Obama the Apostate?

There has been much internet chatter about whether or not Barak Obama is a Muslim.  With a middle name like Hussein, it is easy to see how some people can come to that conclusion, especially since he was registered as a Muslim when he lived in Indonesia and attended a Muslim school there (of course almost all of the schools in Indonesia are Muslim).

But Obama has repeatedly denied the accusation that he is Muslim and has pointed to a very definate conversion experience in coming to faith in Jesus Christ.  And there are some that question the validity of such a conversion under the pastoral leadership of Rev. Wright, but it seems that those who claim Obama is Muslim or that Rev. Wright could not have led him to Christ are missing one fundamental element: God.

Christians believe in the core of their being that God can reach anyone and that God will accept anyone who sincerely accepts His gift of savlation in Jesus Christ.  If I were to question Obama’s conversion, I would have to question my own, or that of anyone else for that matter.  If Obama says that he has accepted Christ and that he has a relationship with God the Father through the Holy Spirit, who am I to say that could not happen.  And as for Rev. Wright, the fact that people were and are converted through his ministry gives me hope for my own ministry that God can use even me.

No, what concerns me about Obama’s faith is not a questioning of his conversion or even the brand of Christianity he was discipled into at his home church.  It is the religion that many in the world will see as that which he converted from:  Islam.

Now whether or not Obama was ever a Muslim in practice or faith matters very little at this point.  The fact remains that he is perceived as having been, at one point in his life, Muslim.  Muslims generally do not look favorably upon conversions from their faith to another.  And many of the extremist groups with which we are so deeply engaged on the world scene as of late take an even dimmer view of conversions from their faith: they kill the apostates.

This seems to present an interesting situation to the prospect of an Obama presidency in matters of diplomacy in the Muslim world.  How would those countries (the people in the streets, not necessarily the governments) react to the leader of the United States of America being an apostate?  Would it help the cause of minorities in those countries?  Would it diminish our already damaged image within them?  Would it make Obama a target for more serious attempts upon his life?  Would it encourage more attacks on not just the “crusaders” but now the “crusaders being led by an apostate”?

Rick Warren held his interviews becase he believes that faith must inform policy.  I agree.  And the perception of faith, or lack thereof, informs reactions to policy.

This is something we need to consider.

~ by stevebruns on August 26, 2008.