President Obama: "America Is Not a Christian, Jewish or Muslim Nation"

[jefferson_dem]

Run time: 04:21 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IHq5g-oW-k   Posted on YouTube: April 06, 2009 By YouTube Member: Views on YouTube: 0   Posted on DU: April 07, 2009 By DU Member: jefferson_dem Views on DU: 2119

 

[Skittles]

1. he is correct

[jefferson_dem]

2. In theory and in reality.

Thanks GOD, we have a POTUS who has the courage to stand up and speak the fucking TRUTH.

:)

[Skittles]

3. GOD had nothing to do with it

AMERICAN WHO VOTED did

[jefferson_dem]

4. Well...

That's debatable.

And I'm not necessarily a believer.

It was kind of a tongue-in-cheek comment anyway. Lighten up.

[Skittles]

6. I don't consider it debatable

and don't tell me to lighten up

[theoldman]

5. America is not a Christian nation in the sense that Indonesia is a Muslim nation.

We have a Christian majority in the US population but not a Christian government. That is the difference.

[CJCRANE]

14. Technically

speaking Indonesia is a secular nation too (i.e. it is a muslim-majority nation but not a "Muslim Nation").

"Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation; however, no reference is made to Islam in the Indonesian constitution".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indonesia

Probably Saudi Arabia comes closest to the definition of a Muslim nation.

[TankLV]

7. Let the foaming and the mouth and wailing and nashing of teeth commence!

He is ENTIRELY correct on this...

But I can't wait to hear all the media whores fume and spit and complain!!!

[burning rain]

8. Of course, he's right.......

as the Treaty of Tripoli makes clear. Perhaps however lurking conservative maniacs will condemn as Kenya-born secret Muslim traitors the Senate of the time, which ratified it unanimously, and President Adams for signing it.

[Third Doctor]

9. I'm glad.

That Obama can look past his own and other's beliefs and focus on a larger picture.

[Moonwalk]

10. Trust the Republican to lie about America's roots....

Sorry, but no, we're not rooted in Judeo-Christian tradition. That would have meant putting priests in charge, and maybe having a king. That's the Judeo-Christian tradition. Just look at the way politics are run in the Bible. Do you see separation of church and state in there? Do you see senator and representatives? Do you see an elected president? How about people voting? Bill of rights?

Truth is, our government is rooted in Greco-Roman traditions--which are Pagan, not Judeo-Christian. Our founding fathers really worshiped that Roman Republic. Now, if you want to say that the creators of our country, our political system, and such were all from Christian backgrounds and that many were devoutly Christian, then no argument. And if you want to say that some of our laws and values are based on those found in Christianity, again, no argument. But that argues that those same values can't be found elsewhere--not in, say Greco-Roman values/laws or Jewish law or Islamic law. And that's not true, is it?

I also take issue with the assumption that we're rooted in the past and that our present position has nothing to do with anything that isn't 2000 years old. Do we ignore the Enlightenment and all those thinkers that Adams and Jefferson and the rest read and got ideas from? How about the ideas of Islamic thinkers that made their way from Arab lands and actually had influence on Western philosophers? Do we ignore any laws we've established, or values we've decided on as a nation that had nothing at all to do with any of those three religions--like rejection of slavery, women's rights, fighting against child abuse, etc.? Why is it that these pundits get to insist that all our values and laws come from Judeo-Christian tradition, yet not one of them has to offer an example and prove that statement correct? And why does no one seem to think that the human race has implemented a single original thought into our laws and values since those ancient times?

I think Obama said exactly the right thing. It's time for the U.S. to stop taking for granted that we're chained to a bible. The statement that we're rooted in Judeo-Christian tradition needs to be challenged, not blindly accepted.

[Liberal_Christian]

11. Historically speaking; most of our founding fathers were DEIST.

I can't believe the "Republican't" actually says "we believe in separation of church and state" when the G-NO-P are the ones perverting the original meaning of Christianity to manipulate their base in voting for legislation based on "Christian principles" ie. gay marriage and abortion. Most of our founding fathers had some pretty negative things to say about Christianity -Jefferson actually rewrote the bible. I figure it's because they have no political footing if they loose their pseudo-Christian-manipulation-machine (over 50% of their voting base) and that could happen if their base realizes people like Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Paine, and many others were deist or influenced thereof and not the perfect Christians they think they are. Here's the kicker; even if we were a true Christian nation founded on true Christian principles, the present-day republican party would be non-existent; tax-cuts for the wealthy, decreased funding for social programs that address poverty like welfare and healthcare, over funding of military, frivolous gun rights, constant glorification and justification of war, capital punishment, the infusion of government and religion, ... all which for the most part are not justified by the teachings and lessons of Jesus Christ (according to the New Testament). The irony is that Liberalism is actually more aligned with Christ's principles than conservatism.

[Moonwalk]

15. This is why the Christian Right tends to Cherry-Pick. Because Liberalism is...

More Christian than Conservatism. BUT Conservatism is more Old Testament. So the G-NO-P and their religious friends cherry pick. They take No-Gay-Sex from the Old Testament, as well as things like wiping out those who don't believe as you do, and pretty much ignore both Old Testament laws and New Testament teachings that would go against what they want, be it the law not to eat pork or the admonition to give up all wealth and "follow god."

But this, after all, is the problem with any nation that bases their values on a 2000 year old mix of religious stories and laws based on those religious tales rather than on any sort of rational, factual, modern basis. It means that people end up following laws that may make no sense at all. Ultimately, the Founding Fathers did not say, "Let's outlaw eating pork because the Bible tells us to!" anymore than they said, "Let's allow freedom of religion because the bible tells us to." They said, "Freedom of religion makes sense. That's a good law. Let's put it in our Bill of Rights." They created laws that worked for them, made sense to them, and could give them the advantages of citizens that they wanted.

[bjobotts]

12. The values came from a shared morality.Habeas Corpus was law before Christianity was

[bjobotts]

13. was ever introduced in Europe.Obam did indeed state fact.Muslims share the same values idiot.