Let's not mix religion and politics

Michael DelGiorno is talking this a.m. about an article by Joseph Farah ("Obama: Never a Christian") in which Farah makes the argument that Senator Barack Obama is not a Christian. I'm glad that this issue was raised, not because it might hurt Obama's campaign for president (I'm definitely not a supporter of most Democratic Party policies), but because there are some things more important than politics. You need to read the op/ed to understand the rest of my post . . .

First of all, it is ironic to hear a 20-year parishioner of Jeremiah Wright's church claim to be a, "big believer in separation of church and state." Black Liberation Theology is the FUSION of religion and politics, to the point that the religion has no meaning at all.

But secondly, Farah is absolutely correct in concluding that Obama is not a Christian. Obama's religious beliefs do not square with any credible interpretation of what Jesus said about being a Christian or Follower of Christ. It's not about the good works--Obama has some character qualities that are consistent with Christian character qualities, and only God can judge the heart of a man. Rather, it is about what Obama believes or says he believes. And I think there are only a handful of public policies that are directly contrary to Biblical principles, so this isn't saying that support for a "progressive" income tax, for example, is "unChristian."

Next, it is important to plainly state that the fact that someone is not a Christian (by which I do not mean someone-who-lives-in-an-historically-Christian-culture), does not mean that I cannot or would not cast a vote for him or her. A person not being a Christian also has little to do with how I would treat them--certainly under the law, but even in a relationship.

Lastly, I'm not saying that Obama is a Muslim. In fact, I am confident that he is NOT a Muslim; rather, I believe either he is an agnostic--who doesn't really know what he believes, a universalist--who has a definite belief that is broad enough to encompass most religions and subjective enough to mean nothing, or at the worst, a secularist who uses religious talk/verbiage to attract the "clingers".

As a Christian, I would be remiss (and I think that Farah is similarly motivated) if I allowed politics to muddle something as important as a person's beliefs that have eternal consequences.