Can an American please answer a question?

[Lord of Elves]

Uhm, Obama himself admitted in his book to going to a muslim school for 4 years as a child in Indonesia. Do you think it outside the realm of possibility that he prayed in a mosque then?

As I recall, when I was a toddler my parents sent me to a Jewish preschool because it was convenient/cheap/both. Does that make me Jewish?

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Obama has probably "prayed" in a mosque as often as he has in a church.

Considering that he has been said to pray every week in a church, that's a lot of prayers in a mosque.

Let your yes be yes and your no be no...

Funny... as an atheist, this is exactly how I feel. Swearing on a bible means NOTHING to me. So many people do it and they turn out to be utter liars. But my yes does mean yes, and my no does mean no. It's called word of HONOR. And I take my honor very seriously.

Obama claims to be a Christian. You dont know his heart.

Only Obama knows his own heart.

A tree will be known by its fruit.

Not after Monsanto gets hold of it...

Uhm, Obama himself admitted in his book to going to a muslim school for 4 years as a child in Indonesia. Do you think it outside the realm of possibility that he prayed in a mosque then?

So what? I went to Sunday school when I was 8 years old. I grew out of it.

 

[MobBoss]

As I recall, when I was a toddler my parents sent me to a Jewish preschool because it was convenient/cheap/both. Does that make me Jewish?

If you go back and re-read a bit more carefully, you'll see I didnt allege he was Muslim. I was just saying it may not be unreasonable to think he may have prayed in a mosque during that time.

Only Obama knows his own heart.

And I would say God. But some men dont even know their own hearts, so even your point is in question.

 

[Lord of Elves]

If you go back and re-read a bit more carefully, you'll see I didnt allege he was Muslim. I was just saying it may not be unreasonable to think he may have prayed in a mosque during that time.

How does that in anyway "downgrade" his Christianity, then? And even if it did, isn't conversion a good thing?

 

[MobBoss]

Do you have evidence? Because the other guy clearly did not.

I have evidence he attended a muslim school. In fact, Obama himself admitted that.

But so what if he went to a mosque or not? Does it really matter? He'd still be president even if he did pray in a mosque as a kid. Big deal.

How does that in anyway "downgrade" his Christianity, then? And even if it did, isn't conversion a good thing?

I never said it did. I think what says more about that is his lack of attending Church services unlike those Presidents before him. What kind of Christian are you if you play golf on Sunday more often than you attend church services?

 

[Cutlass]

I have evidence he attended a muslim school. In fact, Obama himself admitted that.

But so what if he went to a mosque or not? Does it really matter? He'd still be president even if he did pray in a mosque as a kid. Big deal.

Then why would someone bother to bring it up at all?

 

[Lord of Elves]

But so what if he went to a mosque or not? Does it really matter? He'd still be president even if he did pray in a mosque as a kid. Big deal.

I never said it did. I think what says more about that is his lack of attending Church services like those Presidents before him.

The bolded seems to imply that Obama's Christianity, or lack thereof, doesn't actually have any relevance to his worth as a president. But the below comparison to other presidents in his, uhh, Christian-ness seems to contradict that. Does it matter if Obama is a Christian/would it matter if he was a Muslim?

What kind of Christian are you if you play golf on Sunday more often than you attend church services?

Link to video.

 

[MobBoss]

Then why would someone bother to bring it up at all?

Most likely because of the level of ambiguity in Obamas past.

The bolded seems to imply that Obama's Christianity, or lack thereof, doesn't actually have any relevance to his worth as a president. But the below comparison to other presidents in his, uhh, Christian-ness seems to contradict that. Does it matter if Obama is a Christian/would it matter if he was a Muslim?

While there is no official 'religious test' for political office, people will still take this into account when voting. If someone is going to claim they are Christian shouldnt they go to Church and behave in a Christian manner?

 

[Cutlass]

Most likely because of the level of ambiguity in Obamas past.

What ambiguity is there?

 

[timtofly]

So in other words you have absolutely nothing to even suggest the possibility that he might have prayed in a mosque or not be a Christian.

Obama was raised by a Muslim and frequented mosque in early education. He also received a Catholic education. Later he went to a church that was neither Catholic nor Muslim. More on the lines of Black Liberation Theology which combined Islam and Catholism in a weird twist. Obama can easily say in the same breath, I am a Christian and I am a Muslim and both groups would accept him. Now Christian Protestants do not hold membership as a criteria to be a Christian. Catholics consider any baptised infant to be a member and a Christian, and gasp as long as you come and confess once in a while, you are on your way to heaven. Now Muslims go to the mosque for the main purpose to pray up to three times a day. Now they are more commited to prayer and membership of the most three, but a Muslim can just as well go to the churches that combine both Islam and Christianity and be comfortable.

So any one can say they are a Christian and any one can say they are a Muslim. I think though unless one is either, they will not understand all that is involved in either. It does not matter to me if Obama wants to be either a Muslim or a Christian. The US is a secular nation that has had a majority of presidents from various religious backgrounds. That is not what causes me to feel patriotic or not.

tl.dr. It matters not one way or the other if Obama is a Christian or Muslim.

 

[MobBoss]

What ambiguity is there?

A huge lack of information, or mis-information or even conflicting information.

 

[Lord of Elves]

While there is no official 'religious test' for political office, people will still take this into account when voting. If someone is going to claim they are Christian shouldnt they go to Church and behave in a Christian manner?

Clearly people care what religion their elected leaders espouse to be members of, but objectively should they? And why is it so egregious that Obama doesn't properly affect Christianity as compared to other presidents? I don't see an incredible amount of pictures of JFK attending church services other than his own wedding, and he was famous/infamous for being Catholic.

 

[Cutlass]

tl.dr. It matters not one way or the other if Obama is a Christian or Muslim.

Then why bring it up at all?

 

[timtofly]

Then why would someone bother to bring it up at all?

Blame Formy from the 2nd post.

 

[Save_Ferris]

...And not a single post on this page is about immigration.

 

[Cutlass]

A huge lack of information, or mis-information or even conflicting information.

Such as?

 

[MobBoss]

Clearly people care what religion their elected leaders espouse to be members of, but objectively should they? And why is it so egregious that Obama doesn't properly affect Christianity as compared to other presidents? I don't see an incredible amount of pictures of JFK attending church services other than his own wedding, and he was famous/infamous for being Catholic.

Why shouldnt they? And fwiw, JFK and his family regularly attended services at the Cathedral of St. Matthew in Washington D.C.

@Cutlass. You're kidding, right?

 

[Lord of Elves]

Why shouldnt they?

Because nowhere in the Constitution (which the far right seems to adore) is there a clause requiring our elected officials to profess to any religion whatsoever, in fact, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights very clearly say state religion or religious favoritism by the state is illegal. How is obsession with the religion of elected leaders beneficial, and what precedent does it have other than a means for candidates to guarantee votes from the religious-minded? How is it in any way beneficial for democracy at all?

And what about immigration?

 

[Cutlass]

What would I be kidding about? No one has ever presented a controversy that wasn't the presenter lying out their ass.

 

[timtofly]

Because nowhere in the Constitution (which the far right seems to adore) is there a clause requiring our elected officials to profess to any religion whatsoever, in fact, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights very clearly say state religion or religious favoritism by the state is illegal. How is obsession with the religion of elected leaders beneficial, and what precedent does it have other than a means for candidates to guarantee votes from the religious-minded? How is it in any way beneficial for democracy at all?

And what about immigration?

We have determined that it is as easy to figure out if Obama is either a Christian or a Muslim as it is to figure out if an immigrant is legal or not.