by rafeejewell

“…he who is arrogant is as if he were worshipping idols”—Sotah 4

Like a meteor streaking through the great abyss of the solar system on a winter’s night, Barack Hussein Obama arrived on the national Presidential scene as furtive and striking. Seemingly, from the depths of vacuity, an unaccomplished politician filled a void for the amorphous desire for change and hope to vaunt himself into the Oval Office. After months of campaigning, even his most ardent supporters were hard pressed to describe what he believed in, his core values, his formative mentors or his ideological philosophy. As Boston-based Democratic political consultant Michael Goldman succinctly states, “There was this expectation that this was going to be like a Hollywood movie. He was a candidate almost fictionalized from day one…” (from article, “Obama Here for Coakley” Boston Globe, Jan. 17, 2010). Obama maintained an aura of the enigma, as Senator John McCain fought furiously to detail every political position he had taken since his early years in the United States House of Representatives. Obama became to his followers whatever they projected onto him, “I serve as a blank screen on which people of vastly different political stripes project their own views.” (Audacity of Hope, p. 11). Obama became the nation’s Rorschach Test, a grand projection of the voter’s hope for the future. The alter ego of millions was presented on giant screens, surrounded by Greek columns and the enthralled masses heard in the soaring rhetoric the answer to their souls’ quest. He could never be wrong, for they (the enlightened ones) now had found him, for whom they had been waiting. This was not a mere politician but a supra-human, and for some, a god. Having forgotten or never known the humbling and liberating truth of theistic transcendence, millions of Americans longed for a reality beyond the present but were side-tracked onto an illusionary realm where one man positioned himself as the foci of the nation and world’s future. “Historians of the future, seeking to understand this enthusiasm, may well conclude that it was a kind of despair, the despair of those who, having lost their faith in the traditional remedial institutions of their culture, embraced a mirage.” (Michael Knox Brand, article “Obama’s Core” from National Review, November 3, 2008). The election of Barack Obama was more akin to a coronation, the investiture to a kingly office, not a mere presidency. But in the succeeding months, millions now realize that this one, “who would become king,” is not in concert with their vestigial beliefs of the nation’s history, ethics, economy and religion. His words, actions and appointments are foreign to America’s past. There is a growing sense within the nation that there is a cleavage between the president’s cherished hopes and theirs. The loss of valued rights, not only in the business but in the domestic sphere haunt many Americans less than one year into Obama’s presidency. Many now realize he is no longer a “blank slate.” They discern that he was purposely manufactured to conceal an alien philosophy.

“For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully.”
—II Cor. 11:4

Obama realized early in his political career that the Democratic Party and socialist doctrine was weakened when the language of faith was extracted or demeaned. He would purposely inject testimonial language into his speeches, structured as sermons, to awaken the deepest element in the heart. “…we make a mistake when we fail to acknowledge the power of faith in the lives of the American people.” “When we abandon the field of religious discourse…when we discuss religion only in the negative sense of where or how it should not be practiced… when we shy away from religious venues and broadcasts because we assume that we will be unwelcome, others will fill the vacuum.” (Audacity of Hope, p. 215). His campaign speeches were crafted in a revivalist style of delivery with salvific themes, “Because we know what we have seen and what we believe—that what began as a whisper has now swelled to a chorus that cannot be ignored; that will not be deterred; that will ring out across this land as a hymn that will heal this nation, repair this world, and make this time different from all the rest.” (Barack Obama, speech delivered in South Carolina, Feb. 5, 2008). In Elmer Gantry fashion, Obama promised the impossible. Though there is no direct mention of God, for Obama is the subject of the sermon, the fervor of a Sunday night service in a revivalist church permeates. He is the conduit (the new prophet) and his followers are the new converts of the new religious movement. “The 2008 campaign was an event that unfolded on an entirely different plane from ordinary politics. It signalled the emergence on a world-wide scale of the ‘Religion of Humanity,’ for which Obama became the symbol.” (James W. Ceaser, from article “The Roots of Obama Worship” from The Weekly Standard, Jan. 25, 2010). The vaporous extractions of a civil religious framework would hide a political agenda focused on an autocratic state, not the Kingdom of God. The cadence was attuned to a Southern preacher and the words would sound biblical to the emotive political rally that had now become his congregation. Thus the icon was born and a form of idolatry had entered the American political system. Our souls are now saved by the collective action of the aroused community focused upon a self-styled political redeemer, not the atoning death of Christ. “…my individual salvation is not going to come about without a collective salvation for our country.” (Barack Obama, quoted from Eye on Books, August 9, 1995). In Obama’s thought, the “collective self” replaces the singular act of the vicarious atonement of Christ. God is replaced with the global community, and Obama becomes the embodiment of all men. “The aim of this religion without God was to build a global community that assured the betterment of man’s lot.” (James W. Ceaser). Obama seems to believe that he was not merely running for the Presidency of the United States but that he had been called to a much grander position, ruler of a new world community.

