The Briefing Room
General Category => National/Breaking News => Topic started by: flowers on December 27, 2013, 05:29:23 pm
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http://www.whitehousedossier.com/2013/12/26/obama-skips-church-christmas/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+WhiteHouseDossier+%28White+House+Dossier%29
President Obama and his family skipped church this Christmas, despite issuing a call last week for Christians to remember the religious aspect of the holiday and not overdo the commercial. But he also spent a good amount of time with members of the armed forces serving in Hawaii, invoking the spirit of Christmas, even if not within a church.
The Obamas had attended church on Christmas each of the last three years they were in Hawaii.
Ten days ago while taping the annual “Christmas in Washington” special, Obama spoke of the birth of Christ, asking Americans not to forsake Jesus as they exchanged presents.
Every year, we mark the holiday season with celebrations and good cheer. And I should remind my girls that I like getting Christmas presents as much as anybody. (Laughter.) But this is also a time to remember the story of a child born to two faithful travelers on a holy night, long ago.
Obama played golf until late Afternoon Tuesday and then spent much of the holiday with his family. Christmas morning, the Obamas “gathered around to open up their Christmas gifts and sing carols,” according to the pool report.
Wednesday afternoon Obama visited with the troops.
From the pool report:
President Obama spoke to about 580 troops and their families assembled around the tables and booths of Anderson Hall, a dining facility at Marine Corps Base Hawaii known informally as “Chow Hall.” Most of the troops are Marines, but the event was open to members
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Why do the media make excuses for him? Why don't they just say he is a Muslim which he is. He certainly isn't a Christian. I feel sorry for the Marines having to listen to him go on and on about himself on Christmas. What a fraud we have for a president who is also an illegal one. He is not and never will be my president and it is a sorry state of affairs in this country when a man such as this is elected supposedly by the citizens.
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Every year, we mark the holiday season with celebrations and good cheer. And I should remind my girls that I like getting Christmas presents as much as anybody. (Laughter.) But this is also a time to remember the story of a child born to two faithful travelers on a holy night, long ago.
Actually, it's a time to remember that God, incarnate, came to earth to redeem us from our sins through His blood on the Cross...
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Yes you are right musiclady. Every year I watch "The greatest story ever told" on Christmas to remind me of why he was born.
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Actually, it's a time to remember that God, incarnate, came to earth to redeem us from our sins through His blood on the Cross...
I tell you, ML, I've been more frustrated this Christmas than ever before. So tired of seeing on the TV news heartwarming stories about this and that with the punchline, "And, after all, that's what Christmas is all about," and I just want to scream, "No, it's not! It's about a redeemer! It's not about toys for poor children, no matter how poor they are, or free turkey dinners or touching family reunions. It's about Jesus Christ!"
*sigh* **nononono*
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And?
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And what?
It only makes sense that people consider the actual reason for the holiday, not irrelevancies.
Do we focus on the Cuban revolution on July 4 or the Kennedy assassination on Dec. 7?
Before you say it, yes, I'm aware that Jesus of Nazareth wasn't born on Dec. 25, that most scholars believe the birth happened a few months before that. But this is the date we commemorate his birth. My only point was that a lot of people consider that date as anything but an acknowledgment of the birth of Jesus Christ.
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And what?
It only makes sense that people consider the actual reason for the holiday, not irrelevancies.
Do we focus on the Cuban revolution on July 4 or the Kennedy assassination on Dec. 7?
Before you say it, yes, I'm aware that Jesus of Nazareth wasn't born on Dec. 25, that most scholars believe the birth happened a few months before that. But this is the date we commemorate his birth. My only point was that a lot of people consider that date as anything but an acknowledgment of the birth of Jesus Christ.
Exactly.
It's about family, and giving and warm fuzzies, but almost never stated that it is about Jesus Christ and Him alone.
Without His birth, we wouldn't be celebrating.
All the giving, and family time and generosity and love is directly from HIM, and no where else.
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And what?
It only makes sense that people consider the actual reason for the holiday, not irrelevancies.
Do we focus on the Cuban revolution on July 4 or the Kennedy assassination on Dec. 7?
Before you say it, yes, I'm aware that Jesus of Nazareth wasn't born on Dec. 25, that most scholars believe the birth happened a few months before that. But this is the date we commemorate his birth. My only point was that a lot of people consider that date as anything but an acknowledgment of the birth of Jesus Christ.
You jumped too quickly, "my pretty!".
My comment wasn't directed at religion. It was as in, "DILLIGAF what he does?".
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I don't care that Obama didn't go to church. I don't expect it of him. But I wasn't responding to you, except to say "And what?"
Then I made a general observation.
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I don't care that Obama didn't go to church. I don't expect it of him. But I wasn't responding to you, except to say "And what?"
Then I made a general observation.
oh-kay
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I tell you, ML, I've been more frustrated this Christmas than ever before. So tired of seeing on the TV news heartwarming stories about this and that with the punchline, "And, after all, that's what Christmas is all about," and I just want to scream, "No, it's not! It's about a redeemer! It's not about toys for poor children, no matter how poor they are, or free turkey dinners or touching family reunions. It's about Jesus Christ!"
