Hello World!!!

What it do? In just over a month, you know what it is…Barack Obama will officially become the 44th president of the United States!!! Yes, it’s another post about Barack Obama. No, I’m not over it…So read on if you’re an Obama fan!!! Here’s the thing…As I mentioned in another post, many Christians are convinced that President-elect Obama is not a Christian although he has publicly professed faith in Jesus Christ many times. It seems these same Christians believe that President Bush, aka Iraqi shoe dodger (crazy huh?), is a devout Christian entrusted with the sacred duty of leading our nation to the Promised Land where all secular music is of the devil and legalized abortion is worse than starting an ill-advised war.

But check it…Was anyone watching President Bush’s interview with ABC Nightline’s Cynthia McFadden on Dec. 8?  According to a Baptist Press article, Bush said he believes there are multiple ways to God.  He also said that he believes that Christians and Muslims pray to the same God.

“I do believe there is an Almighty that is broad and big enough, loving enough, that can encompass a lot of people. I don’t think God is a narrow concept. I think it’s a broad concept. I just happen to believe the way to God is through Christ, and others have different avenues toward God, and I believe we pray to the same Almighty — I do.”

And Bush may or may not believe that humanity started in the Garden of Eden.

Asked if the Bible is “literally true,” Bush said, “Probably not. No, I’m not a literalist. But I think you can learn a lot from it.”

Now, y’all know if Bush had voiced these same words about eight years ago, many evangelical Christians wouldn’t have voted for him. But here is the response of Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission.

“I am very grateful that we have a president who is a person of personal and deeply committed faith in Jesus Christ, but statements like these remind us that he is indeed commander-in-chief, not theologian-in-chief,” Land told Baptist Press. “I know the president, and he is a person of strong faith and has sort of a C.S. Lewis Basic Christianity kind of faith that is very deep and profound in his personal life, but he is not a theologian. In this particular instance, he is wrong. The Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is not Allah, and there are not many paths to God.”

Now if Bush can be seen as as “a person of personal and deeply committed faith in Jesus Christ” in spite of his controversial beliefs, can these evangelicals also support Barack Obama, who also is a Christian?

Andre C. Willis, an assistant professor of the philosophy of religion at Yale Divinity School, explored how Obama’s brand of Christianity may influence his leadership in an article on TheRoot.com.

First of all, this is what Obama said about his faith in Jesus Christ to Rick Warren, pastor and author of the best-selling book, ” The Purpose Driven Life,” during the campaign.

“Well, as a starting point, it means I believe in—that Jesus Christ died for my sins, and that I am redeemed through him. That is a source of strength and sustenance on a daily basis. Yes, I know that I don’t walk alone. And I know that if I can get myself out of the way that, you know, I can maybe carry out in some small way what he intends. And it means that those sins that I have, on a fairly regular basis, hopefully will be washed away.”

And for the record, Obama is also an evangelical Christian although some evangelicals may not know this or choose not to believe this truth.

All forms of evangelicalism share core tenets: a belief in the importance of personal conversion through Jesus Christ (salvation); the commitment to biblical activism (authority of the Bible, not reason or experience); and an investment in public morality (public witness). Where they differ is in their emphasis: progressive evangelicals strongly emphasize the suffering of Jesus and his political struggles against the social order, while conservative evangelicals are preoccupied with imposing “biblical” morality.

According to the article, Obama’s style of Christianity will be more progressive rather than conservative. Rather than focus on the rules and regulations brand of Christianity (a Pharisaical type if you ask me), he will focus on empowering the poor and disenfranchised.

So what do you think? Do you believe that Bush and Obama worship the same God? Do you believe that it is possible for both Bush and Obama to be Christians? Do you think the evangelicals that support Bush will also support Obama? What role do you think Obama’s faith will play in his leadership? Do you think that Jesus loves both George W. Bush and Barack H. Obama?

Any thoughts?