“Together Black religion and Marxist philosophy may show us the way to build a completely new society.”
—James Cone, “My Soul Looks Back”

To understand Barack Obama’s political and theological orientation, a lineage of Black Nationalist mentors; James Cone, Jeremiah Wright and James Meeks predominate. When Black Nationalism is conjoined to Christianity it recasts the “Gospel of the Kingdom of God” with a Marxist-socialist philosophy that redefines God and Jesus Christ. Evil is no longer in the hearts of all men but resides in the white establishment and is endemic to America. Assimilation is condemned and Black racial superiority is proclaimed. The Bible is utilized to garner an audience in the Black community but the message is racial-centric not theocentric. The message of Martin Luther King is set aside by Black Nationalists as an accommodation to white society. King’s refusal to stray from a Christo-centric theology is viewed as antiquated and parochial to the world-view of Black Nationalism. The god of the Black Nationalist is in the image and likeness of a retributive Black Supremacist articulated by Malcolm X and his convert James Cone. “Black theology refuses to accept a God who is not identified totally with the goals of the Black community. If God is not for us, and against white people, then he is a murderer, and we had better kill him. The task of Black theology is to kill Gods who do not belong to the Black community…Black theology will only accept the love of God which participates in the destruction of the white enemy. What we need is the divine love as expressed in Black Power, which is the power of Black People to destroy their oppressors here and now by any means of their disposal. Unless God is participating in this holy activity, we must reject his love.” (James Cone, “Black Theology and Black Power”, p. 27).

James Cone was the dominant intellectual and spiritual influence upon Jeremiah Wright, the pastor of Barack Obama for over 20 years at the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. “I do not in any way disagree with Dr. Cone.” (Jeremiah Wright, National Press Club, April 28, 2008). James Cone had taken the separatist and supremist doctrine of Malcolm X and gave it a “Black Christian” robe to hide the inner core of Marxist teaching calling for the destruction of the Capitalistic system. “The Black church cannot remain silent regarding socialism, because such silence will be interpreted by our Third World brothers and sisters as support for the capitalistic system, which exploits the poor all over the earth.” “We cannot continue to speak against racism without any reference to a radical change in the economic order. I do not think racism can be eliminated as long as capitalism remains intact. (James Cone, “My Soul Looks Back”, 1982). James Cone advocates the redistribution of wealth by any means under the guise of Christianity. But the god of this movement has become a coercive autocratic state, not the god of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. James Cone invokes a God of wrath against white society who will exalt a new Black consciousness and destroy the vestiges of White culture.

“Trinity United Christian Church is a church whose theological starting perspective starts from the vantage point of Black Liberation Theology being its center.”
—Jeremiah Wright, “Talking Points”

Jeremiah Wright’s influence on Barack Obama cannot be overstated. The intravenous diatribes for over 20 years has taken root in the heart and soul of Obama. If he has an image of God it’s through the life and teachings of Jeremiah Wright. “If you want to understand where Barack gets his feelings and rhetoric from, just look at Jeremiah Wright.” (Jim Wallis, from article “Destiny Child” Rolling Stone, February 22, 2007). Jeremiah Wright is a crafty isegeticist. He will utilize a passage of scripture, such as John 9 and after a few minutes of discourse, the healing of the blind man by Jesus has become the need for White America and the present economic system to be overthrown and replaced by a new economic-political framework erected on a Black Nationalist foundation. By contrast, a Biblical scholar is an exegete. A Biblical exegete endeavors to bring out of the Hebrew Old Testament and Greek New Testament text the linguistic and textual meaning without the injection of philosophic or political presuppositions. Jeremiah Wright is the diametric opposite. He manipulates the scriptures for his own predestined ends, his pretext becomes the prism through which he expounds any Biblical passage. He even portrays Jesus as a victim of the “white power structure.” “Jesus was a poor black man who lived in a country and who lived in a culture that was controlled by rich white people…” (Video “Two Extreme Pastors” Poligazette, March 13, 2008). Jeremiah Wright is obsessed with race and grievance believing that White America must be delivered from their “whiteness”. “There will be no peace in America until Whites begin to hate their whiteness, asking from the depths of their being: ‘How can we become Black?” (Jeremiah Wright, preface to “A Black Theology of Liberation”) His hatred of America is so deep that he has accused the United States of injecting the AIDS virus into the Black community and provoking the attack on 9/11. Wright has replaced the Adamic fall as the root of human estrangement from God by defining America as the matrix of evil and misery in the world. “Wright believes that American capitalism is both the underlying cause of the poverty and suffering of Black people abroad, and the sinfully tempting apple that lures middle-class Blacks to enslave themselves to corporate white America. In this he follows Cone. Attacks on capitalism are scattered throughout Wright’s sermons…” (Stanley Kurtz, article “Context You Say”, National Review, p. 34, May 5, 2008).

