Obama Seeks to Repair US-Islamic Relations
Declaring that "Indonesia is part of me," President Obama issued a strikingly personal appeal to the Muslim world to join the West in an unrelenting battle to defeat al-Qaida and violent extremism. He urged both sides to look beyond "suspicion and mistrust" to forge common ground against terrorism.
More... http://www.military.com/news/article/obama-seeks-to-repair-usislamic-relations.html?ESRC=eb.nl
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Can our President DO it? Can he actually somewhat IMPROVE US-Islamic relations? And, if so..inquiring minds want to know...HOW? Just HOW is he going to accomplish this?
I think I might have some really constructive suggestions for him, but first we all, President Obama included, need to understand and acknowledge certain 'truths'.
First of all, his good looks and charming personality are not going to be enough for him or any one of us. FACT
Secondly, he must acknowledge, as must we all, that his latest trip to Indonesia yielded some really very, very bad protests. These are very powerful protests against not only 'BARRY' as he is known in Indonesia, but also against the US--the American people. I have a new level of concern I hadn't expected to have as a result of the President's recent trip... and you should too.
As sure as I am that President Obama was hurt and hurt badly by the hostile Islamic reception he got by Muslim extremists, I am MORE concerned about the reception he received as it relates to us. Let's face it, the 'message' our President sends out to the world is important for all of us.
LINK: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/09/obama-in-indonesia-2010_n_780884.html#s177873
Lest you think that I am 'over-personalizing' the spiritual connection between myself and our President, I assure you that I am not. Then-Senator Barack Obama's 'KEYNOTE SPEECH' at our church meeting, SYNOD 2007, resounds ever in my brain.
You should know that we were connected for 22+ years by being fellow members of the UCC, the Obama/Rev.Jeremiah Wright church. Probably the First Lady had the MOST contact with the congregation there in Chicago, but she's not the President and isn't talking to Muslim world leaders (...directly and officially, anyway).
It is BECAUSE of our 'shared UCC experience' that I have an especially 'vested interest' as an American Citizen and non-Muslim Christian in what President Obama has to say about himself and his religious views to the rest of the world.
I am especially interested in those views for they affect the well-being of my family, my friends and my brothers and sisters in Christ...considering all the 'religious TERRORISM' directed daily at the United States.
So thirdly, let's just 'cut to the chase' with my advice for President Obama. He needs to declare-in no uncertain terms-what his true religion IS and where his spiritual heart lies.
Let him check one, two or even 'NONE', if only so that we can know what to expect on the world scene. This 'religion question' is SO MUCH LARGER than any one person and President Obama needs to realize it now.
So let our President state ONCE AND FOR ALL if he is: Christian, Muslim, agnostic, atheist, human secularist, none-of-the above, all-of-the-above or whatever. At this point, I DON'T CARE!
Would he merely have us CONTINUE to draw our own conclusions, an act that ramps up the risk for ALL AMERICANS? If so, he puts us all in danger.
Don't you agree it is better that our President DECLARE his SPIRITUAL and RELIGIOUS PREFERENCES ONCE AND FOR ALL???
I do.
If there are those of you who are 'curious' about what this Christian 'clergyperson' thinks of President Obama, I will tell you, based on my observations and faith. The President and I are, after all, brother and sister of the same church--unless he's formally resigned from the United Church of Christ, the UCC, that is.
I haven't resigned and may never. My daughter and many friends are members, after all and I'm a little 'long in the tooth'. I may need a 'burying church', sooner than later!
So I'm going to wait for the United Church of Christ to put me in 'stocks' or, maybe, 'dunk me'! I'll keep you apprised of the situation in case they decide that it'd be more expedient to 'have a burning'...herbalist and visionary that I am...so stay tuned.
But seriously, to understand my full involvement with the Obama/Wright church check out 'Synod 2007', the 'UCC' and 'FCC Stamford' below. I was sent AS A VOTING DELEGATE to Synod 2007-despite my protestations- to Hartford in June of 2007 in order to represent my local UCC church.
And that was the beginning of the end of my 'political naivete' as one of the UCC's 'finest'.
My local church is "The Pilgrim Church" (that's right!)where the 'first Thanksgiving was held'. To this day, a Community Thanksgiving Dinner is held for any who wish to partake.
