Obama the relativist

That a significant portion of Americans suspect Barack Obama to be a secret Muslim attests to their awareness of his ideological bias against the West, a bias which doesn't, of course, extend to eschewing the liberties and material goods Western culture has made possible. (That hardly makes him unique among critics of the West.)

But his anti-Western, pro-Muslim political sympathies aside, Obama is no Muslim. Nor (to state the obvious) is he, in my view, a Christian in any real sense. Considering the message put forth by the church he joined in Chicago (for political purposes), his open contempt for those who "cling to their religion," and despite the spiritual messages he allegedly receives every day on his Blackberry, Obama-as-Christian fails to convince. I don't personally know any Christians who see Obama as a follower of Christ. Maybe they're out there somewhere,* but Obama's self-professed Christianity strikes me as just another lie no one really believes. I don't mind it a bit that he's not a Christian; it's the pretense and attempt to use religion as a tool that offends. (Of course, that doesn't make him unique, either.)

That some Muslims see our president as a fellow believer isn't surprising, given his personal history, name, and sympathies. But that's a superficial view. They don't know the man very well. For a very cogent piece of Obamanalysis, see George Neumayr's A Relativist, Wrapped in a Muslim, Inside an Agnostic. Excerpt:

So what religion is Obama? Probably the most generous description of Obama's elusive religious identity, should one take him at "his word" as it appears in his slippery memoirs and speeches, is that he's neither Muslim nor Christian; he's something else. His late mother, whom he once called a "Christian from Kansas" but actually was a non-believing anthropologist from Kansas, would have found classifying him tricky too. But perhaps he can be clinically described as a practicing agnostic, with deep roots in and sympathy for Islam, who views his now-professed, politically necessary religion with barely concealed disdain while allowing himself from time to time bursts of syncretistic sophistry and quasi-religious uplift.

At least this much is clear: his greatest fear is not radical Islam abroad but the growth of doctrinal Christianity at home. Imagine if he treated Muslims in the same arrogant manner that his administration treats pro-life Christian doctors, nurses, and pharmacists; imagine if he imposed secularism on imams the way his administration uses it to silence Christians opposed to "LGBT rights." Islamic groups like CAIR would accuse him of rank persecution.

I'm itching to excerpt the last two paragraphs but it would be better for you to read them in context. The piece isn't long.

*Update: Who knew? Pardon me if I remain skeptical, list or no list. (Where are the names Pfleger and Wright?)

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