Jeremiah Wright is president Obama’s acknowledged pastor for over 20 years, closest advisor and current visitor to the White House. Any lounge act magician playing the Las Vegas circuit would marvel at the verbal legerdemain that Obama performed to convince millions of Americans that he never heard such rantings of vitriol and hate. The race-injected teachings of Wright permeate 20 years of church services that Obama proudly proclaimed he attended, yet without hearing one isegetical syllable of race ranting. No other American could have escaped with their reputation intact after being under the influence for 20 minutes, much less 20 years of this incendiary, race-centric dementia. A stigma would have attached to anyone that could not be expunged. The mendacity that Obama utilized was remarkable. Any distancing from Jeremiah Wright before the election and his absence at the inaugural were only pragmatic acts to pacify the needed independent constituency. “When the anti-American remarks of Rev. Jeremiah Wright were widely aired, Obama seemed at first taken aback. Why would anyone be outraged? After all, there was nothing secret about Wright. Obama had even quoted, in his memoir, Wright’s accusations that White America was responsible for everything from world hunger to genocide against the Japanese, and had bragged in speeches about his intimacy with Wright.” “Rev. Wright’s tirades no more offended 8,000 in the present congregation of Trinity Church than they apparently did the Obamas, who, far from walking out, simply refined Wright in softer and more elegant terms in their own writings and speeches.” (Victor Davis Hansen, article “Beneath the Hope” National Review, June 2, 2008, p. 32). James Cone, Jeremiah Wright, James Meeks and Michael Pfleger are out front blatant extremists but Barack Obama has learned the art of stealth radicalism. Behind a mollifying image is a dedicated disciple of racial politics and socialist doctrine. He filters his mentors racial polemics through a pleasant demeanor, “It was usually an effective tactic, another one of those tricks I had learned: people were satisfied so long as you were courteous and smiled and made no sudden moves. They were more than satisfied, they were relieved—such a pleasant surprise to find a well-mannered young black man who didn’t seem angry all the time.” (Barack Obama, “Dreams of My Father”, p. 94-95).

“I’m a Christian and what that means for me is that I believe Jesus Christ died for my sins and that His grace and mercy and power—through Him that I can achieve everlasting life.”
—Barack Obama, March 26, 2008, from Town Hall Meeting in Greensboro, NC

In various venues, candidate Barack Obama reiterated a conversion experience that happened to him at Trinity United Christian Church over 20 years ago. He puts this “conversion” in the context of his longevity of faith. But in a significant interview on March 27, 2004 with Cathleen Falsani, current Religion editor at the Chicago Sun Times, the testimony of Obama is seen to be a dialectic of Christianity, not the historical or orthodox faith of Scripture. Many of his answers to insightful questions regarding his personal faith are completely in conflict and repudiate both Judaic and Christian theology. He claims in the interview that he has been influenced by Judaism more than any faith and yet he proceeds to reject the basic truths of Judaic theology. Falsani asked, “Do you believe in heaven? A place spiritually you go to after you die?” Obama proceeded to answer, “What I believe in is that if I live my life as well as I can, that I will be rewarded. I don’t presume to have knowledge of what happens after I die. But I feel very strongly that whether the reward is in the here and now or in the hereafter, the aligning myself to my faith and values is a good thing. When I tuck in my daughters at night and I feel like I’ve been a good father to them, and I see in them that I am transferring values that I got from my mother and that they’re kind people and they’re honest people and they’re curious people, that’s a little piece of heaven.” Heaven to Obama is a nebulous projection of a “good feeling” or “wishful thinking” not an eternal realm transcending the time-space domain of earth. Basic Judaism and Christianity repudiate such an amorphous vagary of Obama’s religion. Scriptures affirm that heaven is the eternal abode of God. “Heaven is God’s dwelling place par excellence. A belief shared by the rest of the Hebrew Bible, post-Biblical Judaism and Christianity (cite I Kgs. 8:30, 34, 36, 39). In the Hebrew Bible, several mortals are privileged to see into or visit heaven: the prophet Micaiah ben Imlah sees God’s heavenly court and learns God’s plans (I Kgs. 22:19-23); Elijah ascends into heaven in a fiery chariot (II Kgs. 2:11), and Enoch is thought to ascend as well (Gen. 5:24); and Daniel has a vision of the heavenly courtroom (Dan. 7).” “The Rabbinic literature develops the conception of heaven found in Scripture and the Hellenistic period, in particular defining heaven as the seat of God.” (Dictionary of Judaism in the Biblical Period, editor Jacob Nuesner, p. 278-279). The fullest expression of the effluent presence of God is focused in the eternal realm of heaven. There he manifests, “Himself as ruling, judging, and above all communicating grace and glory. In heaven He sits upon His throne and rules (Ps. 2:4, 11:4, Isa. 66:1, Matt. 5:34, Rev. 4); from which He looks down on men (Duet. 26:15, Ps. 14:2, 102:19, 103:19). He dwells on high in his holy habitation (Isa. 33:5, 17, 57:15).” The resurrected, ascended and exalted Lord is reigning in heaven over all creation, “Up to that heaven He is repeatedly said to have ascended, and that He who is man as well as God now is at the right hand of God; and where He is, there must also his servants be.” (John 12:26). “And there all Christ’s people are to be along with Him (I Thess. 4:17); as He expressly taught his disciples that he was going away to prepare a place for them, to which in due time he would conduct them (Jn. 14:2-4, Heb. 6:20).” (George C. M. Douglas, “The Classic Bible Dictionary” p. 508-509). Heaven is the eternal abode of God and the desired destiny of all the redeemed. “Thou wilt make known to me the path of life; in Thy presence is fullness of joy; in Thy right hand there are pleasures forever.” (Ps. 16:11). “As for me, I shall behold Thy face in righteousness; I will be satisfied with Thy likeness when I awake.” (Ps. 17:15). “Father, I desire that they also, whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am, in order that they may behold My glory, which Thou hast given Me; for Thou didst love Me before the foundation of the world.” (Jn. 17:24). “…we are of good courage I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and be at home with the Lord.” (II Cor. 5:8). “Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord.” (I Thess. 4:17). Obama’s answer to a basic question of theology is the product of a humanistic religion synthesized with the surface verbiage of “new age palaver.” Such an answer questions the very existence of God and does not bow before His eternal sovereignty. To Barack Obama, religion is a present-tense pragmatic formulation that creates a “god” that is functionally acceptable within the constricting constructs of time. This “god” has no claim on Obama, for he is just an extension of Obama’s ever-inflated ego.

