Posted on 06/23/2008 7:57:18 PM PDT by kingattax
(also) Having a "Fruitcake" Interpretation of the Constitution
Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family -- who has stayed unusually quiet in this election cycle likely due to his loathing of presumptive GOP presidential nominee Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. -- will tomorrow attack Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, on Tuesday for a speech the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee delivered in 2006 to the liberal Christian group Call to Renewal.
The AP was given an advance copy of Dobson's 18-minute radio segment, which has already been taped, and will air Tuesday.
In it, Dobson hammers Obama's views of religion, and says the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee is trying to govern by the "lowest common denominator of morality," and calls Obama's views "a fruitcake interpretation of the Constitution."
Obama's original speech, delivered on June 28, 2006, (you can listen to it HERE) started with a discussion of his 2004 Senate opponent, Alan Keyes, who said that "Jesus Christ would not vote for Barack Obama."
Obama said that he "was urged by some of my liberal supporters not to take this statement seriously, to essentially ignore it….But what they didn't understand, however, was that I had to take Mr. Keyes seriously, for he claimed to speak for my religion, and my God. He claimed knowledge of certain truths." Moreover, "Keyes's implicit accusation that I was not a true Christian nagged at me."
The speech delves into Obama's view of the constructive role religion plays in society, beseeching "work that progressive leaders need to do" on the subject, followed by his views of "what conservative leaders need to do -- some truths they need to acknowledge."
That included "the critical role that the separation of church and state has played in preserving not only our democracy, but the robustness of our religious practice," Obama said, as well as "the increasing diversity of America's population, the dangers of sectarianism have never been greater. Whatever we once were, we are no longer just a Christian nation; we are also a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, a Buddhist nation, a Hindu nation, and a nation of nonbelievers."
"And even if we did have only Christians in our midst, if we expelled every non-Christian from the United States of America, whose Christianity would we teach in the schools?" Obama asked. "Would we go with James Dobson's, or Al Sharpton's? Which passages of Scripture should guide our public policy? Should we go with Leviticus, which suggests slavery is ok and that eating shellfish is abomination? How about Deuteronomy, which suggests stoning your child if he strays from the faith? Or should we just stick to the Sermon on the Mount - a passage that is so radical that it's doubtful that our own Defense Department would survive its application? So before we get carried away, let's read our bibles. Folks haven't been reading their bibles."
Dobson responds, per the AP, that "I think he's deliberately distorting the traditional understanding of the Bible to fit his own worldview, his own confused theology" and charges that Obama "is dragging Biblical understanding through the gutter."
"Am I required in a democracy to conform my efforts in the political arena to his bloody notion of what is right with regard to the lives of tiny babies?" Dobson asks. "What he's trying to say here is unless everybody agrees, we have no right to fight for what we believe."
In response to Dobson's comments, Joshua DuBois, national director of religious affairs for the Obama campaign responded in a statement: "Barack Obama is committed to reaching out to people of faith and standing up for American families, and a full reading of his 2006 Call to Renewal speech shows just that. Obama is proud to have the support of millions of Americans of faith and looks forward to working across religious lines to bring our country together."
Dobson lost me right about here:
“The boy’s father has to do his part. He needs to mirror and affirm his son’s maleness. He can play rough-and-tumble games with his son, in ways that are decidedly different from the games he would play with a little girl. He can help his son learn to throw and catch a ball. He can teach him to pound a square wooden peg into a square hole in a pegboard. He can even take his son with him into the shower, where the boy cannot help but notice that Dad has a penis, just like his, only bigger.”
Ummm, I don’t think so, Dr. Jimmy.
This is just precious. It's the typical liberal tactic of responding to the statement that was NEVER made. When people would say America is a christian nation that does not mean that America is "just" a christian nation. It simply means that America is predominately a christian nation (using the traditional definition of a christian nation).
Isn’t this the same guy that said Fred Thompson wasn’t a Christian?
