M
+ GOD'S SKIN COLOR, PART I. +
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IMPORTANT NOTE: This series of posts intends to deal with ethnicity as it pertains to the Biblical tradition, whether it be the past, present, or future. Therefore, even though some posts will center upon President Barack Obama, this is NOT intended as a political endorsement of the Democratic Party- a somewhat Pagan institution to say the least. The future may seem dark to some, but the abiding light of Christian faith can and will carry on. Come join all your fellow brothers and sisters of faith around the world for the next 1,000 years of Christianity!
/-- 'How Dare a Black man be Christian!' She cried out. 'Frankly, my dear, this time I give a damn...' He responded --/
_________________________________________
Jesus Christ is the LORD. I believe in that.
- President Barack Obama, September 26, 2011
Here is a absolute gem of a story that, considering the spontaneous nature of the event, truly reveals President Barack Obama's gut instincts, his true Christian nature so to speak. Anyway, on September 26, 2011, President Obama was speaking at a scheduled campaign fund-raiser being hosted at the House of Blues in Los Angeles, California. While still at the podium finishing off his prepared words to the audience, Barack Obama noticed a deranged man, later identified as David Serrano, yelling repeatedly that 'Jesus is God'. Now even though the Secret Service personnel assigned to protect the President had gotten there first and was already attempting to forcibly remove the man, the President proceeded to immediately halt his campaign speech in order to give 'the man his full attention'. To everyone's surprise, Obama made every effort to listen to what this disturbed individual as he was being dragged away, even nodding his head as if to show that he could hear and understand what the man was screaming about. As it was reported in the media, the man's final agitated screams consisted of a direct accusation that Barack Obama was the anti-Christ. Sadly, this exact statement has been all too frequent since he became the first black President in the history of the United States of America, an occurrence long yearned for, and deeply cherished, throughout the entire African-American Christian community. Over the past 3-4 years. the constant, and indeed racist, accusation that Obama is NOT a Christian has caused more than enough discomfort and heart-ache among the black Christians of this country. Here are some typical attitudes coming from three blatantly hostile, white, Republican, evangelical Protestants:
_________________________________________
I'VE NO REASON TO THINK HE IS A CHRISTIAN... Anyone can say he’s a Christian...Some people will say whatever they think the politically helpful thing would be. I say, ‘Where is the evidence that he is a Christian?'
- Bob Jones III, Chancellor of Bob Jones University
The President, he says he is Christian but yet he’s exercises a lot of Muslim faith too...I just believe that he needs to come forward with his views a little bit clearer....I don’t know if he is or isn’t, but I DON'T BELIEVE HE'S A CHRISTIAN.
- Scott D’Amboise, Republican Candidate for U.S. Senator from Maine 2012
Pointing to the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus says, 'you will know them by their fruits,' [Steven Andrew] the ministry president explains that by looking at Obama's fruits, JESUS SAYS OBAMA IS NOT A CHRISTIAN...'We now see Obama is anti-God,' he adds.
- Pastor Steven Andrew, President of USA Christian Ministries as reported by Christiannewswire.com
1) A SIMPLE GAME OF BASEBALL: Batter up! Let's see here- I'VE NO REASON TO THINK HE IS A CHRISTIAN = Strike One!, I DON'T BELIEVE HE'S A CHRISTIAN = Strike Two!, JESUS SAYS OBAMA IS NOT A CHRISTIAN = Strike Three! You are nothing more than white racist, anti-Christian heretics, and God bless you anyway.
2) A SIMPLE QUESTION: What if these statements above were ever pointed at a white politician like Bill or Hillary Clinton, Albert Gore, or perhaps even Jimmy Carter? NO-ONE has ever questioned their Christianity, not even once.
_________________________________________
Getting back to the incident of the maniacal Christian protester, one can now ascertain quite clearly who's fomenting such hostility and paranoia among the common people of this nation- the white 'Christian' right. Now, as everyone already knows, famous and important individuals, most especially the President of the United States, tend to nearly always completely ignore a heckler or protester when they are in the process of interrupting any sort of speaking engagement, waiting silently for the disturbance to end before continuing on as if nothing had actually happened. Lo' and behold, President Barack Obama did not react this way for some reason, which he has done in the past on many different occasions. For whatever reason, the man's repeated shrieks that 'Jesus in God' actually managed to gain both the interest and the sympathy of President Obama, if only for a few minutes. Indeed, before returning to the topic he had been discussing previous to the incident (which was not about religion at all), President Obama made a deliberate point to answer the man's loud ramblings personally, by stating the following answer:
_________________________________________
First of all...I agree, Jesus Christ is the LORD. I believe in that.