Bravo! :hands: :hands: :hands:
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Not giving excuses for Obama and his personal reasons for not going to Church Christmas Day - but my whole extended family is Christian, and I don't know one of them that spent Christmas Day in Church. Many went to Christmas Eve service, but Christmas Day was spent with family. My church had no services on Christmas Day. Now Catholics probably do hold Mass, but I think we can safely say Obama is not Catholic.
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Always figured he gets the same courtesy everyone else gets.
His relationship with God is between him and God. No one else. (It's a European thing - we just don't ask and get rather uncomfortable with overt displays).
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And the Church should be involved with reaching out to the community - being a shining light of hope by being Jesus to the World. And that should be happening 365 days a year. If you are in a church that does not reach out to the hopeless, the lost, the poor, and seems to be locked into its own four walls, I would ask why you are not searching for another church or even trying another denomination. The Church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints.
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His relationship with God is between him and God. No one else. (It's a European thing - we just don't ask and get rather uncomfortable with overt displays).
The American experience is quite other. We fully expect our leaders, especially the President, to be publically religious. It doesn't always work out that way, and has like all religious expression become less important over the years, but it's part of our tradition and practice. Remember Bill Clinton and his Bible?
Moreover, Obama has exploited religion as President. One example is a statement in the original post on this thread: President Obama and his family skipped church this Christmas, despite issuing a call last week for Christians to remember the religious aspect of the holiday and not overdo the commercial
If he chooses to give sermons he cannot refuse to have his religious practices questioned.
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Agree, totally. You put your faith into the public square it becomes fair game.
It's also not a bad tradition to stick to - even if it can occasionally cause problems. Romney being a Mormon, Kennedy being a Catholic - heck, even Nixon being a Quaker - all caused some concern.
I do think the difference between the US and Europe is that you guys (mostly) left to find religious and economic freedom. Here we had to work within the existing system, so the religious aspect of life became a lot more low key.
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I tell you, ML, I've been more frustrated this Christmas than ever before. So tired of seeing on the TV news heartwarming stories about this and that with the punchline, "And, after all, that's what Christmas is all about," and I just want to scream, "No, it's not! It's about a redeemer! It's not about toys for poor children, no matter how poor they are, or free turkey dinners or touching family reunions. It's about Jesus Christ!"
Bravo! :hands: :hands: :hands:
I heartily second that emotion!
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Always figured he gets the same courtesy everyone else gets.
His relationship with God is between him and God. No one else. (It's a European thing - we just don't ask and get rather uncomfortable with overt displays).
It seems to me, and I can only judge by what I read, that Europe isn't to keen on Christian overt displays but is quite content to watch muslim displays. Am I wrong?
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It seems to me, and I can only judge by what I read, that Europe isn't to keen on Christian overt displays but is quite content to watch muslim displays. Am I wrong?
Not exactly fond of those either, most of us. After several hundred years of various waves of persecution, we've learned to keep our faith to ourselves.
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Not exactly fond of those either, most of us. After several hundred years of various waves of persecution, we've learned to keep our faith to ourselves.
But have you managed to keep yourselves safe from others' faiths? Abnegation is not tolerance and begets nothing more than cultural suicide.
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But have you managed to keep yourselves safe from others' faiths? Abnegation is not tolerance and begets nothing more than cultural suicide.
If the Irish Catholics didn't manage to shut us down, and the German anarchists didn't manage to shut us down, and the Pashtun tribes didn't manage to shut us down, the Muslims have no chance of shutting us down.
Easy to forget - we are somewhat used to assaults and terror attacks. They happen. Life goes on as normal.
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If the Irish Catholics didn't manage to shut us down, and the German anarchists didn't manage to shut us down, and the Pashtun tribes didn't manage to shut us down, the Muslims have no chance of shutting us down.
Easy to forget - we are somewhat used to assaults and terror attacks. They happen. Life goes on as normal.
There are just a few more muslims than there are Irish Catholics, and for all the differences that set the lot of you to fighting, the underlying, fundamental similarities are greater. Anarchists are just that, anarchists, which necessarily makes it difficult for them to engage in any serious, long-term concerted action together. I don't recollect the pashtun tribes settling in the British Isles in any great numbers.
It's also not a matter of shutting things down but of taking things over lock, stock, and barrel. The Irish Catholics aren't interested in bringing London under their political control, at least so far as I can tell. German anarchists don't have any real political sovereignity to which they could subject the UK even if that was what they wanted to achieve. If the Pashtun tribes want to subject the UK to their sovereignity - and they may very well want to - they'll have to get a leg up on it because they're nowhere's near being such a threat. That leaves the increasing masses of muslim immigrants in the UK who refuse to integrate in any meaningful way and containing any number of leaders who have expressed their intent to subject the UK to muslim sovereignity.
Abnegation in the face of such a threat isn't enlightened tolerance, it's cultural suicide.
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To be fair, I've been attending St. Mattress by the Springs and St. Andrews by the Green for years. :)
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To be fair, I've been attending St. Mattress by the Springs and St. Andrews by the Green for years. :)
:bigsilly:
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To be fair, I've been attending St. Mattress by the Springs ... for years. :)
With the Rev. Sheets delivering the message?
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To be fair, I've been attending St. Mattress by the Springs and St. Andrews by the Green for years. :)
We used to call that Bedside Baptist. ^-^