Recently a local resident raised a rhetorical question: Is President Barack Obama a Christian?

The question implies a closed American Christian cultural standard, not an oblique standard open to several further questions. Is American culture truly Christian? And is modern Christianity yet Christian? There appears to be no clear defining answer to these questions, only varying interpretation. Using evolving standards to judge oneself, others or institutions is best approached cautiously. A carpenter using personally preferred metrics for constructing a structure inevitably confronts problems when integrating other standard components. If one’s tool for measuring society is historically flawed or mere interpretation then that tool is of little value beyond one’s own personal ambitions. Questioning public officials’ integrity based on oblique religious standards — whether they be Christian, Jewish, Mormon, Buddhist or other — contradicts both our Constitution and better judgement. The Middle East is a reminder of schizophrenic theocratic cultures in conflict with modern Western materialism.

President Obama is/was not elected for religious (or lack thereof) governance. Nor is he politically obliged to materialism, consumerism or an array of idols Americans worship daily, decade upon decade unto oblivion. It’s ironic how a presumed religiously faithful public has conveniently forgotten/forgiven its once arch enemy — godless communism — and now financially supports a brutal communist dictator through economic trade (China) on a cross-culture path of shared materialistic values. The ironies, contradictions and hypocrisies are staggering, both in “Christian” America and in “communist” China. Is it now “Christian” to finance evil murdering dictators? Possibly, since modern religions often appear as culturally convenient artificial replicas of original intent; and historically there is recent precedence —Latin America and Africa. Therefore it could be said any connection by reflective beings (a president) to modern convenient religious constructs may create contradictions whether personally, politically or culturally.

Included is this waiver: These observations arise not from hand-me-down archaic dogma, mythological interpretation or “facts” gleaned and cherry-picked from latest biased-media sources. These observations are merely accumulated opinion from life experience intended to spark conversation and rational thought free of fear, zealous ambition or deceptive intent.

 

Patrick Cunningham

Twin Lakes