“If time’s beginning is concurrent with the beginning of the universe, as the space-time theorem says, then the cause of the universe must be some entity operating in a time dimension completely independent of and preexist to the time dimension of the cosmos. This conclusion is powerfully important to our understanding of who God is and who or what God isn’t.”
—Hugh Ross, “The Creator and the Cosmos”, p. 76

Recounting the question of his daughter regarding where one goes after they die, Obama wrote, “I wondered whether I should have told [my daughter] the truth, that I wasn’t sure what happens when we die, any more than I was sure of where the soul resides or what existed before the Big Bang.” (Audacity of Hope, p. 25-26). This incident was written years after Obama claims to have had a conversion experience with Jesus Christ. These words are incongruous to a believer and rejects the basic foundation of Judaism and Christianity. The cardinal tenet of Judaism is the existence of God. Without the reality of God, all is vacuity. “As in the Bible, so throughout the literature of the Rabbis, the existence of God is regarded as an axiomatic truth.” God is called in Rabbinic literature the ‘Creator and He Who Spoke and the world came into being.’ They indicate the view that the existence of God follows inevitably from the existence of the universe.” (A. Cohen, “Everyman’s Talmud”, p. 1). “The universe is filled with the power and might of our God. He existed before the world was created, and He will continue in being when the world comes to a final end.” (Exodus R. V.14). Obama’s presupposition reality is nihilation. The a priori truth of Judaism is the Living God, “The central thought of Judaism is the Living God. It is the perspective from which all other issues are seen.” (Abraham Heschel, “A Philosophy of Judaism”, p. 25). The Rabbis says that the universe is the result of yesh-me-ayin, “that which is from that which is not.” The universe is the result of the fiat of God’s Word. “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made and by the breath of his mouth all their host.” “For he spoke and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.” (Ps. 33:6, 9). By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the Word of God, so that which is seen was not made out of things which are visible.” (Heb. 11:3). The antecedent reality before the moment of time and matter’s creation was God! “I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, blessed be His name, is the Author and Guide of everything that has been created, and that He alone has made, does make, and will make all things.” (16th Century formulation of the Jewish Creed, Ani Maamin). To reject the existence of the Creator is to deny the foundational truth of Judaism and Christianity. Obama is left with only the speculations and doubts of a confused mindset that refuses to accept the clarion declaration of scripture. He subordinates the Biblical narrative of creation under his vaunted doubts. His unbelief takes precedence over transcendent truth.

“Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”
—Deut. 6:4

In a 2007 New York Times interview, Barack Obama recited in Arabic the opening lines of the Muslim call to prayer, “Allah is Most Great. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah. I bear witness that Mohammed is the messenger of Allah. Come to prayer come to the good Allah is most great there is no god but Allah.” This is Islam’s confession of faith, the assertion that Allah is supreme and Mohammed his prophet. Obama remarked that the prayer is “…one of the prettiest sounds on earth at sunset.” (Obama: Man of the World, Nicholas Kristof, New York Times, March 6, 2007). To a Jew or Christian this prayer is not beautific or in harmony with the Biblical revelation of God. Any practicing Muslim will tell you that Allah, in whom they serve, is not Jehovah of the Old Testament. Mohammed tragically redefined the God of the Torah and his new revelation was devoid of Old Testament content. The daily Jewish prayer recited by Orthodox Jews is the Shema (Deut. 6:4): “Here, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” The prayer affirms complete obedience to Jehovah in all aspects of life. Such unconditional surrender is called “taking upon oneself the yoke of the kingdom of heaven.” The prayer affirms that one is under the supreme rule of God alone. Jesus reiterates this prayer in Matthew 22:37 and refers to the yoke of the “Shema” in Matthew 11:28-30. This prayer is diametrically opposed to the Muslim daily prayer. Does Obama recognize “Allah” as the God of the Old Testament and Mohammed as his prophet? Again, a syncretism is evident in Obama’s thinking. No exclusive allegiance is given to the God of Scripture, the Lord of heaven and earth.

“And many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt.”
—Dan. 12:2

In the March 27, 2004 interview with Cathleen Falsani, columnist of the Chicago Sun Times, Obama rejects any idea of hell or judgment upon those who reject Jesus Christ and His atoning death. “There’s the belief, certainly in some quarters, that people haven’t embraced Jesus Christ as their personal savior that they’re going to hell.” Falsani asked, “You don’t believe that?” Obama replies, “I find it hard to believe that my God would consign four-fifths of the world to hell. I can’t imagine that my God would allow some little Hindu kid in India who never interacts with the Christian faith to somehow burn for all eternity. That’s just not part of my religious makeup.” Obama attempts to marginalize the Judaic and Christian doctrine of God’s justice as if it were a parochial teaching among some extreme religious group. This obfuscation is a cover-up of the Biblical understanding of God as the “Judge of all the earth.” “Far be it from Thee to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked so that the righteous and wicked are treated alike. Far be it from Thee! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?” (Gen. 18:25). “And the heavens declare his righteousness, for God Himself is judge.” (Ps. 50:6). “But the Lord sits as king forever; he has established his throne for judgment, and he will judge the world in righteousness; he will execute judgment for the peoples with equity.” (Ps. 9:7-8). Barack Obama posits a false proposition by stating that God would allow children to burn in hell. There is no scriptural warrant under the age of accountability (children) having to suffer eternally for sin. This is a “straw argument” to conceal his rejection of the justice of God. Man is made for eternity and obedience or disobedience to God’s will carry ramifications that transcend one’s life on earth. “…for in the day that you eat from it you shall surely die.” (Gen. 2:17). “Behold, all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine. The soul who sins will die.” (Ezek. 18:4). “…for the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom. 6:23). The Biblical understanding of judgment is set forth in extensive passages from the Mishnah, Talmud and Aboth. “Justice being an attribute of God, it follows that he deals justly with His creatures. That the righteous should be rewarded for their faithfulness to the divine will and the wicked punished for their rebelliousness is what one naturally expects in a universe governed by a Just Judge.” (A. Cohen, “Everyman’s Talmud” p. 110). Every human being is called to account before God’s righteous judgment. “They that are born are destined to die; and the dead to be brought to life again; and the living to be judged, to know, to make known, and to be made conscious that He is God, He the Maker, He the Creator, He the discerner, He the Judge, He the witness, He the complainant; He it is that will in the Hereafter judge, blessed by He, with Whom there is no unrighteous nor forgetfulness, nor respect of persons, nor taking of bribes. Know also that everything is according to the reckoning and let not your imagination give you hope that the grave will be a place of refuge for you; for perforce you were formed, and perforce you were born, and perforce you live, and perforce you die, and perforce you will in the hereafter have to give account and reckoning before the supreme King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He.” (Aboth, IV.29). “The Holy One, blessed be He, will sit in judgment with the righteous and wicked. He will judge the righteous and conduct them to Gan Eden. He will judge the wicked and condemn them to Gehinnon.” (Midrash to Ps. 1; 12b).

