One thing you have to love about people, is the way we can refuse to let the facts get in the way of a good preconceived notion, conspiracy theory, or deeply held conviction. Depending on which poll you read in the past several months, anywhere from 18 to 24% of Americans still think that the President is a Muslim. When asked why they thought that, a significant number point to his name and say it sounds Muslim. Given that logic I guess my name, Lacich, makes me Croatian Eastern Orthodox.
Today at a prayer breakfast in the White House, President Obama spoke as clearly of his Christian faith as anyone could be expected to speak. In fact, he was more clear than a lot of people I have talked to who claimed to be Christians and are regular church goers. In an article in the Examiner, author Christine Priest Stiegemeyer, (hmm sounds like a Nazi name to me) details what the president said about his own faith and religious practice. He goes so far as to pinpoint the events that led to him embracing Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior twenty years ago. According to what I read in my Bible, that pretty much makes you a Christian, no matter what your name is. So if you are a Christian then I think it is time to recognize that the President is a brother in Christ, with you, me, and the Governor of Alabama. If you are wondering why I mention the governor then read this post from a few weeks ago. That means you need to treat the President with the same respect you would any other member of the family. After all, you just might find that you are seated across from him at the eternal banquet feast in Heaven. Talk about awkward!
But what if he was not a Christian. What if in fact he really was a Muslim? Then what? First, according to our Constitution, it is irrelevant what his faith is or is not. America was founded on lots of principles, one of them being that a person’s faith or lack there of, has no bearing on their rights as a citizen. Further more, if you are a Christian let me suggest that you are still required by Scripture to pray for him, to respect and honor him, as well as to love him so that one day he would come to faith in Christ. Christians can disagree with policy. We can express our opinions on issues. We can work, march, debate, and struggle for what we think is the right direction for the country. What we cannot do is attack the person who holds different views. We cannot raise the issue of their faith as being somehow the deciding factor of what is right or wrong.
But the fact is, the president has identified himself as a follower of Jesus Christ. Every morning he reads scripture and a devotional on that passage. He prays and asks the Lord to give him wisdom and strength as he seeks to lead. At night he prays again and asks the Lord to forgive him. Maybe we can all get past this silly notion that he is a Muslim and instead spend our time reading the Scriptures, praying for strength and wisdom and asking for forgiveness.
Dan Lacich: Provocative Christian Living 
Thanks for this accurate perspective Dan. I have often heard expressed that we will be surprised at who actually is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. I continue to be joyfully surprised that mine is written there – and looking forward to that Banquet Table with my brother (and you too).
Vrain,
Thanks buddy. Really appreciate your comments and looking forward to the banquet and the surprises.
I plan on crashing the party if my name isn’t on the invite list. 🙂
Rob, I am sure that Lindsey is on the list. Maybe she can get you in as her guest.
I’ll hope he’ll be there too. But in the meantime, pushing/supporting/making way for abortion, homosexuality and gay marriage is not the fruit of a true Believer. We are to recognize a Christian by their fruits and their love for others…
Some peoples racism trumps their Christianity.
excellent
Racism has nothing to do with it. That is just an excuse. If the President is a Chrisitan, it is not evidenced by his actions To be a Christian is to follow the ways of Christ. It is not in saying a prayer or reading the bible. It is a radical heart change and a desire to follow the ways of God. Voting for the right for have an abortion, same sex marriage and stating that America is not a Christian nation certainly do not exhibit a change for Christ!
Marianne,
I absolutely agree that the evidence of our relationship with Christ is to be found in following the ways of Christ. What we must account for is that we are all in different places in that journey. If you met someone who had only confessed faith in Christ a few days ago, you would not expect them to be in the same place as someone who had been following Christ for 50 years. That is because sanctification is a process and not a once and for all event. The question that needs to be asked of the president and all of us is this, are you closer to Jesus today than you were last year, or last month, or last week? I would suspect that when you came to faith in Christ you did not immediately have all your ideas and actions changed into a Christ-like life. It seems to me that the same is true of President Obama. He came to faith in Christ as an adult, was not necessarily discipled early in his walk with Christ. In recent years he has been. What we need to do is give him the same grace we would give anyone and pray that he indeed grows in has a radical heart for Jesus.
By the way, I don’t agree with his statements on marriage or abortion, but I do agree with the statement that America is not a Christian nation. We are heavily influenced by the Christian faith but we are not a nation that claims Christianity as the national religion. You may want to read a blog I wrote about this.
https://provocativechristian.wordpress.com/2008/11/13/why-america-was-never-a-christian-nation/
Dan
I will check out your blog post, Dan. Tell me though, how do you reconcile the fact that Obama, who calls himself a Christian, did away with the national day of prayer? He is showing exactly who he follows and it is not Christ. When the rich young ruler came to Jesus and asked him what he needed to do to be saved, Jesus looked at his heart and knew that his money was his god. When the man rejected the idea of giving up all he had to follow Christ and walked away, Jesus did not go after him telling him that since he had it half right they could work something out. Jesus was sad knowing thiis man”s end was destruction! There is never room for compromise to follow Christ.That is why Jesus said that the gate is small and the road is narrow that leads to life and FEW find it. That should warn everyone! To tell the world that this is not a Christian nation says volumes. Funding abortions, voting for same sex marriages, sending over 700 million American dollars over to oil rich countries to refurbish mosques does not equate to being a follower of Christ!
Of course I am praying for the President and will continue. In the end though, it will come down to his choice of whom he follows.
Marianne,
My reply to President Obama doing away with the National Day of Prayer is that he didn’t. Check out this link from CBS News. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20002706-503544.html
Also, please understand, I did not vote for him and don’t agree with a great deal of what he holds to and does. But I am committed to truth and the biblical injunction to love my neighbor and pray for our leaders as I know you are. I think that what often happens is that debate on the substance of issues gets clouded by false information and we need to sift that out. The issue of him “canceling” the National Day of prayer is one of those. We end up looking silly when we get our facts wrong and then when we are right about something, people dismiss Christian’s because of previous statements.
I look forward to hearing from you
Dan
Dan, your article came from 2010, the year AFTERr President Obama ignored the national day of prayer. Read the article from 2009 and tell me if you think that is something a Christian would do.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2009/05/obama-cancels-national-prayer-day-service.html
Obama softened up on the day of prayer because he got a lot of slack on what he did in 2009!
Interesting post! I’ve never thought that President Obama is Muslim so that’s never been an issue. And, I do believe he and his administration inherited a mess that has been created over many, many years. However, being a die-hard conservative, it is his political leanings I have concerns about, not his spirituality. Only God knows that heart of everyone who claims to be a believer and so I would never judge President Obama, or anyone for that matter, who claims to be a Christian. But I do like engaging in dialogue, especially when it comes to Jesus. I personally would consider it an honor to be able to have a conversation with President Obama because he is our president and a sovereign God has placed him in his position. And, while I’ve never been “political” until the past four years, I am concerned about the direction of our country. Personally, I’ve been unemployed almost the entire length of time that President Obama has been president. Again, he didn’t create the mess, but it hasn’t improved any either. I’ve worked my entire life and never had a problem finding a job like I have had now at this very point in time along with at least 14 million other Americans. And that is worth discussing.