- President Barack Obama, September 26, 2011
_________________________________________
Keep in mind, this was never meant to be a speech about religion or Christianity, but was a pre-planned Democratic campaign event designed to rally the liberal troops and garner more political donations in his bid for re-election. Barack Obama did not say these specific words in front of a bnuch of Republican, born-again, fundamentalist, Christian Right-wingers. Instead, in front of his own, so-called 'anti-Christian' party, President Obama openly, spontaneously, and quite publicly espoused the key phrase that the New Testament has always identified as the basic doctrine of Christian faith- simple acknowledgement that Jesus Christ is LORD.
_________________________________________
Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus...For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is LORD, to the glory of God the Father.
- 2 Phillipians 3-11
_________________________________________
Think about it for a minute, please! The leader of the free world, ruler of the most powerful nation on Earth, made a conscious and deliberate effort to LISTEN to the words of an obviously disturbed Christian mad-man and immediately responded with the simple words: 'Jesus Christ is the LORD. I believe in that.' All things considered, this mostly untold story concerning President Barack Obama does more to prove his Christian faith than anything else he has done so far. Why? First and foremost, Obama obvously saw the man causing the disturbance, David Serrano, not as just another anonymous nuisance and right-wing wacko needing restraint, but actually viewed him as a fellow Christian, a fellow child of God who deserved some kind of response or answer from those in power. Indeed, on that day at least, one very important and powerful tongue did 'confess that Jesus Christ is LORD' and nothing could be more geniune and true. As one very astute observer remarks:
_________________________________________
President Barack Obama passed a key test Monday night in case anybody is worried that he might be the Antichrist. Speaking at a campaign fundraiser at the House of Blues in Los Angeles, Obama was interrupted by a man identified as David Serrano who...accused Obama of being the Antichrist. That figure in Christian “last days” theology is believed to be a leader who, toward the end of time, will be an adversary of good while resembling Christ. The Antichrist will provide for the needs of the people but deny them eternal salvation.
He is named in the New Testament books 1 John, 2 John and described by the Apostle Paul in 2 Thessalonians. John’s account advises that the Antichrist will deny that Jesus is the Christ and will “not confess Jesus.” In I Corinthians 12:3, Paul writes: “Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.”
“First of all,” Obama began, “I agree, Jesus Christ is the Lord. I believe in that.” And with those words, it would appear that Obama just eliminated himself from possible candidates for Antichrist. Serrano was not arrested. Local officials said he is known to them and has made similar appearances at other government meetings.
- Is Obama the Antichrist? Apparently not, by Rob Kerby, blog.beliefnet.com
_________________________________________
One should also remember that, back in the day, during the relentless polytheistic culture of the Pagan Roman Empire, circa 33-313 A.D., such authentically Christian proclamations could sometimes result in imprisonment, torture, and even execution. Even more astonishing is the fact that, instead of simply lying to please the Pagan religious and government officials, many of the early Christians would stubbornly refuse to do even this, preferring death to denial of Jesus Christ even it may have been only once to save their lives. Not that Obama's life was at risk, but just the sheer fact that he not only gave a mentally-ill Christian believer (who screamed he was the anti-Christ) his undivided attention, he also gave him a personal, unequivocal response- 'Jesus Christ is the LORD.' Remember one thing, this was said in front of hundreds of rich, influential, Los Angeles Democrats, many of whom do not believe in Jesus Christ at all. To conclude this post, here are a few examples of Obama's very public, and much denied and defamed, Christianity:
_________________________________________
As somebody who relies heavily on MY CHRISTIAN FAITH in my job, I understand the passions that religious faith can raise.
- President Barack Obama (2008-2011)
(The story of Jesus' birth) that we are called to love each other as we love ourselves, that we are our brother's keeper and our sister's keeper, and our destinies are linked...It's a message that guides MY CHRISTIAN FAITH.
- President Barack Obama (2008-2011)
(We can) see God in other people and do our best to help them find their, you know, their own grace...So that's what I strive to do...That's what I pray to do everyday. I think my public service is part of that effort to express MY CHRISTIAN FAITH.
- President Barack Obama (2008-2011)
I am a Christian by choice...I came to MY CHRISTIAN FAITH later in life, and it was because the precepts of Jesus Christ spoke to me in terms of the kind of life that I would want to lead.
- President Barack Obama (2008-2011)
_________________________________________
May the LORD God bless you in the name of St. Judas Maccabaeus.
