I don't know, but it seems when he talks that he is just so secular that he may be a closeted atheist or agnostic. This started as nothing but a wishful thought, but then in his inaugural address he referenced "Non-Believers", finally giving atheists some kind of recognition. That was enough to tap me even closer towards his being in the closet.
Now, so far there is no real hard evidence to suggest that he might be, and I'm probably just overreacting to his secularism, especially after the religious horror of George W. Bush, but it's a notion I like to entertain, if only for the sake of imagination.
I thought the same thing
either he is in the closet, or he is the smartest christian ever.
He could be an atheist, but he also could just be a good example of a progressive Christian. There are a lot of those, it's just that they're drowned out by the nutters. I remember reading that most Christians don't believe in the 6,000 year old earth, and most believe in evolution.
Quote from: "leftyguitarjoe"I thought the same thing
either he is in the closet, or he is the smartest christian ever.
Nice one...
Actually, I do tend to believe he is just in the closet as well. He strikes me as too intellectual and science-minded to believe any religious BS.
Quote from: "oldschooldoc"Quote from: "leftyguitarjoe"I thought the same thing
either he is in the closet, or he is the smartest christian ever.
Nice one...
Actually, I do tend to believe he is just in the closet as well. He strikes me as too intellectual and science-minded to believe any religious BS.
obama has no choice. if he is an atheist and told the american public, he would have not been elected president, period.
sad, but true.
Quote from: "jcm"Quote from: "oldschooldoc"Quote from: "leftyguitarjoe"I thought the same thing
either he is in the closet, or he is the smartest christian ever.
Nice one...
Actually, I do tend to believe he is just in the closet as well. He strikes me as too intellectual and science-minded to believe any religious BS.
obama has no choice. if he is an atheist and told the american public, he would have not been elected president, period.
sad, but true.
Oh sorry, I forgot to mention that in my thread as well. VERY sad, but VERY true! I just can't believe that somewhere along the way our country started adhering to an unwritten rule. What does that rule say? Well, unfortunately, it says that in order to become a successful civil servant you must know god, you must believe in him and worship him. If you don't, you are a communist/fascist/socialist/blah blah blah...point is, why do we want our public officials, especially our highest elected, to have a fucking imaginary friend?
If he is a non-believer, he's a non-believer who thinks religious groups are a good tool to use to help communities. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/02/us/po ... f=politics (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/02/us/politics/02obama.html?_r=1&ref=politics)
Even though he does want to continue to support faith based initiatives, his approach to politics is mostly secular and he doesn't seem to let religion control his views. Forgetting to use a Bible to swear in the second time is what makes me think he might not believe...so many believers associate swearing on the bible with serious promises.
My guess is he's probably a Deist. Some of them tend to be very scientific minded and slightly spiritual/understanding of the religious.
As much as I would like to see it be the truth in this case, I'm just not sold that he is a "closet atheist." But it appears obvious that he's not a Bush-level Christian, which is awesome.
Perhaps he is a nontheistic person and just happens to be a cultural Christian?
...Or perhaps he isn't either? He could be a follower of Islam, or a Jew...
Quote from: "Ninteen45"...Or perhaps he isn't either? He could be a follower of Islam, or a Jew...
Ever wonder why his middle name is "Hussein"?! Simple... he's a secret Muslim!
I have his book, the Audacity of Hope. His chapter on faith is very tolerant, and it has a mention of him saying "I don't know what happens after death any more than I know what was before the Big Bang." Sounds very agnostic to me.
Quote from: "Godless"Quote from: "Ninteen45"...Or perhaps he isn't either? He could be a follower of Islam, or a Jew...
Ever wonder why his middle name is "Hussein"?! Simple... he's a secret Muslim!
My middle name is Eugene. You know what that means, right? I'm a secret Englishman infiltrating this American message board.
There are also African American males and females who have Arabic first names but they may be Catholic or some kind of Christian.
I have a Jewish friend whose middle name is Abdullah and he is no Muslim.
Quote from: "liveyoungdiefast"I have his book, the Audacity of Hope. His chapter on faith is very tolerant, and it has a mention of him saying "I don't know what happens after death any more than I know what was before the Big Bang." Sounds very agnostic to me.
This is very informative. Grazie.
He has very clearly said that he was raised by a pretty much non-practicing spiritual mother and his father was an atheist, (and so was I) and went to a joint Christian and Muslim school and chose Christianity as his faith as an adult (where he previously had none) out of community and feeling that there was something bigger than himself. I don't think he is an atheist or agnostic, I think he very well could be Deist as someone else here mentioned. He doesn't tend to have his religion guide his actions or decisions, which just makes him super smart to me.
http://www.barackobama.com/2006/06/28/call_to_renewal_keynote_address.php
"And I speak with some experience on this matter. I was not raised in a particularly religious household, as undoubtedly many in the audience were. My father, who returned to Kenya when I was just two, was born Muslim but as an adult became an atheist. My mother, whose parents were non-practicing Baptists and Methodists, was probably one of the most spiritual and kindest people I've ever known, but grew up with a healthy skepticism of organized religion herself. As a consequence, so did I.
It wasn't until after college, when I went to Chicago to work as a community organizer for a group of Christian churches, that I confronted my own spiritual dilemma."
Later he says:
" It was because of these newfound understandings that I was finally able to walk down the aisle of Trinity United Church of Christ on 95th Street in the Southside of Chicago one day and affirm my Christian faith. It came about as a choice, and not an epiphany. I didn't fall out in church. The questions I had didn't magically disappear. But kneeling beneath that cross on the South Side, I felt that I heard God's spirit beckoning me. I submitted myself to His will, and dedicated myself to discovering His truth."
Pretty interesting he talked about working with the churches in Chicago but still being an outsider because he didn't believe. He admits to having been a non-believer, very interesting.
Quote from: "liveyoungdiefast"I have his book, the Audacity of Hope. His chapter on faith is very tolerant, and it has a mention of him saying "I don't know what happens after death any more than I know what was before the Big Bang." Sounds very agnostic to me.
[spoiler:2aijsang](https://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fskeptisys.files.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F06%2Fobama-badass.jpg&hash=d51b25e0d5bff173ccc5f9c5b00ea9b5e7619f99)[/spoiler:2aijsang]
[spoiler:24jfrm2a]http://pooploops.com/obamadance.swf[/spoiler:24jfrm2a]
Quoteand dedicated myself to discovering His truth
By this he could mean that he is still trying to work out what is true and what is not as well as accepting that there is a God. I would guess that he's a Deist who just chose christianity.
I've heard some christians refer to God as a close friend who they turn to for support, from what you said, this is what Obama sounds like
Lets just hope he does a better job then Bible boy Bush