After first landing in Wethersfield, CT, The First Congregational Church of Stamford was 'gathered' in 1635--pretty old, that. Things were so 'tough' for the earlier settlers that if not for the Native Americans in the area, they would have died.
So bad was one winter, that one early Thanksgiving, each church settler was given but FIVE KERNELS OF PLANTING CORN, to EAT or to save for planting. God Bless our Native Americans for teaching the early settlers to eat what they considered to be 'sea vermin' or 'rats of the sea'--lobster--which was so abundant that it crawled all over the shores of the Long Island Sound, imagine that!
But I digress and must 'get back to' President Obama's home UCC church. While 'we' were known as the 'Pilgrim Church Built on the Rock', President Obama's famed Reverend Jeremiah Wright-Reverend Otis Moss-Father Flager-Black Liberation Army church is
Trinity Chicago. LINK; http://www.trinitychicago.org/
The implications of what you read here is that just as President Obama is not 'black enough' or 'white enough' for some...neither is he, apparently 'Muslim enough' or Christian enough.
Frankly, I'm surprised that he wasn't completely warmly embraced on his trip to his 'homeland' of Indonesia. Instead, it appears he's brought the IRE of radical Muslims down even more heavily on ALL of us!
Theologically, it is easy to understand why President Obama infuriates so many.
The President's Chicago Trinity 'Black Liberation Theology' 'problem' is, I believe, mostly an American one, but the world takes note of it.
The whole concept of 'Black Liberation Theology' aka 'BLT' smacks of the KKK and the Aryan Nation philosophies we are all too familiar with.
President Obama needs to 'do something', because TOO MANY are being mislead and misinformed about what he really 'is' and what he really 'stands for'. Surely he can 'fill the bill' by more clearly and definitively defining himself, a simple task if ever there was one.
I think I might have some really constructive suggestions for him, but first we all, President Obama included, need to understand and acknowledge certain 'truths'.
First of all, his good looks and charming personality are not going to be enough for him or any one of us. FACT
Secondly, he must acknowledge, as must we all, that his latest trip to Indonesia yielded some really very, very bad protests. These are very powerful protests against not only 'BARRY' as he is known in Indonesia, but also against the US--the American people. I have a new level of concern I hadn't expected to have as a result of the President's recent trip... and you should too.
As sure as I am that President Obama was hurt and hurt badly by the hostile Islamic reception he got by Muslim extremists, I am MORE concerned about the reception he received as it relates to us. Let's face it, the 'message' our President sends out to the world is important for all of us.
LINK: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/09/obama-in-indonesia-2010_n_780884.html#s177873
Lest you think that I am 'over-personalizing' the spiritual connection between myself and our President, I assure you that I am not. Then-Senator Barack Obama's 'KEYNOTE SPEECH' at our church meeting, SYNOD 2007, resounds ever in my brain.
You should know that we were connected for 22+ years by being fellow members of the UCC, the Obama/Rev.Jeremiah Wright church. Probably the First Lady had the MOST contact with the congregation there in Chicago, but she's not the President and isn't talking to Muslim world leaders (...directly and officially, anyway).
It is BECAUSE of our 'shared UCC experience' that I have an especially 'vested interest' as an American Citizen and non-Muslim Christian in what President Obama has to say about himself and his religious views to the rest of the world.
I am especially interested in those views for they affect the well-being of my family, my friends and my brothers and sisters in Christ...considering all the 'religious TERRORISM' directed daily at the United States.
So thirdly, let's just 'cut to the chase' with my advice for President Obama. He needs to declare-in no uncertain terms-what his true religion IS and where his spiritual heart lies.
Let him check one, two or even 'NONE', if only so that we can know what to expect on the world scene. This 'religion question' is SO MUCH LARGER than any one person and President Obama needs to realize it now.
Would he merely have us CONTINUE to draw our own conclusions, an act that ramps up the risk for ALL AMERICANS? If so, he puts us all in danger.
Don't you agree it is better that our President DECLARE his SPIRITUAL and RELIGIOUS PREFERENCES ONCE AND FOR ALL???
I do.
If there are those of you who are 'curious' about what this Christian 'clergyperson' thinks of President Obama, I will tell you, based on my observations and faith. The President and I are, after all, brother and sister of the same church--unless he's formally resigned from the United Church of Christ, the UCC, that is.
