Readers will know that, since the beginning of his presidency
Readers will know that, since the beginning of his presidency I have been looking for evidence to back up the President’s claim of being a committed Christian.
The occasion to question Mr. Obama’s religion arose again last week as a poll showed that far less than half of Americans consider him to be a Christian, and nearly 20% think that he is a Muslim.
News of this brought the White House to action, with a variety of spokespersons leaping to the President’s defense, insisting that he is, indeed, a committed Christian. He prays every day, we were assured, and even consults a variety of spiritual counselors on matters.
I suppose we should take those protests at face value. But do these mean that President Obama is a committed Christian? Franklin Graham, for one, is convinced that he is. Perhaps he knows more than we do, which is to say, more than what the rest of the public has been able to observe.
Will Mr. Obama be stirred by this flap to practice his committed faith rather more publicly? I doubt it. That for two reasons. First, he knows he doesn’t have to. For most Christians who care about such things, a profession of faith coupled with daily prayer is about the most you should ask of anyone – including them. Second, I suspect that if the President had any more evidence of his committed faith to demonstrate, we’d have seen it by now.
So I remain curious and, increasingly, skeptical. Some may consider this judgmental. It is, but only so far as the Lord Himself commanded: “judge righteous judgment” (Jn. 7.24). That is, make your judgments on the basis of visible evidence of true and lively faith. Being a “committed Christian”, I suggest, requires more than “receiving Jesus” or praying every day.
So, is he? Well, we’re still hoping and praying to see the evidence that it is so.
T. M. Moore
