QuakerInfo.com Forum

[Spyridon]

The Faith of Barack Obama
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFFWS6ioHJc

The Faith of Barack Obama
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001E0YQTQ/ref=s9_simp_gw_s0_p351_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=1WTG6AXQ62FVTRRVSCTV&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846

Rather than just condemning Obama as all bad, I'd like to learn more about his religious faith and whether it motivates him as a politician.

[michaeldavidjay]

I would not pretend to be able to judge the faith of the president, as I primarily know him as the public face of a secular government. Even if I know other things, it is difficult to sort out propaganda (from every side)
_________________
Do Friends speak to today's condition, or are we only a historical footnote?

[Shay]

[Chip]

If the author were a mechanic and wrote a book about valve timing or front end alignment, I might read it. If I want to know the spiritual understanding and experience of a real live human, I'd like to visit with that person myself. If I can't visit, then I'll take whatever cues I find in listening to him, watching him and reading things written by himself. And I'll hope to be listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit within me as I do that.

Condemn him as all bad? Well, he has that of God within himself.

I watched a long jailhouse interview with a feller know as the "ice man". He was a hired killer and he recounted murder after cold blooded murder without the slightest hint of remorse or even any seeming understanding that remorse was a possibility. He described himself as a man who looked folks in the eye and pulled the trigger without so much as blinking. A hard, hard man. Then the interviewer asked about his wife and children. The "ice man" melted and cried. There's a "soft center" in us all. Maybe the outer shell is thin or maybe it's thick. Maybe we don't even see that we have a soft center. Maybe our life is lived out blindly as if the shell were all there is to us. But the center is there. And it can't be reached with condemnation. "Neither do I condemn you...."

Rant over. You probably didn't mean to use the word condemn as strongly as I took it I'm not happy with the president's doings either. Mr Kucinich would be more to my liking
_________________
Take what is given
Give what is taken

[Spyridon]

[Shay]

[Spyridon]

While I'm honest about my disagreements with his policies, I can't help but like Barack Obama as a person. I've liked him ever since his keynote address at the 2004 Democratic Convention. His words of unity and hope were a breath of fresh air in the dark years of Bush/Cheney.

During the 2008 Democratic primaries, I donated to his campaign and publicly spoke for him before we voted at the caucus. I even encouraged others to come and vote for Obama with me, though my disdain for Hillary Clinton played a role in that.

As the general election came, I felt disillusioned with the system, and the fact that Obama's message changed after he won the primaries. In the general election, I did not vote at all and I'm uncertain as to whether I'd want to vote again.

At the same time, I see the significance of having Obama as president. As the member of an oppressed minority, I hope that he will help lift up the marginalized in our society. As a youthful president, I hope he will encourage young people to get involved in civic life.

On tax day, I participated in the tea party, because I thought it was a one time event to protest taxes. I didn't expect there to be a tea party movement against Obama for anything and everything, and that's what it's sadly become.

The amount of hate toward Obama in the right-wing, even from those who claim to be Christian, is appalling. Realistic thinking can tell you that Obama's policies are left of center, if left at all. He's not a Marxist by any stretch of the imagination, though it's a convenient slur.

Reading a book like this will hopefully help people appreciate Obama who otherwise would not. The book received a great deal of criticism from conservative Christians just for being published, so it can't be all bad.

[Dan]

Friend Chip said: "If the author were a mechanic and wrote a book about valve timing or front end alignment, I might read it. If I want to know the spiritual understanding and experience of a real live human, I'd like to visit with that person myself."

I would agree with that. I have been sitting here reading a dairy publication for dairy farmers. When I want to "learn" something of value, I look for an article actually written by someone who is a dairy farmer as they have the knowledge and the exerience. When it comes to "things spiritual" I will take my "expert information" from the One who knows best and is the "Expert" for He made our Spirit, and that's the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Bible says that His shall be known of Him and by Him. The Bible says, "By their fruits ye shall know them." We can be quiet observers of another's fruit. I don't need to hear what some news comentator has to say, nor even what the person says him/herself. Actions speak louder than words.

What's that old saying? "Your actions speak so loudly I can't hear what you're trying to say."

Thy Friend,
Dan

[Spyridon]

I don't think the author of this book should be criticized simply for having written a book about Bush. He's written several spiritual biographies of public figures.

The Faith of Barack Obama
http://www.tangle.com/view_video?viewkey=bab2a91301d45f6b8bdd

[Spyridon]

The Faith of Barack Obama is a good read. It helped me to see that when it comes to religion and politics, Obama and I are in almost full agreement. Our major difference is that I'm a pacifist while he is not. But can a president afford to be a pacifist? For anyone uncomfortable with the author's conservatism, please keep in mind that this book was endorsed by Desmond Tutu.

[Chip]

"Can a president afford to be a pacifist?"
************************************
Hi Spyridon ... Afford in what sense? Is pacifism a choice for a president (or you or me) to lay aside in the "real" world? What is your meaning in this?
_________________
Take what is given
Give what is taken

[Spyridon]

[Chip]

Is it likely? No, I don't think so. So maybe the question is what is meant by realistic. If it means likely, then as I said, no. If it means sensible and right then yes, I think it would be sensible and right. For myself, I feel that if I'm a pacifist, I can't draw a line somewhere and say that on the other side of the line it's okay to drop the pacifism.

By the way, I like Mr Tutu and his recomendation of a thing would always have some meaning for me. But I wouldn't take anyone's advice as "gospel"
_________________
Take what is given
Give what is taken

[Kiahanie]

A President could certainly put us on a path so that we could live a life as a nation that would remove the occasion of all war. What particular steps would be taken at any particular time would depend on opportunity and timing.

Policies that would promote equitable sharing of the world's resources, renounce military and economic empire, and active participation in leveling the standard of living world-wide would be good steps. Not far down the line might come dismantling the DoD and diverting resources to the Gaia Health and Security Fund.
_________________
"There is a field out beyond right and wrong. I'll meet you there." --Jellaludin Rumi

[kevin roberts]

All right, I'm up to speed here. Bluefish . . . bluefish . . . okay, got it:



Now where were we again?