I haven't resigned and may never. My daughter and many friends are members, after all and I'm a little 'long in the tooth'. I may need a 'burying church', sooner than later!
So I'm going to wait for the United Church of Christ to put me in 'stocks' or, maybe, 'dunk me'! I'll keep you apprised of the situation in case they decide that it'd be more expedient to 'have a burning'...herbalist and visionary that I am...so stay tuned.
But seriously, to understand my full involvement with the Obama/Wright church check out 'Synod 2007', the 'UCC' and 'FCC Stamford' below. I was sent AS A VOTING DELEGATE to Synod 2007-despite my protestations- to Hartford in June of 2007 in order to represent my local UCC church.
And that was the beginning of the end of my 'political naivete' as one of the UCC's 'finest'.
My local church is "The Pilgrim Church" (that's right!)where the 'first Thanksgiving was held'. To this day, a Community Thanksgiving Dinner is held for any who wish to partake.
After first landing in Wethersfield, CT, The First Congregational Church of Stamford was 'gathered' in 1635--pretty old, that. Things were so 'tough' for the earlier settlers that if not for the Native Americans in the area, they would have died.
So bad was one winter, that one early Thanksgiving, each church settler was given but FIVE KERNELS OF PLANTING CORN, to EAT or to save for planting. God Bless our Native Americans for teaching the early settlers to eat what they considered to be 'sea vermin' or 'rats of the sea'--lobster--which was so abundant that it crawled all over the shores of the Long Island Sound, imagine that!
But I digress and must 'get back to' President Obama's home UCC church. While 'we' were known as the 'Pilgrim Church Built on the Rock', President Obama's famed Reverend Jeremiah Wright-Reverend Otis Moss-Father Flager-Black Liberation Army church is
Trinity Chicago. LINK; http://www.trinitychicago.org/
The implications of what you read here is that just as President Obama is not 'black enough' or 'white enough' for some...neither is he, apparently 'Muslim enough' or Christian enough.
Frankly, I'm surprised that he wasn't completely warmly embraced on his trip to his 'homeland' of Indonesia. Instead, it appears he's brought the IRE of radical Muslims down even more heavily on ALL of us!
Theologically, it is easy to understand why President Obama infuriates so many.
The President's Chicago Trinity 'Black Liberation Theology' 'problem' is, I believe, mostly an American one, but the world takes note of it.
The whole concept of 'Black Liberation Theology' aka 'BLT' smacks of the KKK and the Aryan Nation philosophies we are all too familiar with.
President Obama needs to 'do something', because TOO MANY are being mislead and misinformed about what he really 'is' and what he really 'stands for'. Surely he can 'fill the bill' by more clearly and definitively defining himself, a simple task if ever there was one.
As a Grandma, I can see that the President has a large need to 'be liked by all'. I can identify with his Grandparents, but 'naive little Barry' who believes he can be 'all things to all people' has run his course.
This said, I would beg President Obama to impose upon himself a REALITY CHECK and open his eyes to global realities.
He needs to address his apparent lack of 'devotional fidelity to any one religion or another' so that we will all be safer and more secure here in America.
The poor guy (yes, I am almost starting to feel sorry for him)is held with suspicion by mainstream Christians, mainstream Muslims and mainstream Jews. What this tells us is that President Obama needs to declare, once and for all, what his 'spiritual base' really is...if he has one, that is.
I pray to God that he does and that he is able to imprint his devotional realities--even if he's a non-believer--on his children and family in a meaningful way.
Michelle Obama is her own person, but the President holds our lives in his very hands by what he says or doesn't say.
Simply putting your hands on your chests for the 'Pledge Of America' and repeating 'one Nation under God' is not enough for anyone, nowadays, including American citizens.
I don't want a 'successful' toner cartridge bomb or something equally malevolent to explode over MY house and over MY loved ones (from all countries and with different religious and cultural backgrounds, I might add). And so I beg President Obama to 'get it in gear' with our 'safety'.
No matter what the President or anyone in the world says, we ARE fighting a 'Holy War'..and one not of our own making. Just look at France and especially ENGLAND for a portent of things to come.
President Obama is a strong guy and his recent unkind, unfavorable and downright nasty 'reception' by many in his 'beloved homeland Indonesia' is proof positive that he needs spiritual help.
