# Obama depends on his Christian faith for his job **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 10, 2010, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-depends-on-his-christian-faith-for-his-job/553300 "2010-09-10T15:45:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2010, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-depends-on-his-christian-faith-for-his-job/553300/1 "2010-09-10T15:45:06Z")
He said it. I just saw him say it in his press conference. This is what folks knocked Bush for. Saying that god guided him and all that. Well, now Obama is straight up stating that his faith in God is required for him to do his job as president. We got to take him to task for that, right? I know some people think that he is a secret atheist (or hope he is one). But when he says “I depend on my Christian faith to do my job” then I think he is messing up. He shouldn’t have said that. Regardless of whether he is a real Christian or not, he shouldn’t have said that. ---
**Author:** ![otternell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecc23a/32.png) [@otternell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/otternell)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2010, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-depends-on-his-christian-faith-for-his-job/553300/2 "2010-09-10T15:48:48Z")
Of course he said it - he’s still trying to counteract the people who are accusing him of being muslim (as if that were a problem in and of itself). It seems a slight difference in degrees to what Obama said vs. “being guided by God”. At least, that’s my perception. Maybe he uses his Christian faith to keep himself from flying off the handle - that’s not really being “guided by God” so much as using the good aspects of the Christian faith to keep his own behavior in line with what he perceives to be appropriate. ETA: is that what Bush said that he is “guided by God”? I can’t remember. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2010, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-depends-on-his-christian-faith-for-his-job/553300/3 "2010-09-10T15:53:51Z")
Obama is a **devout** Christian, I’ve never seen any evidence that he is insincere in his belief. If you read about his life for the past 10+ years, it’s really obvious he’s a devout Christian. Maybe as a young man he wasn’t, but then again neither was Bush. But in a lot of ways the people who become devout at a later stage in life tend to be the more fervent believers. We’ve already had atheist Presidents, but Obama certainly isn’t one of them. ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2010, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-depends-on-his-christian-faith-for-his-job/553300/4 "2010-09-10T16:00:41Z")
It doesn’t bother me when people say they rely on their faith to endure their obligations, it’s when they start saying they rely on their faith to direct their actions I start to get worried. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2010, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-depends-on-his-christian-faith-for-his-job/553300/5 "2010-09-10T16:01:22Z")
Martin Hyde, I don’t dare claim that man as atheist. I read one of his books, and if I had to guess, I would have guessed him atheist. But my guess doesn’t count for anything. I also go around not believing that most Christians truly believe in god! Good thing my guesses and beliefs don’t mean a thing. But I think him saying he is a Christian is one thing, and saying he depends on his Christian faith to do his job is quite another. I admit, otternell, I’m not sure Bush ever said he was ‘guided by God’ verbatem, but I sure do seem to remember him getting shit from democrats for bringing his belief in god into his political decisions. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2010, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-depends-on-his-christian-faith-for-his-job/553300/6 "2010-09-10T16:03:20Z")
Dammit, Obama. I’ve got nothing against religion. I just wish people would stop reinforcing the belief that belief and policy must be intertwined. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2010, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-depends-on-his-christian-faith-for-his-job/553300/7 "2010-09-10T16:13:52Z")
> [@Grey](#): > > It doesn’t bother me when people say they rely on their faith to endure their obligations, it’s when they start saying they rely on their faith to direct their actions I start to get worried. I know what you mean. My mom showed me one of her hairs the other day. Half of it was grey with a smattering ash highlight and the other half was brown. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2010, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-depends-on-his-christian-faith-for-his-job/553300/8 "2010-09-10T16:41:21Z")
> [@Martin\_Hyde](#): > > Obama is a **devout** Christian, I’ve never seen any evidence that he is insincere in his belief. If you read about his life for the past 10+ years, it’s really obvious he’s a devout Christian. Not only that, but he’s a _Born-Again_, devout Christian. I try not to hold it against him. Partly because it’s clearly sincere, partly because that’s the political reality of the U.S.A. in the 21st century. I greatly wish we had a society in which our leader’s faith, or lack thereof, was totally irrelevant. Sadly this is not the case. But, yes, I want Obama to be guided by principles and reason only, and not some farcical neo-Judaic superstition. You can’t everything you want. ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2010, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-depends-on-his-christian-faith-for-his-job/553300/9 "2010-09-10T16:44:13Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > Dammit, Obama. > > I’ve got nothing against religion. I just wish people would stop reinforcing the belief that belief and policy must be intertwined. Really. I remember hearing a story on the news (probably NPR) some time ago about when people were worried about the fact that JFK was Catholic. He responded by making a speech in which he stated in no uncertain terms that religion was going to play NO ROLE in his presidential decisions. This was intended to REASSURE people that he would be a good president. Times have changed. ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2010, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-depends-on-his-christian-faith-for-his-job/553300/10 "2010-09-10T16:51:34Z")