Isn’t this the same guy that said Fred Thompson wasn’t a Christian?
__________________________________________
That’s what the man said. He was pretty harsh about it, too.
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1272/956556568_38cc38e428.jpg?v=0
Dubois is the one standing...
Joshua Dubois, Sen. Obama’s director of religious affairs, is guarded in discussing his personal positions. The stepson of an African Methodist Episcopal minister, he did not offer his view of abortion during a WORLD interview.
DuBois, who maintains membership at a United Pentecostal Council Assemblies of God church in Cambridge, Mass.
Tapping DuBois to manage the faith outreach of his prospective campaign fits well with the Illinois senator’s consistent efforts to project an evangelical image.
DuBois admits that Obama’s outspoken faith only appears novel in light of Democrats’ recent deference to the party’s avowed secularists. In reality, Obama’s brand of religiosity amounts to a social gospel, emphasizing the humanitarian example of Jesus over the way His death and resurrection solves humanity’s sin problem. “The progressive movement in the early part of the last century was infused with Christian values and people of faith—same with the civil-rights movement,” DuBois said. “So this isn’t a new thing, but it’s a good thing that it’s happening now.”
“Some folks on the left are uncomfortable with these topics,” DuBois said.
******
DuBois noted, it was during this time that Obama changed his personal faith and began his long association with his church, Trinity United Church of Christ.
******
Mark DeMoss, a spokesman for the Rev. Franklin Graham, said Graham attended and asked Obama whether “he thought Jesus was the way to God, or merely a way.” DeMoss declined to discuss Obama’s response.
******
October 23, 2007
Obama is touring with a singer who hates gay people. Obama’s religious affairs director, Joshua DuBois, has responded to the criticism.
Singers on the tour include Donnie McClurkin, who has crusaded against homosexuality and who says he is a former homosexual. For information on his book Eternal Victim/Eternal Victor, in which he describes his “bout” with homosexuality
In a statement on his website, Obama said he disagrees with McClurkin’s views on homosexuality, but he did not cancel the appearance.
Among those asking Obama to cancel the event was Wayne Besen, executive director of the gay advocacy group Truth Wins Out. “Obama’s statement was inadequate and we are disappointed that he failed to sever ties with Donnie McClurkin,” Besen said today on the group’s website.
Joshua DuBois, the campaign’s religious affairs director, said in announcing it: “This is another example of how Barack Obama is defying conventional wisdom about how politics is done and giving new meaning to meeting people at the grassroots level. This concert tour is going to bring new people into the political process and engage people of faith in an unprecedented way.”
Joshua DuBois, Office of U.S. Senator Barack Obama, 202-228-6144
NCC News: Dan Webster, 212-870-2258, dwebster@councilofchurches.org
Associated with the National Council of Churches who hired Greg Craig as the attorney who help to send Elian Gonzales back to Castro’s Cuba.
*******
“We are writing to deplore this despicable tactic,” said the Rev. Bob Edgar, general secretary of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA, and eight other leaders. “We have had enough of the slash and burn politics calculated to divide us as children of God,” said the leaders today in an open letter to the religious community.
“I’ve been saying for awhile now that we must not let fear, fundamentalism and Fox News set our nation’s agenda,” said NCC’s Edgar separately. “Now it appears Fox News is using a political candidate to further foment a fear of fundamentalism in hopes of dividing Americans and pitting people of faith against one another. Faithful Americans must stand up and say no to such sinful behavior,” Edgar said.
Dr. Robert W. Edgar
General Secretary
National Council of Churches USA
Joshua DuBois was a grad student at Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School when Obama delivered his convention speech. DuBois, who had become an associate pastor at a small evangelical church while still an undergrad at Boston University, says he was “enthralled” by Obama’s references to faith. “I had been struggling with an internal conflict: what does God want me to do?” he says. He sent a letter to Obama asking for a job—and got a rejection form letter back. So DuBois drove to Washington, walked up to the front desk at Obama’s Senate office and dropped off his résumé in person. Two months later he was hired and eventually became Obama’s director of faith outreach.