Whatever tactic he's using now isn't working. Just read this: "Obama took care in his remarks to note that he is Christian; back home in the U.S., he continues to fight erroneous perceptions that he is Muslim. Obama occasionally studied the Quran and visited a local mosque when he lived here. But he spent hardly any time in the speech discussing Islam or his religious background, except to describe Islam as a "great world religion." LINK: http://www.military.com/news/article/obama-seeks-to-repair-usislamic-relations.html?ESRC=eb.nl
I am concerned because it is no stretch to say that the very well-being of all Americans now hangs on the decisions our President makes. I sorry to say this...but discussing or not discussing any particular religion will not do you any good, Mr. President.
I know that "Indonesia is a part of you", as "the Ukraine" is for me. But honesty and clarification need to be a part of us also, if we are to do any 'good.
Be like me and accept the fact that sometimes you CAN'T go home and accept the fact that your 'homeland' may be radioactive.
I know what I'm talking about. My maternal homeland is not a place I can ever 'go home to again' because it IS radioactive.
But you, Mr. President, can give United States Service Members a wonderful VETERANS DAY GIFT simply by DECLARING YOURSELF one way or another in this day and age of HOLY WAR and Islamic extremism!
Why not just DO it?
For you with Love in Christ,
Reverend Barbara Sexton
"The Biblical Biochemist-Where Science Meets the Cross"
http://www.dearoneshealingministry.blogspot.com/
This said, I would beg President Obama to impose upon himself a REALITY CHECK and open his eyes to global realities.
He needs to address his apparent lack of 'devotional fidelity to any one religion or another' so that we will all be safer and more secure here in America.
The poor guy (yes, I am almost starting to feel sorry for him)is held with suspicion by mainstream Christians, mainstream Muslims and mainstream Jews. What this tells us is that President Obama needs to declare, once and for all, what his 'spiritual base' really is...if he has one, that is.
I pray to God that he does and that he is able to imprint his devotional realities--even if he's a non-believer--on his children and family in a meaningful way.
Michelle Obama is her own person, but the President holds our lives in his very hands by what he says or doesn't say.
Simply putting your hands on your chests for the 'Pledge Of America' and repeating 'one Nation under God' is not enough for anyone, nowadays, including American citizens.
I don't want a 'successful' toner cartridge bomb or something equally malevolent to explode over MY house and over MY loved ones (from all countries and with different religious and cultural backgrounds, I might add). And so I beg President Obama to 'get it in gear' with our 'safety'.
No matter what the President or anyone in the world says, we ARE fighting a 'Holy War'..and one not of our own making. Just look at France and especially ENGLAND for a portent of things to come.
President Obama is a strong guy and his recent unkind, unfavorable and downright nasty 'reception' by many in his 'beloved homeland Indonesia' is proof positive that he needs spiritual help.
Whatever tactic he's using now isn't working. Just read this: "Obama took care in his remarks to note that he is Christian; back home in the U.S., he continues to fight erroneous perceptions that he is Muslim. Obama occasionally studied the Quran and visited a local mosque when he lived here. But he spent hardly any time in the speech discussing Islam or his religious background, except to describe Islam as a "great world religion." LINK: http://www.military.com/news/article/obama-seeks-to-repair-usislamic-relations.html?ESRC=eb.nl
I am concerned because it is no stretch to say that the very well-being of all Americans now hangs on the decisions our President makes. I sorry to say this...but discussing or not discussing any particular religion will not do you any good, Mr. President.
I know that "Indonesia is a part of you", as "the Ukraine" is for me. But honesty and clarification need to be a part of us also, if we are to do any 'good.
Be like me and accept the fact that sometimes you CAN'T go home and accept the fact that your 'homeland' may be radioactive.
I know what I'm talking about. My maternal homeland is not a place I can ever 'go home to again' because it IS radioactive.
But you, Mr. President, can give United States Service Members a wonderful VETERANS DAY GIFT simply by DECLARING YOURSELF one way or another in this day and age of HOLY WAR and Islamic extremism!
Why not just DO it?
For you with Love in Christ,
Reverend Barbara Sexton
"The Biblical Biochemist-Where Science Meets the Cross"
http://www.dearoneshealingministry.blogspot.com/
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