_________________________________________
IMPORTANT NOTE: This series of posts intends to deal with ethnicity as it pertains to the Biblical tradition, whether it be the past, present, or future. Therefore, even though some posts will center upon President Barack Obama, this is NOT intended as a political endorsement of the Democratic Party- a somewhat Pagan institution to say the least. The future may seem dark to some, but the abiding light of Christian faith can and will carry on. Come join all your fellow brothers and sisters of faith around the world for the next 1,000 years of Christianity!
/-- 'How Dare a Black man be Christian!' She cried out. 'Frankly, my dear, this time I give a damn...' He responded --/
_________________________________________
Jesus Christ is the LORD. I believe in that.
- President Barack Obama, September 26, 2011
Here is a absolute gem of a story that, considering the spontaneous nature of the event, truly reveals President Barack Obama's gut instincts, his true Christian nature so to speak. Anyway, on September 26, 2011, President Obama was speaking at a scheduled campaign fund-raiser being hosted at the House of Blues in Los Angeles, California. While still at the podium finishing off his prepared words to the audience, Barack Obama noticed a deranged man, later identified as David Serrano, yelling repeatedly that 'Jesus is God'. Now even though the Secret Service personnel assigned to protect the President had gotten there first and was already attempting to forcibly remove the man, the President proceeded to immediately halt his campaign speech in order to give 'the man his full attention'. To everyone's surprise, Obama made every effort to listen to what this disturbed individual as he was being dragged away, even nodding his head as if to show that he could hear and understand what the man was screaming about. As it was reported in the media, the man's final agitated screams consisted of a direct accusation that Barack Obama was the anti-Christ. Sadly, this exact statement has been all too frequent since he became the first black President in the history of the United States of America, an occurrence long yearned for, and deeply cherished, throughout the entire African-American Christian community. Over the past 3-4 years. the constant, and indeed racist, accusation that Obama is NOT a Christian has caused more than enough discomfort and heart-ache among the black Christians of this country. Here are some typical attitudes coming from three blatantly hostile, white, Republican, evangelical Protestants:
_________________________________________
I'VE NO REASON TO THINK HE IS A CHRISTIAN... Anyone can say he’s a Christian...Some people will say whatever they think the politically helpful thing would be. I say, ‘Where is the evidence that he is a Christian?'
- Bob Jones III, Chancellor of Bob Jones University
The President, he says he is Christian but yet he’s exercises a lot of Muslim faith too...I just believe that he needs to come forward with his views a little bit clearer....I don’t know if he is or isn’t, but I DON'T BELIEVE HE'S A CHRISTIAN.
- Scott D’Amboise, Republican Candidate for U.S. Senator from Maine 2012
Pointing to the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus says, 'you will know them by their fruits,' [Steven Andrew] the ministry president explains that by looking at Obama's fruits, JESUS SAYS OBAMA IS NOT A CHRISTIAN...'We now see Obama is anti-God,' he adds.
- Pastor Steven Andrew, President of USA Christian Ministries as reported by Christiannewswire.com
1) A SIMPLE GAME OF BASEBALL: Batter up! Let's see here- I'VE NO REASON TO THINK HE IS A CHRISTIAN = Strike One!, I DON'T BELIEVE HE'S A CHRISTIAN = Strike Two!, JESUS SAYS OBAMA IS NOT A CHRISTIAN = Strike Three! You are nothing more than white racist, anti-Christian heretics, and God bless you anyway.
2) A SIMPLE QUESTION: What if these statements above were ever pointed at a white politician like Bill or Hillary Clinton, Albert Gore, or perhaps even Jimmy Carter? NO-ONE has ever questioned their Christianity, not even once.
_________________________________________
Getting back to the incident of the maniacal Christian protester, one can now ascertain quite clearly who's fomenting such hostility and paranoia among the common people of this nation- the white 'Christian' right. Now, as everyone already knows, famous and important individuals, most especially the President of the United States, tend to nearly always completely ignore a heckler or protester when they are in the process of interrupting any sort of speaking engagement, waiting silently for the disturbance to end before continuing on as if nothing had actually happened. Lo' and behold, President Barack Obama did not react this way for some reason, which he has done in the past on many different occasions. For whatever reason, the man's repeated shrieks that 'Jesus in God' actually managed to gain both the interest and the sympathy of President Obama, if only for a few minutes. Indeed, before returning to the topic he had been discussing previous to the incident (which was not about religion at all), President Obama made a deliberate point to answer the man's loud ramblings personally, by stating the following answer:
_________________________________________
First of all...I agree, Jesus Christ is the LORD. I believe in that.
