle A. Vu , Christian Post Reporter February 2, 2012|11:54 am

WASHINGTON – President Obama took a markedly more political tone in his address at the National Prayer Breakfast Thursday morning than he did at the same event last year.

In contrast to last year's personal faith stories, attendees of the 60th National Prayer Breakfast – which takes place 10 months before the presidential election – were treated to Obama's attempt to make a biblical case for his contentious economic policies........

Pastor Joel C. Hunter, President Obama's spiritual adviser, commented to The Christian Post after the event on the president's decision to tie politics and his faith together in the speech.

"He (Obama) made several comments that this not only makes economic sense, but it makes moral sense," Hunter, senior pastor of Northland, A Church Distributed near Orlando, said.

"Then he made sure that we understood that it was an extension of his own Christian faith."

"I do think that the president was trying to say that this is a part of my own Christian faith, and what informs my policies," he continued.

"He is trying to make connections between what is actually happening in the decision-making realm of politics and faith. So he is saying, that these policies we are making isn't just a matter of affairs, but also a matter of what our faith have told us to do."

But for Dr. Richard D. Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, Obama's speech was too political for the prayer breakfast, which emphasizes removing political labels and partisan divides to come together in prayer and worship.

"I thought it was the most political speech that I heard a president give at the prayer breakfast and I've been to several prayer breakfasts," said Land to CP. "And I thought it was by far the most political speech."

Land said he had some people share with him afterwards that they thought President Obama's speech was "unfortunate.".......

Interestingly, while Obama cited a few Bible verses, he seemed to go out of his way to acknowledge other religious faiths. He mentioned the words "Islam" or "Islamic" three times, "Judaism" or "Jewish" three times, and "Hinduism" once."

<>

However, The Gospel was powerfully and beautifully preached to President Obama, the First Lady, some 4,000 guests from all over the world attending the National Prayer Breakfast, and to the nation via C-SPAN

"God as He REALLY is"..."Jesus is the enemy of DEAD RELIGION"....Jesus' enemies "quoted Scripture" to Him. ....The truth of the Scriptures were communicated clearly ­ and with humor ­ by New York Times best-selling author Eric Metaxas, author of of the acclaimed recent biography of Bonhoeffer, the German pastor who was murdered by the Nazis for standing up for the Jews.

His address starts at 34 minutes in – watch the VIDEO

Eric Metaxas (paraphrased): "Apart from God, we cannot see "HOW" to help the poor, not "whether" to help the poor (etc.) Apart from God, we cannot see that the unborn are "persons" / human beings. Bonhoeffer: Whoever does not stand with the Jews is [a German phrase] If you have a biblical view of sexuality you will be demonized by the other side as "bigots". However, we are commanded to love our enemies who do not yet see these, and other biblical principles. This includes our "political" enemies. (Sings "Amazing Grace") ("Was blind, but now I see")

A powerful indictment against the Marxist "Scripture quoters" bttt

55 posted on 02/12/2012 8:03:17 PM PST by Matchett-PI (There is no reasoning with anyone deeply indoctrinated into the tyranny of political correctness.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
saying "your bodies are temples given to you by G-d."

But, but, I thought a woman should feel free to do whatever she wants to do to her body.

ML/NJ

56 posted on 02/12/2012 8:05:46 PM PST by ml/nj
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To: gleeaikin

” an optional food stamp package that would only be for unprocessed food (vegetables, whole grains, seeds and nuts, and raw meat foul and fish), plus a modest amount for soap . . . “

Yeah — I think you actually meant something like “fowl” instead of “foul”? Anyway that’s a great idea; only I wouldn’t say “optional” - should be mandatory. . . . Isn’t it something like 45 million people now on food stamps?


57 posted on 02/12/2012 8:08:36 PM PST by zorro8987
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
Missmell Obimbo makes me SICK!!
58 posted on 02/12/2012 8:13:15 PM PST by cloudmountain
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

I would not listen to a preacher who is a “spiritual” advisor to obama.


59 posted on 02/12/2012 8:21:19 PM PST by Terry Mross (.)
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To: mkjessup

The Nazis took over the German Lutheran and Catholic churches and installed their own leadership. History surely repeats itself.


60 posted on 02/12/2012 10:07:55 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet (You can't invade the US. There'd be a rifle behind every blade of grass.~Admiral Yamamoto)
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