DuBois, who is 25, now has the lofty title of national director of religious affairs for the Obama campaign. Real-world translation: he works 20-hour days trying to persuade priests, pastors, rabbis and clerics to endorse his boss—and, more important, to spread the word to their flocks. DuBois, who is tethered to a BlackBerry that is never not ringing—”Hiya, Father, I had a quick question for you …”—commands a team of six full-time religious outreach staffers and hundreds of volunteers and surrogates around the country. There’s no way to tell if DuBois’s efforts are having much of an effect on the way people vote—or on their perceptions of Obama.
I believe Dobson’s right about this one. Obama is twisting scripture for his own purposes and to suit his beliefs. He is pulling the wool over the eyes of many Christians.
However, Dobson may have overplayed his hand. I was very disappointed when he made a big deal saying Fred Thompson is “not a Christian”. He has reacted hysterically too many times to really have the kind of impact he used to have. I respect the man, but wish he would be more selective in his outrage.
Obama’s speech in which he says that he will be attacked because he is young, inexperienced, has a funny name and oh yes - that he is black shows us that he indeed is a disciple of Jeremiah Wright.
Obama was unable to give a positive message to a largely black audience (that was supposedly off the record) and therefore, like Wright only gave the hearers a sense of distrust, fear and hopelessness.
He is speaking as a private citizen. He does have that right, you know.
speaking of fruitcakes.
OH ME......SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE.....WE CANNOT USE THE NAME OF JESUS OR GOD IN PUBLIC, because the Communist Menifesto says it is WRONG....WRONG...WRONG. Of course the communists, like the nazis do not believe in God or Jesus. They believe in Man...So our government fell right in line with the communists and told us that it is wrong to pray in public, cannot have a Bible in the workplance, cannot have bible study in the workplace or public schools, but can have rooms set aside for 3 or 4 prayer times for muslims prayertime, show any belief in God and Jesus, but preach mohammad was something or another and because there are those in this country who belive in NOTHING, except man. The Believer in God and Jesus have been muffled....though there are more of us than them, we stay muffled. AND what has Man done????? He has reproduced in God’s Image. So, what are we going to do with these professors of non-belief, even men like Dobson, who speak a lot, but do nothing to gather together strong God Fearing Christians and Jews to rebut the non-believers. We did have one Man, one time, Rev. Fallwell, who ran for our highest office, on Jesus’ coattails. He lost, but did gather a lot of christians together. I wish we had someone like that now.
Although I don’t agree with one man saying who is or is not a Christian you can’t say he’s playing politics. If I remember correctly he praised Newt as a Christian when he denounced Thompson. Any idea if McCain is worthy in his eyes?
The Kennedy factor will only serve to remind Catholics that Obama, while he speaks inspiringly about faith, is another pro-abortion Democrat — a fact that Obama himself, surprisingly, continues to underscore.
Obama’s appeal to religious voters, especially Catholics, will be limited by the content of his own convictions. Voters who earnestly practice their religion are primarily concerned about the hostility of government and culture to their families. No matter how inspired the call to relieve poverty, it will not trump the ongoing concern of religious voters about raising their children and grandchildren.
I believe he said he would not vote for McCain.
"Speaking as a private individual, I would not vote for John McCain under any circumstances," said James Dobson, founder of the Colorado Springs-based Focus on the Family "
Maybe he supports Barr.
advice to Obama: Pray quietly and shut up
Meanwhile, the MSM ignored it, totally, and focused instead on "theoretical" conservative racism, which they hatched in their own dim minds with absolutely no facts or words to back it up, supposedly coming from all American citizens that refuse to vote for a marxist. It's a swell communist MSM we have in this nation.
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