> [@Wilbo523](#): > > > [@Grey](#): > > > > It doesn’t bother me when people say they rely on their faith to endure their obligations, it’s when they start saying they rely on their faith to direct their actions I start to get worried. > > I know what you mean. My mom showed me one of her hairs the other day. Half of it was grey with a smattering ash highlight and the other half was brown. :rolleyes: Must be the stress of having children. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2010, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-depends-on-his-christian-faith-for-his-job/553300/11 "2010-09-10T16:57:23Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > Dammit, Obama. > > I’ve got nothing against religion. I just wish people would stop reinforcing the belief that belief and policy must be intertwined. Exactly this. And I understand that the “omg he’s an evil Muslim infiltrator” thing is getting out of hand, judging by the last “is he a citizen?” poll results I saw, but the doubters won’t be convinced by a statement like that, either. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2010, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-depends-on-his-christian-faith-for-his-job/553300/12 "2010-09-10T17:01:46Z")
> [@cjepson](#): > > Really. I remember hearing a story on the news (probably NPR) some time ago about when people were worried about the fact that JFK was Catholic. He responded by making a speech in which he stated in no uncertain terms that religion was going to play NO ROLE in his presidential decisions. This was intended to REASSURE people that he would be a good president. Times have changed. Yeah, but that wasn’t because he was religious. It’s because he was **Catholic**. People were afraid he was going to take orders from the Vatican. I don’t think that times have changed all that much. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2010, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-depends-on-his-christian-faith-for-his-job/553300/13 "2010-09-10T17:07:31Z")
> [@Martin\_Hyde](#): > > Obama is a **devout** Christian, I’ve never seen any evidence that he is insincere in his belief. If you read about his life for the past 10+ years, it’s really obvious he’s a devout Christian. Maybe as a young man he wasn’t, but then again neither was Bush. But in a lot of ways the people who become devout at a later stage in life tend to be the more fervent believers. > > We’ve already had atheist Presidents, but Obama certainly isn’t one of them. I wouldn’t use the word devout in a sentence. He claimed to be a regular at his last church yet he never heard any of the interesting sermons that made the rounds. Today it interferes with his golf game. It would be more accurate to say that he’s a Blackberry Christian. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2010, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-depends-on-his-christian-faith-for-his-job/553300/14 "2010-09-10T17:20:38Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > > [@cjepson](#): > > > > Really. I remember hearing a story on the news (probably NPR) some time ago about when people were worried about the fact that JFK was Catholic. He responded by making a speech in which he stated in no uncertain terms that religion was going to play NO ROLE in his presidential decisions. This was intended to REASSURE people that he would be a good president. Times have changed. > > Yeah, but that wasn’t because he was religious. It’s because he was **Catholic**. People were afraid he was going to take orders from the Vatican. I don’t think that times have changed all that much. True. I’m sure if we somehow did elect a real Muslim to the Presidency, he’d wind up having to echo JFK. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2010, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-depends-on-his-christian-faith-for-his-job/553300/15 "2010-09-10T17:44:15Z")
I get that he has to try to defend himself against the ‘secret Muslim’ accusations, but this wasn’t the way to do it. He could have spoke on his Christian faith as much as he wanted, _without_ bringing his job into it. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2010, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-depends-on-his-christian-faith-for-his-job/553300/16 "2010-09-10T18:04:43Z")
He does depend on the Christian faith to do his job. More specifically, to get the votes he needs to continue to do his job. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2010, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-depends-on-his-christian-faith-for-his-job/553300/17 "2010-09-10T18:09:52Z")
He depends on meditations with God to keep him from just punching every Republican House member in the face. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-depends-on-his-christian-faith-for-his-job/553300/18 "2010-09-11T04:01:13Z")
> [@Knorf](#): > > > [@Martin\_Hyde](#): > > > > Obama is a **devout** Christian, I’ve never seen any evidence that he is insincere in his belief. If you read about his life for the past 10+ years, it’s really obvious he’s a devout Christian. > > Not only that, but he’s a _Born-Again_, devout Christian. OK, where does he say any of this? Best wishes, hh ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-depends-on-his-christian-faith-for-his-job/553300/19 "2010-09-11T04:16:05Z")
I’d say there’s a difference between depending on God and being guided by God, but really either way I don’t believe i’m all that bothered one way or the other. So long as as a non-Christian I would not be short-changed, and of course putting aside policy differences, hey, it’s \*your \*business, and good luck with it. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-depends-on-his-christian-faith-for-his-job/553300/20 "2010-09-11T11:35:20Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > But I think him saying he is a Christian is one thing, and saying he depends on his Christian faith to do his job is quite another. That depends on what he means by “depends on his Christian faith to do his job.” According to _some_ meanings of the phrase, he’d be a hypocrite if he said he was a Christian but _didn’t_ depend on his Christian faith to do his job. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-depends-on-his-christian-faith-for-his-job/553300.md?page=2)