Obama invokes Jesus more than Bush

[Township75]

He’s done it while talking about abortion and the Middle East, even the economy. The references serve at once as an affirmation of his faith and a rebuke against a rumor that persists for some to this day.

As president, Barack Obama has mentioned Jesus Christ in a number of high-profile public speeches — something his predecessor George W. Bush rarely did in such settings, even though Bush’s Christian faith was at the core of his political identity.

In his speech Thursday in Cairo, Obama told the crowd that he is a Christian and mentioned the Islamic story of Isra, in which Moses, Jesus and Mohammed joined in prayer.

At the University of Notre Dame on May 17, Obama talked about the good works he’d seen done by Christian community groups in Chicago. “I found myself drawn — not just to work with the church but to be in the church,” Obama said. “It was through this service that I was brought to Christ.”

http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20090609/pl_politico/23510

[MichaelHarris]

1. Obama's

Jesus is much kinder than George's Jesus.

[katandmoon]

11. But is his Jesus cuter than Bush's Jesus?

[MichaelHarris]

12. The blue-eyed

surfer Jesus?

[Hieronymus]

2. Bush and most wingnuts are more into the Old Testament. They love the

violence and gore.

[TahitiNut]

19. Yup. They're allergic to the "good news" and holy water burns their flesh.

:silly:

[Rabrrrrrr]

3. That's because Obama follows what Jesus said; Rightwingers just like to say they believe in him.

Also, Obama actually knows what Jesus said, unlike the Rightwingers, who think all he said was "believe in me or you don't get to heaven" and "God helps those who help themselves".

[chicago legal pro]

20. Obama follows what Jesus said?

Would Jesus give billions to the money changers? I thought it went down the other way around.

[Rabrrrrrr]

23. Oh, that's right - we're in a world of pure black and white,

where everything is black because the purity demands for white are infinite.

:eyes:

Fucking hell.

[Alamuti Lotus]

28. goddamn -- why whine about "purity" at any point basic decency is expected?

seemingly ironic curse not unintentional

[Rabrrrrrr]

29. I have no idea what you mean by "any point basic decency is required".

I castigated the ridiculousness of the poster's depiction that in order to be labeled something, one needs utter perfect purity within that label.

It's an absolutely ludicrous level of expectation.


I'm not clear how pointing out the ridiculousness of something somehow is beyond basic decency.

Are you completely against debate and admitting to differing positions at all times, or just random times?

[kestrel91316]

4. Obama has to work 24/7 to cinvince half this country he's not Muslim.

I give him a total pass on this. Besides, his Jesus doesn't tote a gun.

[Ilsa]

24. I was going to post something like that. And yes, his Jesus is more

democratically appealing than the GOP Jesus.

[Mz Pip]

5. I cannot see in any forseeable future

where a self proclaimed atheist could conceivable run for President.

Bush used his religion as a justification for a war. Obama uses it as a justification for people to come together and work for peace.

Rationalization? Perhaps. But I find Obama's approach much less offensive that Bush's.

[Douglas Carpenter]

6. well that is really politically risky of him -- given how everybody hates Jesus!

[mkultra]

17. lol. you get the deeply funny award today.

:toast:

[tocqueville]

7. if a French President did that, he would be impeached.

since it would be unconstitutional here. Reference to religion has nothing to do with politics in a secular state with separation from church. What the President then believes in or worships in privacy is nobody's business...

[Towlie]

13. I'll bet he wouldn't.

It's unconstitutional here too. In fact, it's the very first provision of our First Amendment. Unfortunately, it's also the most arrogantly ignored provision of our Bill of Rights.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolas_Sarkozy">Wikipedia reports that at a speech in Rome in December 2007, Nicolas Sarkozy stated that "the roots of France are essentially Christian". Did that cause any controversy? I find it hard to believe that the French are so far ahead of us that they would actually impeach a president for mentioning Jesus.

[tocqueville]

16. he got a LOT of shit for that one

and kept his mouth shut on that matter since then, because if something pisses off the French, it's politicians that start mentioning God another way than purely metaphoric. A single slip is one thing but what Obama does here is a pattern. If a French President did that (as a repeating pattern) he'd get in real constitutional trouble, even if popular. It has never happened, because if most French Presidents have been practicising Catholics and going to mass regularly, they kept it always private.

