The Blasphemy of Barack Obama

The article below is by Joe Carter who is an editor of the Gospel Coalition. It is being posted here since access to Touchstone Magazine, including the "Mere Comments" page where it was posted, has continually produced the following or similar responses regardless of which browser or Touchstone page URL is used:

"Forbidden
You don't have permission to access /merecomments/2012/05/the-blasphemy-of-barack-obama/ on this server.

Additionally, a 403 Forbidden error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request."

 

Denny Burk has done the same on his blog site at http://www.dennyburk.com/the-blasphemy-of-barack-obama/ [accessed 10 MAY 2012]:

 

"UPDATE: Some readers have pointed out that the link to Joe Carter’s article is broken. It looks as if the entire Touchstone magazine site is down at the moment. For now, I’ll post Joe’s full remarks below until the link is restored."

Joe Carter's article follows.

 

The Blasphemy of Barack Obama
Wednesday, May 9, 2012, 11:00 PM
Joe Carter

 Mr. President,

... Earlier today you made a statement that will go down in history as one of the most audacious ever made by a sitting President.

And no, I’m not talking about your admission that you supports gay marriage. The only thing surprising about that revelation is that you decided to stop lying about your position before the election.

No, I’m referring to the fact that you’ve made one of the most theologically ignorant claims in modern history:

This is something that, you know, we’ve talked about over the years and she, you know, she feels the same way, she feels the same way that I do. And that is that, in the end the values that I care most deeply about and she cares most deeply about is how we treat other people and, you know, I, you know, we are both practicing Christians and obviously this position may be considered to put us at odds with the views of others but, you know, when we think about our faith, the thing at root that we think about is, not only Christ sacrificing himself on our behalf, but it’s also the Golden Rule, you know, treat others the way you would want to be treated. And I think that’s what we try to impart to our kids and that’s what motivates me as president and I figure the most consistent I can be in being true to those precepts, the better I’ll be as a as a dad and a husband and hopefully the better I’ll be as president.”

Considering that you once defined sin as “being out of alignment with my values,” it’s not surprising that you quickly gloss over all that “Christ sacrificing himself on our behalf” stuff (presumably Jesus died on the cross to save us from our misaligned personal values, right?). But your implying that Jesus supports same-sex marriage—and there really is no other way to interpret your statement—is nothing short of blasphemous.

No, Mr. President, Jesus does not support same-sex marriage. Even a liberal Christian like you should not be able to make such an historically and theologically absurd claim with a straight face. The history of Christian thought on sexual ethics from the time of the stoning of Stephen to the Stonewall riots has been consistent that engaging in homosexual behavior is strictly and clearly prohibited by God’s Word.

Indeed, Mr. President, you’ve embraced a position that even the godless pagans of antiquity would have considered too radical to for decent people to champion. Admittedly, we now live in a culture so morally obtuse that we can look to barbarians and heathens as moral exemplars on the issue of marriage, so maybe we shouldn’t blame you for not tacking with the political winds. Also, you’ve never been one to exhibit moral courage, and it would have required more than you could muster to stand against your party’s big-money immoralists in an election year.

Nevertheless, to imply that Jesus would support same-sex marriage is contemptible. I realize it probably won’t hurt you come election time—too many Christians are more concerned about saving your seat in the Oval Office than they are with slander against our Savior—but I encourage you to repent of your blasphemy.

Please, Mr. President, for once in your career set aside your magnificent ego and humbly admit that you don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m praying that you’ll do the right thing and admit you were wrong. If not, you’ll discover that God and history are harsh judges with long memories."