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Dobson to Attack Obama Tuesday for Distorting the Bible
ABC News ^ | 6-23-08 | Jake Tapper

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."


TOPICS: News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 2008; calltorenewal; christians; christianvote; dobson; dubois; fotf; joshuadubois; obama; religiousleft
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To: saganite
"ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ"

The sound of Carl Sagan sizzling in the furnace of He!! ??

41 posted on 06/23/2008 9:02:12 PM PDT by editor-surveyor (Jimmy Carter is the skidmark in the panties of American History)
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To: kingattax

Anyone who belives Obama is christian: I have a bridge to sell you :D


42 posted on 06/23/2008 9:10:44 PM PDT by modest proposal (Congress (n). Place where you can be supported in comfort by the state to talk stupid)
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To: BlessedBeGod

You’re not kidding. Why on earth is he referencing a biblical passage on morals & behaviors as a guide for our Defense Department. Very strange. This is not an Islamic Country who uses the Koran as a means to govern.

And the last thing I would call the Sermon on the Mount is radical.

Each day I think he gets weirder and weirder.


43 posted on 06/23/2008 9:11:41 PM PDT by HollyB
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To: fkabuckeyesrule
"It simply means that America is predominately a christian nation"

No, our founders stated unequivocally that this nation was founded on the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and that our constitution was fit only for the governance of a Godly, Christian people. We cannot allow that fact to be changed by the seed of the serpent.

44 posted on 06/23/2008 9:11:58 PM PDT by editor-surveyor (Jimmy Carter is the skidmark in the panties of American History)
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To: blaquebyrd

And he was right.


45 posted on 06/23/2008 9:12:39 PM PDT by editor-surveyor (Jimmy Carter is the skidmark in the panties of American History)
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To: editor-surveyor
Which conservatives, if any do you suggest would pass Dr Dobson’s Christian test?
46 posted on 06/23/2008 9:19:19 PM PDT by blaquebyrd
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To: Lijahsbubbe
Is Dobson a religious figure or a political figure?

Neither, he is a family figure. Dr. Dobson is an advocate for strenghthening families. He is also a Christian and an American citizen. All which qualify him to speak out on this or any other subject. Just like you and me! :)

47 posted on 06/23/2008 9:19:50 PM PDT by upsdriver
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To: kingattax
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."

That's exactly what Obama's doing. I'm thankful Dr. Dobson has the audacity to defend the Word of God from Obama's malicious distortions and attacks. The test of other Christian leaders will be their uncompromising support, or lack thereof.

48 posted on 06/23/2008 9:22:06 PM PDT by taraytarah
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To: blaquebyrd
Isn’t this the same guy that said Fred Thompson wasn’t a Christian?

No, you must be thinking of someone else.

49 posted on 06/23/2008 9:37:26 PM PDT by upsdriver
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To: kingattax
"...likely due to his loathing of presumptive GOP presidential nominee Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz."

Likely? Loathing? Thanks ABC. If you say so.
50 posted on 06/23/2008 9:39:11 PM PDT by Liberty Valance (Keep a simple manner for a happy life :o)
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To: upsdriver
Nope--I just googled it. Here it is...

"Everyone knows he’s conservative and has come out strongly for the things that the pro-family movement stands for,” Dobson – considered the most politically powerful evangelical figure in the U.S. – said in a phone call to Dan Gilgoff, senior editor at U.S. News & World Report. "[But] I don’t think he’s a Christian. At least that’s my impression.” Thompson’s spokesman Mark Corallo took issue with the statement. "Thompson is indeed a Christian,” he said. "He was baptized into the Church of Christ.”

51 posted on 06/23/2008 9:41:07 PM PDT by blaquebyrd
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To: modest proposal

Obama appeals to people that because they believe nothing they will believe anything. They are not grounded people.


52 posted on 06/23/2008 9:58:46 PM PDT by dandiegirl
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To: blaquebyrd
"[But] I don’t think he’s a Christian. At least that’s my impression.”

Focus on Family spokesman Gary Schneeberger sought to clarify Dobson’s statement, telling Gilgoff that while Dobson didn’t believe Thompson belonged to a non-Christian faith, he "has never known Thompson to be a committed Christian – someone who openly talks about his faith.

Dobson said he didn't think Thompson was a Christian not that he wasn't a Christian. He couldn't remember Fred Thompson openly talk about his faith. Had he heard Thompson say anything faithwise, I am sure Dobson wouldn't have made the statement.

Dobson's work is made easier with men and women of strong faith in positions of leadership. I sure can't fault him for being quite discerning as to who he is willing to support.

53 posted on 06/23/2008 10:03:48 PM PDT by upsdriver
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To: kingattax

Obama, before you go quoting and ‘teaching’ Scripture, YOU should read the Bible and take it SERIOUSLY. What are the consequences of leading a flock astray? You are either a daring man or an unbeliever.

What actions prove yourself to be Christian? Supporting abortion? Supporting the teaching of homosexuality to kindergartners?

Get off the high horse you arrogant fool...

Let’s pray...

Heavenly Father, please reveal the whole truth of Barack Obama and John McCain to the public. Let’s have a truly honest election to see if America is really worthy of condemnation. If America chooses unwisely, it will have condemned itself. So Father, shout the truth from the mountain tops. Compel the MSM to report everything. In Jesus’s name, Amen.


54 posted on 06/23/2008 10:04:30 PM PDT by dmanLA
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To: kingattax
Don't overlook the actual gem in Obama's statement: America "is no longer just a Christian nation.........." It's that 'no longer just' bit that really digs deep, in that in using those exact words, Obama recognizes that we WERE a Christian nation. (Even if most of us still think we are.) It's the NO LONGER part combined with JUST that both acknowledges and trivializes our Christianity and our roots. It's his admission of the bedrock assertion on the right ours is a Judeo-Christian nation. We welcome others, but we are Western and proud of it.
55 posted on 06/23/2008 10:09:29 PM PDT by combat_boots (She lives! 22 weeks, 9.5 inches. Go, baby, go!)
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To: Lijahsbubbe

“Is Dobson a religious figure or a political figure?”

His focus is on the family. (Sorry... somebody had to say it.)


56 posted on 06/23/2008 10:12:25 PM PDT by littlehouse36
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To: chickpundit

“However, Dobson may have overplayed his hand.”

Agree. It seems that nobody is good enough for him.


57 posted on 06/23/2008 10:14:42 PM PDT by littlehouse36
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To: kingattax

Bumping!


58 posted on 06/23/2008 10:24:36 PM PDT by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)
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To: kingattax
Obama also does not respect life and votes for abortion. Anyone who supports life need not be voting for him.

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59 posted on 06/23/2008 10:26:47 PM PDT by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)
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To: dmanLA

**Obama, before you go quoting and ‘teaching’ Scripture, YOU should read the Bible and take it SERIOUSLY. **

Like noticing that there really is a hell for people who kill others.


60 posted on 06/23/2008 10:28:26 PM PDT by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)
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