Speaking last week at the National Prayer Breakfast on the subject of the latest atrocities committed by the Islamic terror group ISIS, President Obama admonished us as follows:
Lest we get on our high horse and think this is unique to some other place, remember that during the Crusades and the Inquisition, people committed terrible deeds in the name of Christ.”
Indeed so, Mr. President. But conceding that point, let’s take a moment to examine the record since the 11th and 15th centuries.
In that time, Western Europeans – overwhelmingly Christian – have made literacy the norm, established the university, established and nurtured representative government, done away with slavery on two continents, largely eradicated infectious disease, enshrined property rights, ended famine, harnessed electricity, established the rule of law through impartial courts, done away with religious persecution and more than doubled the average lifespan – all while creating art, music and literature that elevates the spirit and enriches the soul.
All of this to say that for whatever sins committed by mediaeval Christians, those sins have been more than atoned in the ensuing 1,000 years.
No one on Earth today is threatened by radical Anglicans, Methodists, Presbyterians or Catholics. But as we have seen in just the past few days, we all have reason to fear radical Islamists.
That the president would call Christians by name for deeds committed a thousand years ago and yet be unwilling to call Islamic terrorists by name for deeds committed last week, is an insult to every Christian, every peaceful citizen and indeed every thinking person.
For me, it’s the low point in his presidency.
And that’s saying something.
I agree wholeheartedly with your comments. In addition, I would like to boil his statements down to the bare essentials:
The president is using a child’s logic by saying “but everyone else is doing it”.
You simply cannot justify bad behavior by pointing out other bad behavior.
The childish presidency continues.
Obama is likely an atheist, neither Christian nor Muslim, but Islam is the religion he grew up in and he obviously feels a greater affinity for it than for Christianity.
The problem is that Christians have not been living up to their faith in that they have ALLOWED the real teachings of Christ be pushed to the back burner in deference to being politically correct. In doing so, we have ALLOWED the muslims, the islamists to have free reign in their push to take over. Christians have failed miserably in holding on to our true teachings.
“The record since the 11th and 15th centuries” would include the dang Klan.
This is literally “unbelievable”, and I DO mean “literally”. Anyone who has even a modicum of common sense, or cares to know the truth of history, can see right through this silly slice of “pie in the sky” propaganda. He has his whole life benefitted from cultural and economic advantages made possible only by the kind of order Christianity provides. In the absence of Christianity, the world tends toward “mondo cane” – a dog’s world – where the big dogs eat the little ones for breakfast. My theory is that even he wouldn’t make it to 10:00 AM.
Oh, and once again, as usual, when we criticize this president there will be those who cannot resist playing the “race” card, even if only subtly. The only problem is that in this case, the reference is to some who merely masqueraded as Christians, but who were of their father – the devil.