Jesus’ most frequent self-designation was “Son of Man”, i.e., bar enosh, an autobiographical designation utilized 81 times in the Gospels. This was an exalted Messianic title in Judaism, alluding to Daniel 7:13. The title acknowledges the Messiah as the escatological judge of the universe. It indicates that the Messiah has an all-encompassing judicial authority to execute judgment on the unrepentant. “And he sat on the throne of his glory, and the sum of judgment was given unto the Son of Man, and he caused the sinners to pass away and he destroyed from off the face of the earth, and those who had led the world astray. With chains shall they be bound, and in their assemblage place of destruction shall they be imprisoned, and all their works vanish from the face of the earth. And from henceforth there shall be nothing corruptible; for that ‘Son of Man’ has appeared, and has seated himself on the throne of his glory, and all evil shall pass away before his face, and the word of that Son of Man shall go forth and be strong before the Lord of Spirits.” (I Enoch 69:26-29). In the above passage the Son of Man is seated on the throne of glory and executes universal judgment as King of the world. “The one like a man [the Son of Man] who sits upon the throne of God’s glory, the sublime escatological judge, is the highest conception of the Redeemer ever developed by ancient Judaism.” (David Flusser, “Jesus” p. 103). “The image of this bar enosh [Son of Man] is fascinating and unique. It is the figure of an almost super-human judge, who is to sit on the throne of God and to separate the righteous from the wicked. He is to deliver the righteous to everlasting life and the wicked to everlasting punishment.” (David Flusser, “Jewish Sources in Early Christianity” p. 56). The Jesus, whom Barack Obama claims he serves as Redeemer, states unequivocally that he has universal judicial authority. “For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son. In order that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes Him who sent me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.” “…and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs shall hear His voice, and shall come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.” (John 5:22-24, 27-30). The above passages are startling in their boundless import. Jesus claims that he has universal judicial authority, as judge of the living and the dead, because he is the Son of Man. No prophet, priest, scribe or rabbi would ever claim such an executionary judicial authority. No mere man or angelic being operates in such a realm. In the Old Testament, the prerogative of judgment belongs exclusively to God (Gen. 18:25, Jgs. 11:27, Ps. 9:8, 82:8, 94:2, 110:6, I Chron. 16:33, Isa. 33:22). In blatant contradiction to the exclusive assertion of Jesus, Barack Obama rejects the justice and judgment of God. His subjective value system, inculcated under Jeremiah Wright, has become the canon of judgment that even attempts to displace God as the judge of all. In the words of Dostoevsky, “Without God everything is allowed.” Obama would allow everything that is acceptable to him. His syncretism is the ultimate standard. Only those who reject such a destruction of truth are to be condemned. As Barack Obama has rejected heaven as the eternal destiny of the Redeemed, he has also rejected hell as the eternal destiny of the unrepentant. The religion of Obama is simply “Obama.” He is the arbiter and savior of himself.

“Indeed, there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and never sins.”
—Eccles. 7:20

Barack Obama was asked by Cathleen Falsani, ” Do you believe in sin?” Obama replied, “Yes.” Falsani asked, “What is sin?” Obama again replied, “Being out of alignment with my values.” Falsani, “What happens if you have sin in your life?” Obama, “In the same way that I’m true to myself and my faith that that is it’s own reward, when I’m not true to it, its its own punishment.” Barack Obama has set the standard of pragmatism as the criteria of sin, not the scriptures. The standard for sin is Obama’s ever-fluctuating values whatever they may be. In the words of pragmatism’s father, John Dewey, “We institute standards of justice, truth, aesthetic quality, etc….exactly as we set up a platinum bar as a standard measurer of lengths. The standard is just as much subject to modification and revision in the one case as in the other on the basis of the consequences of its operational application.” (John Dewey, “Logic, the Theory of Inquiry” p. 216). To Barack Obama, there are no fixed standards of ethics, values and truth. His standards are always in flux because the canon of measurement is always mutating. This condition of fluidity is antithetical to immutable truth. The subjectivist criteria of sin is not the Biblical standard of transgression. In the scriptures, sin (Hebrew “chatha”) and in the Greek New Testament “hamartia”, convey the meaning “to fall short of a standard.” It is the picture of an archer who shoots an arrow at a target but incessantly falls short of the bull’s-eye. Man incessantly fails to live up to God’s standard. He falls short of God’s revealed will in scripture. The goal is God’s will for man and all humanity misses the mark and falls tragically short of God’s immutable goal, obedience to his will. Sin is against God not simply against an ever-permutating value system. “I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you.” (Ex. 10:16). “And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of my book.'” (Ex. 32:33). “…truly, I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel.” (Jos. 7:20). “Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against Thee, and Thee only have I sinned, and done what is evil in thy sight…” (Ps. 51:2-4). “…Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight” (Luke 15:18). “…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…” (Rom. 3:23). “And thus, by sinning against the brethren and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ.” (I Cor. 8:12, also cite I Sam. 7:6, 14:33, I Kgs. 8:33, Ps. 78:17, Jer. 3:25, 8:14, 44:23, 50:7). In Judaic and Christian theology, sin is active rebellion against God. “From the Rabbinic standpoint, sin is nothing more or less than rebellion against God. He has revealed His will in the Torah and to run counter to any of its ordinances is transgression. Virtue is conformity to the Torah; sin is its disregard.” “In theory, therefore, there is no difference in the seriousness of a sin, every offense being an act of revolt against the divine will.” (A. Cohen, “Everyman’s Talmud” p. 96). Obama’s definition of sin, as not living in concert with his mutable values, obviates the need for an atoning sacrifice. For he can now “forgive himself” of such personal indiscretions. The Obama religion is as pliable as a piece of plastic heated by a flame. It can be molded and bent in any direction by the present inclination of a rebellious nature. This religion is a salve that covers over a cancerous condition, it is an anesthetic to the soul, not contrition of heart that leads to repentance and restoration with God. “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, wilt thou not despise.” (Ps. 51:17).

