Obama and His Pastor

It appears that Obama is successfully distancing himself from his "offensive" pastor without actually putting any distance between them. That's fine. His first cut at it was his assertion, "He's my pastor, not my political advisor." He went on to give that fine speech about race relations and that quite noble sounding "I can no more disown him than I can disown my white grandmother" line of thinking, which, honestly, I understood. But that first line, that first cut ... is that bothering anyone as much as it is me?

Here's the thinking: "I choose where I go to church. I choose a church that reflects my views and beliefs. If I stay at a church, it's because I'm largely in agreement with that church. If I stay with a church for 20 years, it's because of solid agreement. But, I want you all to know, just because I went to that church for 20 years and listened to that pastor for 20 years, there's no reason to think that it will affect my political views."

I suppose in some circles that's commendable. "Don't let your religious worldview affect your political worldview. Keep religion out of politics." To me that's utter nonsense. A worldview is a way of viewing the world. If it doesn't affect my political worldview, it isn't a worldview. If your religion isn't a worldview, it is of no value.

You see, your religious view informs everything. It shapes your morality. It determines if it's right to abort babies or preferable to give mothers the option to do so. It sets your priorities on healthcare versus personal freedom, government control versus individual responsibility, which laws are good and which are bad, and on and on and on. If, on the other hand, it does not shape any of your perspectives, it's a lie. Either you are lying to yourself or you are lying to us, but if your religion makes no difference in your views on life, it's not real.

So, what are we to believe? Mr. Obama has tried to win over Christians by assuring us he's a Christian. Now he has tried to ward of racism charges by assuring us that, even though he's a Christian, it makes no difference in his views on life. That's not "Christian". (It's not "Jewish" or "Moslem" or any other religion you choose.) It's nonsense. So which is it? Is he a Christian who actually espouses the views he has repudiated and is lying about it, or is he not a racist but not a Christian? It seems to me he can't have it both ways.