Besides his comments on the veil and its defense in the Cairo speech have outraged all women's organisations here, specially the Muslim ones. Many open letters have been sent to him or statements done in articles, among them Hirsi Ali...

There was no reason of mentioning that aspect, specially since the Egyptian Imam (who is considered as one of the most influential in Sunni Islam has defended exactly the contrary). It's only pandering to the wrong forces and absolutely not to the moderates. What de 500 millions + of Muslim women forced to wear a veil today think about it, is not known, since they have to ask their hubbies permission to speak first.

[Lautremont]

8. Well I should hope he doesn't invoke Bush at all.

[AtomicKitten]

9. His religiosity is his prerogative and really doesn't matter to me. n/t

[CreekDog]

10. I like your "recycling" avatar

seems you've already recycled this post. :D

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x8460821

[Township75]

21. LMAO! Good one

That was completely unintentional.

I came back to my computer and it had a pop-up with resend or cancel...i thought it didn't post so I hit resend..ooops.

I'm curios if the response would be different on the other one.

[HopeOverFear]

14. NOBODY acted more Christ-like during the 2008 campaign than Barack Obama

NO ONE.

[Fire1]

15. DITTO.

[laconicsax]

25. Huh?

[Alamuti Lotus]

18. as could be expected, immediate rationalization for the same religious demagogery

War and occupation was also plusbad last year, wonderful now.

[Township75]

22. I posted the article with no commentary on my part, becuase

I was curious how people would react.

I am very surprised that after almost 30 posts (including the dupe of this thread), that you are the only one to bring that up. I just thought more posters would see it as you see it.

[Alamuti Lotus]

26. hero worship tends to negate rational thought, no matter what audience is considered

and I tend to be a curmudgeon by nature, particularly lately, so it all fits.

[asteroid2003QQ47]

37. Hero worship does NOT negate rational thought!

A capacity for rational thought rules out the possibility of hero worship rearing it's ugly head.
You put the cart before the horse!
--------------------------------------------

I'll see your curmudgeonry and raise you one.;-)

[vaberella]

27. It sounds like he knows who his audience is, based on the places he's spoken.

So what if he uses Jesus? Jesus is a major profit for Islam and the University of Notre Dame is Catholic and Jesus is our savior. So I don't see why this is a big deal.

[tocqueville]

30. the statue Obama missed at the Cairo university

Egypt Awakening, 1919–28
Mahmud Mukhtar (Egyptian, 1891&150;1934)
Granite; public monument
Cairo, Egypt




Mukhtar came from a modest background—his parents worked the fields and could not afford to send him to school, so he enrolled in Cairo's School of Fine Arts, which offered a free education to qualified students. He received a government scholarship to study at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, and upon his return to Cairo joined a vast movement of nationalists and intellectuals who struggled for political independence and the emancipation of woman. Mukhtar is considered the first modern Egyptian sculptor to revive the ancient tradition of figurative sculpture, imbuing it with new symbolism. His masterpiece Egypt Awakening, which now stands at the gate of Cairo University, depicts a sphinx rising by the side of a woman throwing off her veil; the monument remains the ultimate symbol of self-determination, freedom, and women's liberation. Mukhtar's work is representative of the Neo-Pharaonic style, based on a stylization of Egyptian classical art filtered through modern techniques and influences. He produced a collection of sculptures in stone and bronze, now housed in a Cairo museum dedicated to his work, and was the first Egyptian to exhibit work outside his native country and to receive international recognition. Mukhtar had a profound influence on successive generations of Egyptian artists.

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/egma/hd_egma.htm

[jenmito]

31. How many times are you going to start the same thread? n/t

[Township75]

32. I did that so you could post on both threads, and we could read 2x the

jenmito posts. Don't let us down!

[jenmito]

36. You can see my response here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x8460821#8460832

[Honeycombe8]

33. You must be mistaken. He's a muslim!

:sarcasm:

[question everything]

34. Ah, but does he say that he has private audience with Jesus

who tells him what to do?


:evilgrin:

[rug]

35. How many times has he invoked Bush?