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Barack Obama

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grant
Feb 13 2007
08:49 pm

I wonder what y’all think of this quote from Barak Obama:

"Now this is going to be difficult for some who believe in the inerrancy of the
Bible, as many evangelicals do. But in a pluralistic democracy, we have no
choice. Politics depends on our ability to persuade each other of common aims
based on a common reality. It involves the compromise, the art of what’s
possible. At some fundamental level, religion does not allow for compromise.
It’s the art of the impossible. If God has spoken, then followers are expected
to live up to God’s edicts, regardless of the consequences. To base one’s life
on such uncompromising commitments may be sublime, but to base our policy making
on such commitments would be a dangerous thing. And if you doubt that, let me
give you an example.

We all know the story of Abraham and Isaac. Abraham is ordered by God to offer
up his only son, and without argument, he takes Isaac to the mountaintop, binds
him to an altar, and raises his knife, prepared to act as God has commanded.

Of course, in the end God sends down an angel to intercede at the very last
minute, and Abraham passes God’s test of devotion.

But it’s fair to say that if any of us leaving this church saw Abraham on a roof
of a building raising his knife, we would, at the very least, call the police
and expect the Department of Children and Family Services to take Isaac away
from Abraham. We would do so because we do not hear what Abraham hears, do not
see what Abraham sees, true as those experiences may be. So the best we can do
is act in accordance with those things that we all see, and that we all hear, be
it common laws or basic reason.

Finally, any reconciliation between faith and democratic pluralism requires some
sense of proportion."

Hmmm.