NATCHITOCHES, La. (9/6/2010) -- Is President Obama a Christian? Quite a few people are concerned about the answer to that question, and quite a few others are just as concerned about the question itself. In either case, I think that quite a few people don't understand the word "Christian."
What is a Christian? There are church definitions and practical ones. Church definitions involve belief in Jesus Christ as Son of God and redeemer of the world and accepting him as your savior. They can be imprecise; some who believe that Jesus is the son of God and their savior (Mormons, for instance) face vehement opposition from others (Baptists, for instance) when they call themselves "Christians." Most of us, however, are content to accept as church Christians anyone who claims to be one without arguing over definitional and creedal fine points. If God wishes to punish you for your beliefs, He'll do so without input from me.
Church definitions have a weakness. Some pretty awful people are self-confessed churchgoing Christians. A professor of mine once announced on the first day of class, "Jesus is my personal savior." He spent the rest of the semester demonstrating that his god was money and his favorite person was himself. He wasn't actually a bad sort compared with other Christians I've known, some as devoid of kindness and compassion as a schoolyard bully. That kind of Christian makes me run for a more practical definition of "Christian."
The definition I offer is the one I see on bumper stickers: WWJD. A Christian is a person who lives a life of service and selfless love for others. A Christian is someone who does what Jesus would do were he in that person's shoes. The problem with this definition for church Christians is that it fails to exclude people who don’t know Jesus. A Muslim might pass as "Christian" and so might an atheist. You don't have to believe in God to live the life of a saint. Most of us who consider ourselves believing Christians would admit that the words without the life are worthless. If I had to choose, I'd rather have people around me who live the Christian life than who profess the Christian belief.
Is Obama a Christian? He says he is, and I believe him. Like many of the people who now doubt his Christianity, I remember being appalled by his long affiliation with a Christian congregation whose pastor preached a message that was sometimes flamboyantly un-Christian. As the question is asked, though, it has everything to do with professing Jesus Christ as one's personal savior and nothing to do with being part of a church that teaches only the pure love of Christ. Not many Christian churches are really up to that standard. Hatred (and its little brothers, condescension and contempt) of others -- Muslims, Mexicans, gays, white people or evolutionists -- often creeps into the message. The fault lies not with Christianity but with humanity. Oddly enough, Muslims, Mexicans, gays, white people and evolutionists all occasionally spread a little hate themselves. They’re all nothing if not human.
As an economist, I teach a principle called "revealed preferences." I don't care what you say you believe or what you claim to love. I look at what you do and infer your preferences from that. I don't care what Obama says he believes. If I have to comment on his Christianity, I can only do that by looking at how he lives his life. He doesn't often go to church, but some of the finest Christians I know haven't graced a church with their presence in decades.
If Obama is interested in addressing concerns about his beliefs, he should find a church and attend it regularly. It won't do him much good with people who believe it's all just show, but, until they pull the beams out of their eyes, they don't have much business fishing for motes in his. It's a pharisaical activity to go around demanding that people give evidence of their beliefs to be part of the community. Obama's religion is undoubtedly Christian. Whether his heart is Christian is something I won't discuss. The only evidence of a Christian heart is the life well lived, the service freely rendered and the charity extended to all, especially to one's enemies. In that, I think, we all fall short, along with our president. I don’t know whether his heart is Christian, but it’s as human as yours and mine.
James Picht teaches economics at the Louisiana Scholars' College in Natchitoches, La. From the age of 6, he always knew what he wanted to be. Economist wasn't it. But after accidentally falling in to it, he found that he liked it. Now he also likes raising his two children, being a husband to Lisa and taking pictures of trees in the middle of the night. He thinks he's a Christian, but he enjoys looking for motes in his neighbors' eyes. He obviously has a long way to go.
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