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”
—John 14:6

Barack Obama responds to the question by Cathleen Falsani, “What does he believe?” He responds, “I am a Christian. So I have a deep faith that there are many paths to the same place, and there is a belief that there is a higher power, a belief that we are connected as a people.” “That there are values that transcend race or culture, that move us forward, and thus an obligation for all of us individually as well as collectively to take responsibility to make those values lived.” Falsani responds, “Its perhaps an unlikely theological position for someone who places his faith squarely at the feet of Jesus to take, saying essentially that all people of faith, Christians, Jews, Muslims, Animists, everyone¾know the same God.” Obama then quotes John 14:6. In an extraordinary reductionism he synthesizes Judaism and Christianity into an ecumenical mosaic where only subjectivism abounds, objective absolute truth is nowhere to be found. He believes that there are “many paths to the same place,” wherever that may be, since he rejects the reality of heaven and hell, and has redefined God as a simple, vague “higher power.” The amorphous mirage that he has constructed to put Christ into just won’t fit. The Old Testament warned of the deceptive paths that lead to death. The philosophies and religions that originate from the broken compass of man’s estranged heart and mind, will lead not to God, but away from the truth of God’s word and ultimate separation from the salvation of God. “There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” (Prov. 14:12). “The rightness [of man’s way] is present only as a phantom, for it arises wholly from a terrible self-deception; the man judges falsely and goes astray when, without regard to God and his word, he follows only his own opinions. It is the way of estrangement from God, of fleshly security; the way of vice, in which the blinded thinks to spend his life, to set himself to fulfill his purposes; but the end thereof, the end of this intention, that in which it issues, are the ways of death. He who thus deceives himself regarding his course of life, sees himself at last arrived at a point from which every way which now further remains to him leads only down to death. The self-delusion of one ends in death by the sentence of the judge…” (Kyle Delitzsch, “Commentary on the Old Testament”, Vol. 6, p. 298). The paths that man naturally gravitate toward is a way of self-deception, “All the ways of a man are clean in his own sight, but the Lord weighs the motives.” (Prov. 16:2). Man’s search does not lead to God (Ps. 14:2-3) for it is an attempt at self-salvation, “All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on him.” (Isa. 53:6). The desire for autosoteric behavior is innate to the estranged heart of man not a quest to seek the God of redemption. “Behold, God, is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation.” (Isa. 12:2, see also Ps. 3:8, 68:19-20).

Obama injects a linguistic deconstruction into the “I Am” sayings of Jesus. He quotes John 14:6 in the interview with Ms. Falsani. Obama describes how the verse is to be interpreted, “That depends on how John 14:6 is heard.” The philosophy of “linguistic deconstruction” utilized by Obama interprets the value and meaning of words upon the reaction of the collective consciousness of the audience. Words are defined by the reaction to the speaker’s discourse. If an audience believes Jesus’ declaration [of John 14:6] is just one of many paths, then that becomes the linguistic meaning. The original definition has been distorted through linguistic reductionism. Obama’s interpretation of Jesus’ words is nothing but the device of isegetics conjoined to deconstruction, inculcated under Jeremiah Wright. It is a complete perversion of Jesus’ “I Am” sayings. Jesus utilized in Greek “Ego Emi”, the Septuagint translation of the August name of God, referring to Exodus 3:14. This is the Old Testament declaration of God’s holy name. Jesus declares that he is the divine “I Am.” It is an assertion of divinity. It is the divine style of speech in the most emphatic form. Eternity of being is declared. “The way, the truth and the life” are all attributes of God and his word in the Old Testament (Ps. 27:11, 36:4, 119:130, 33, Deut. 32:4, Deut. 5:26, Isa. 65:16, Jer. 10:10, Dan. 6:26). Jesus asserts that he is the embodiment of the revealed nature of God. He is presently and will forever be “The Way, the truth, the life” exclusively. This declaration of Jesus does not originate from the matrix of humanity, philosophy or any religion but comes from the nature of God. Obama’s religion has created a facsimile Jesus that blatantly demeans and dishonors the person of Jesus Christ whom he says he serves.