- President Barack Obama, September 26, 2011
_________________________________________
Keep in mind, this was never meant to be a speech about religion or Christianity, but was a pre-planned Democratic campaign event designed to rally the liberal troops and garner more political donations in his bid for re-election. Barack Obama did not say these specific words in front of a bnuch of Republican, born-again, fundamentalist, Christian Right-wingers. Instead, in front of his own, so-called 'anti-Christian' party, President Obama openly, spontaneously, and quite publicly espoused the key phrase that the New Testament has always identified as the basic doctrine of Christian faith- simple acknowledgement that Jesus Christ is LORD.
_________________________________________
Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus...For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is LORD, to the glory of God the Father.
- 2 Phillipians 3-11
_________________________________________
Think about it for a minute, please! The leader of the free world, ruler of the most powerful nation on Earth, made a conscious and deliberate effort to LISTEN to the words of an obviously disturbed Christian mad-man and immediately responded with the simple words: 'Jesus Christ is the LORD. I believe in that.' All things considered, this mostly untold story concerning President Barack Obama does more to prove his Christian faith than anything else he has done so far. Why? First and foremost, Obama obvously saw the man causing the disturbance, David Serrano, not as just another anonymous nuisance and right-wing wacko needing restraint, but actually viewed him as a fellow Christian, a fellow child of God who deserved some kind of response or answer from those in power. Indeed, on that day at least, one very important and powerful tongue did 'confess that Jesus Christ is LORD' and nothing could be more geniune and true. As one very astute observer remarks:
_________________________________________
President Barack Obama passed a key test Monday night in case anybody is worried that he might be the Antichrist. Speaking at a campaign fundraiser at the House of Blues in Los Angeles, Obama was interrupted by a man identified as David Serrano who...accused Obama of being the Antichrist. That figure in Christian “last days” theology is believed to be a leader who, toward the end of time, will be an adversary of good while resembling Christ. The Antichrist will provide for the needs of the people but deny them eternal salvation.
He is named in the New Testament books 1 John, 2 John and described by the Apostle Paul in 2 Thessalonians. John’s account advises that the Antichrist will deny that Jesus is the Christ and will “not confess Jesus.” In I Corinthians 12:3, Paul writes: “Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.”
“First of all,” Obama began, “I agree, Jesus Christ is the Lord. I believe in that.” And with those words, it would appear that Obama just eliminated himself from possible candidates for Antichrist. Serrano was not arrested. Local officials said he is known to them and has made similar appearances at other government meetings.
- Is Obama the Antichrist? Apparently not, by Rob Kerby, blog.beliefnet.com
_________________________________________
One should also remember that, back in the day, during the relentless polytheistic culture of the Pagan Roman Empire, circa 33-313 A.D., such authentically Christian proclamations could sometimes result in imprisonment, torture, and even execution. Even more astonishing is the fact that, instead of simply lying to please the Pagan religious and government officials, many of the early Christians would stubbornly refuse to do even this, preferring death to denial of Jesus Christ even it may have been only once to save their lives. Not that Obama's life was at risk, but just the sheer fact that he not only gave a mentally-ill Christian believer (who screamed he was the anti-Christ) his undivided attention, he also gave him a personal, unequivocal response- 'Jesus Christ is the LORD.' Remember one thing, this was said in front of hundreds of rich, influential, Los Angeles Democrats, many of whom do not believe in Jesus Christ at all. To conclude this post, here are a few examples of Obama's very public, and much denied and defamed, Christianity:
_________________________________________
As somebody who relies heavily on MY CHRISTIAN FAITH in my job, I understand the passions that religious faith can raise.
- President Barack Obama (2008-2011)
(The story of Jesus' birth) that we are called to love each other as we love ourselves, that we are our brother's keeper and our sister's keeper, and our destinies are linked...It's a message that guides MY CHRISTIAN FAITH.
- President Barack Obama (2008-2011)
(We can) see God in other people and do our best to help them find their, you know, their own grace...So that's what I strive to do...That's what I pray to do everyday. I think my public service is part of that effort to express MY CHRISTIAN FAITH.
- President Barack Obama (2008-2011)
I am a Christian by choice...I came to MY CHRISTIAN FAITH later in life, and it was because the precepts of Jesus Christ spoke to me in terms of the kind of life that I would want to lead.
- President Barack Obama (2008-2011)
_________________________________________
May the LORD God bless you in the name of St. Judas Maccabaeus.
