Andy Sullivan asks: Is Obama Faking His Faith?

[Divine Discontent]

http://news.aol.com/political-machine/2008/04/14/hot-seat-is-obama-a-fake-christian

Vote at above link - the Republican base at AOL, who always vote against Democrats as long as I can recall, have it at nearly 60% yes. I'm sure the Clinton disruptors of the Democratic Party will run right over with their anti-Obama Republican counterparts and click yes.

Andrew says from his story at: http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/04/now-hes-a-godle.html -

'But Kristol is doing something much more pernicious: he is saying that Obama is faking faith, that his very profession of faith is a "mask" that is slipping, and that Kristol is the person to determine whose faith is genuine and who is a fraud.

A non-Christian manipulator of Christianity is calling a Christian a liar about his own faith. That's where they've gone to already. And it's only the middle of April. What are they so scared of?'

[SteveM]

1. Kristol's extremism: My morals are more moral than your morals.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

18. Kristol would fit a Nazi uniform very well

[provis99]

2. they ask Kristol, an atheist follower of Leo Strauss if Obama is truly religious?

a person just can't make this ironic shit up, can they? Kristol, a man who is both anti-religious and accepts the premise of Strauss that people must be lied to, is questioning the truthfulness of Obama's faith. Why the fuck do they even bother reporting on shit like this?

[GoldieAZ49]

27. I thought Kristol was Jewsih????

[ourbluenation]

3. to be clear, sullivan is not asking this question. n/t

[bunnies]

4. Personally...

I dont really care one way or the other. Makes no difference to me either way.

[nsd]

5. The headline is a bit misleading. Sullivan's not the one doing the asking. /nt

[cliffordu]

6. Why would you post all this NEOCON crap???

Where is the Democratic party stuff??

Isn't this GDP???

[Divine Discontent]

17. I'd post it b/c its the #1 story when I looked, on AOL

and I want the poll to reflect a fair representation, esp. when it's got so many responses.

[fjc]

7. This is, oddly, good news for Obama.

I cannot imagine a line of attack more ripe with the potential for backfiring than this.

[madrchsod]

8. obama is the anti-christ...no just kidding

he`s really a militant black muslim who is bent on the destruction of white christians, first in america then the world...

[Vinca]

9. Personally, I'd be happiest with an atheist president, but

I doubt that will ever happen.

[bunnies]

11. ditto. nt

[Ronnie]

14. I'd be happy, if they'd just stop talking about religion. Period.

It's possible to do the right thing without bringing religion into it. In fact, it's more likely. W has blamed most of his crimes on God.

[dansolo]

22. Some atheists are actually worse than the religious

It is the dogmatic types that I can't stand. Jimmy Carter is an evangelical, and it is obvious that his faith guides the way he leads his life. I have no problem with that.

I have only two criteria regarding religion and public officials:

1. They must be respectful of other religions
2. They must not be hypocrites regarding their own faith

[knixphan]

10. And meanwhile, in the WHITE HOUSE...

The biggest non-Christlike Christian smirks his little chimpy smirk...

[K Gardner]

12. An AOL poll??

[merh]

13. He needs to check with some posters here

not only is Obama religious, he and Oprah and Michelle have a new age religion going and they plan on taking over the world. :freak:

:sarcasm:

Obama is 1/2 white and 1/2 black, to some whites, he is too black, to some blacks, he is too white.

He isn't christian enough, he has that middle name and knows alot about Islam, he is too religious, to entrenched in wright's church.

Obama needs to change his slogan "damned if I do, damned if I don't" - his candidacy is truly proving true the Lincoln statement "you can please some of the people some of the time but you can't please all of the people all of the time."

[TahitiNut]

15. That's the danger inherent in getting between warring factions - shot at by both sides.

When folks get to the point that "winning" is more important than integrity itself, the battlefields become drenched in blood. Until the sheer number corpses shock the vestigial conscience (which is a steadily increasing hurdle), the bloodshed will continue.

When Americans became mere "yanks" and "rebs," the bodies of our young littered the fields of America.
When the Germans became "Huns," the bodies of our young littered the fields of Europe.
When the Japanese became mere "nips" and "japs," the bodies of our young littered the beaches of the Pacific and our neighbors were incarcerated.

And so on. Wars follow whenever we see human beings as mere epithets. For so many DUers who proclaim themselves "too good" to serve in the military, placing themselves above those who'd succumb to the indoctrination and do harm to others, their behavior in this forum shows them in deep denial. If they can, without the concentrated indoctrination and with supposedly more life experience, adopt the rhetoric of War Lords so easily, I can only view such an individual as akin to a warmonger too cowardly to take up a fight for the preservation of our sovereign self-governance - hiding behind the mere facade of "pacifist."

[5thGenDemocrat]

20. Such is the difference between chicken hawks and chicken shits

And it's not much of a difference. Well said, TN.
John
Hope to see you in June.

[Divine Discontent]

28. my goodness TahitiNut

this is a powerful commentary by you! What a wonderful group of thoughts. Maybe you could write a longer collection of thoughts on the subject, as this was a great short read.

(and I'm amazed a few people think I'm intoning Sullivan is saying Obama isn't Christian when I pointedly put his defense of Obama in the OP, and, Sullivan does have the poll up, and asks the exact question I titled the OP, because he wants to know what people think - just like I do)

[Cha]

16. It's none of that nosy asshole's

god damned business 'cause I got news for them.. NOT THIS TIME.

[ourbluenation]

19. the OP is misleading. Sullivan never asked this. n/t

[Divine Discontent]

24. no, it is not misleading

it is on his web page, it's clearly received millions of hits on AOL.COM and has nearly a quarter million votes. I found it noteworthy to post this b/c of the amount of votes upon it. And, it is Bill Kristol whom outright accuses Obama of being a fake-Christian - Sullivan is the one asking - as the poll picture clearly shows that you went and voted in.

[ourbluenation]

26. I think its misleading becasue he doesn't think Obama is faking his faith

and that poll is not on his website, its on aol.

didn't he call out kristol for making the accusation?

on edit, the poll is on his website...my bad. but he personally doesn't think BO is faking his faith, I guess thats why I think the op is misleading.

[anonymous171]

21. If I were an atheist who was pretending to be a christian in order to get into office

I would not join Trinity United Church of Christ. I would join some good old fashioned, mainstream, protestant church somewhere and stick to that.

Just my take on it.

[JeffR]

23. But of course Kristol never questions W's phony Christianity.

Why not, I wonder?

[GoldieAZ49]

25. Kristol said Obama's comments showed his Marxist views

those are political views not religious