Within the interview with Cathleen Falsani, Obama was asked, “Who’s Jesus to You?” She remarks that “He laughed nervously.” Then he remarks, “Jesus is an historical figure to me, and he’s also a bridge between God and man, in the Christian faith, and one that I think is powerful precisely because he serves as that means of us reaching something higher. And he’s also a wonderful teacher. I think its important for all of us, of whatever faith, to have teachers in the flesh and also teachers in history.” Obama never asserts that Jesus is Divine or is his personal Lord. He puts Christ in the “wonderful teacher” category. This restriction of thought cannot contain the nature of Jesus. The Gospels are replete with Jesus’ assertions of his divinity. The “I Am” sayings of Jesus in the Gospel of John (6:35, 8:12, 10:7, 9, 11, 19, 11:25, 14:6, 15:1, 8:23ff, 28, 13:19) are in the divine style of speech. He asserts his eternity of being. “I Am…These are the words of the most impudent blasphemer or the words of God incarnate.” (G. C. Morgan, Commentary on John). Jesus, without hesitation, affirmed that he was the Eternal God. Such an affirmation would transcend the simple category of a moral teacher or a rustic rabbi. He placed all the prophets, priests and kings of Israel in a subordinate position to him. “But as for God the Son apart from the incarnation, scriptures never suggest any contrast in glory as between Father and the Son. The following passages make this abundantly clear: John 1:1, 18, 8:58, 10:30, 14:9, 14:5, Rom. 9:5, Col. 2:2, Tit. 2:13, Heb. 1:8, I Jn. 5:20.” (Gleason Archer, “Bible Difficulties” p. 375). No devised category can contain Jesus. Obama perceives Christ as other than Jesus declared Himself to be. His is a Jesus that fits his circumscribed ideal of a moral bridge or teacher, but is not the transcendent Lord of heaven and earth. Obama believes in a figment of his own devising, not the Jesus of the New Testament. This Jesus is easy to live with, not the Lord who claims unconditional obedience and trust. A trilemma confronts anyone who undertakes a serious investigation of the person of Jesus. Either he was a fraud, self-deceived, or he was who he says he was. There can be no other options. The good moral teacher category utilized to neatly dismiss Jesus demands by definition truthfulness and sanity. If his declarations are untrue they would nullify such a classification. A rubicon decision is demanded by Christ, “But who do you say that I am?” (Matt. 16:15). Jesus leaves no one in a moral no man’s land. Obama’s answer to that question is not in concert with Jesus’ self-definition. He has remade Jesus into his image and likeness. It is another Jesus, whom Obama proclaims, not the Christ of scripture.

“The idea of man as a being created in the likeness of God, the idea of creation, of divine knowledge, the election of Israel, the problem of evil, Messiahism, the belief in the resurrection or faith in revelation become caricatures when transposed into categories of pedestrian thinking.”
—Abraham Heschel, “A Philosophy of Judaism” p. 65

The scriptures warn of a generation that is pure in their own eyes. “There is a generation who is pure in his own eyes, yet is not washed from his filthiness. There is a generation O how lofty are his eyes! And his eyelids are raised in arrogance.” (Prov. 30:12-13). This type of individual sees only their image and likeness and filters all things, including the scriptures through their prism of self-righteousness. They have not seen themselves through the striking and humbling revelation of God through his word. They remain censorious of God and have become the arbiters of truth. They have a form of godliness (II Tim. 3:5) but have denied the transforming power of God. It is clear from President Barack Obama’s own words that he rejects orthodox Judaism and Christianity. He has redefined God and categorizes Jesus into an acceptable framework of his sequestered thinking. He has no heaven to look forward to nor a hell to shun. He has no belief in the Creator of the universe. To Obama, sin is no longer rebellion against God. He has no need for the atoning sacrifice of a Savior. He has adopted the language of Christianity to conceal his dialectic religion and has led many astray. This “form of godliness” promotes only one, the community organizer from Chicago. “The [community] organizer is in a true sense reaching for the highest level to which man can reach–to create, to be a ‘great creator’, to play god.” (Saul Alinsky, “Rules for Radicals” p. 61). Obama’s words at the Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, in the Summer of 2008, regarding his faith, were as vaporous as his incessant speeches. His christianized language finds a ready response from pastors and congregations who want to believe that he is a “brother of the faith.” But Obama’s aversion to the truth of scripture belies such Christian verbage. He has learned the art of subterfuge well. May God strengthen His people in this time of national chastening. President Obama, “You are not a god, you are a mortal in need of God.”

“Of a man dominated by pride, the Holy One, Blessed be He, says, ‘I and he cannot dwell in the same universe.”
—The Talmud