James Dobson accuses Obama of `distorting' Bible...

[Reddogs]

James Dobson accuses Obama of `distorting' Bible

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".....James Dobson, accuses the likely Democratic presidential nominee of distorting the Bible and pushing a "fruitcake interpretation" of the Constitution.

The criticism, to be aired Tuesday on Dobson's Focus on the Family radio program, comes shortly after an Obama aide suggested a meeting at the organization's headquarters here, said Tom Minnery, senior vice president for government and public policy at Focus on the Family.

The conservative Christian group provided The Associated Press with an advance copy of the pre-taped radio segment, which runs 18 minutes and highlights excerpts of a speech Obama gave in June 2006 to the liberal Christian group Call to Renewal. Obama mentions Dobson in the speech.

"Even if we did have only Christians in our midst, if we expelled every non-Christian from the United States of America, whose Christianity would we teach in the schools?" Obama said. "Would we go with James Dobson's or Al Sharpton's?" referring to the civil rights leader.

Dobson took aim at examples Obama cited in asking which Biblical passages should guide public policy — chapters like Leviticus, which Obama said suggests slavery is OK and eating shellfish is an abomination, or Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, "a passage that is so radical that it's doubtful that our own Defense Department would survive its application."

"Folks haven't been reading their Bibles," Obama said.

Dobson and Minnery accused Obama of wrongly equating Old Testament texts and dietary codes that no longer apply to Jesus' teachings in the New Testament.

"I think he's deliberately distorting the traditional understanding of the Bible to fit his own worldview, his own confused theology," Dobson said.

"... He is dragging biblical understanding through the gutter."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080624/ap_on_el_pr/rel_dobson_obama;_ylt=AmmS5NcBlMyNlIfZlbAfh9bZn414

[Woody]

Quote:

".....James Dobson, accuses the likely Democratic presidential nominee of distorting the Bible and pushing a "fruitcake interpretation" of the Constitution.

"I think he's deliberately distorting the traditional understanding of the Bible to fit his own worldview, his own confused theology," Dobson said.

Oh boy ... the fight is on. That Obama sounds like a monster according to Dobson. What is worse ... is that if he is elected ... we will lose our ability to criticize the President because we would then be called a racist.

[Liz]

The problem is, in this instance, that Obama is right. What brand of "Christianity" would you want taught in the schools?? As an SDA Christian I wouldn't want my kids learning about Sunday being "the day of worship"; nor would I want pork served to them in the lunch room and being told that pork is an old testament thing and doesn't pertain to us today. These are just two examples, I am sure that everyone could come up with different examples of their own.

Here is an article from Fox news about Christians.

Todays Christians

[Dr. Shane]

I don't disagree with Obama although I think he needs to use more tact. He should make reference to the founders and their positions regarding religious liberty. Saying things like our defense department wouldn't pass the sermon on the mount really exposes him to unnecessary criticism.

[Tom Wetmore]

Well... of relevance is that troubling idea of blessings on the peacemakers... or that little bit about loving your enemies... As my son likes to say, "Loving your enemies strongly implies not killing them."

Tom

[Bravus]

Based on that article, Mr Dobson thinks Adventists distort the Bible and have a confused theology too.

[Dr. Shane]

Quote:

"Loving your enemies strongly implies not killing them."

Is that what Jesus taught the Roman soldiers? The passage needs to be taken in context. Jesus said the Roman centurion had greater faith than all in Israel. Do we somehow believe this Roman centurion was a pacifist?

[Reddogs]

Here it the latest....

"....Sen. Barack Obama said Tuesday night evangelical leader James Dobson was “making stuff up,” when he accused the Illinois senator of distorting the Bible and taking a "fruitcake interpretation" of the U.S. Constitution.

“Any notion that I was distorting the Bible in that speech, I think anyone would be hard pressed to make that argument,” Obama told reporters on board his press plane Tuesday night.

Obama's past comments came front and center Tuesday when Dobson criticized the presumptive Democratic nominee’s June 2006 speech on his Focus on the Family radio show.

Watch: Schneider reports on Obama v. Dobson

In the speech, Obama suggested that it would be impractical to govern based solely on the word of the Bible, noting that some passages suggest slavery is permissible and eating shellfish is disgraceful.

Earlier: Evangelist accuses Obama of 'distorting' Bible

"Which passages of scripture should guide our public policy?" Obama asked in the speech. "Should we go with Leviticus, which suggests slavery is OK and that eating shellfish is an abomination? Or we could go with Deuteronomy, which suggests stoning your child if he strays from the faith? Or should we just stick to the Sermon on the Mount — a passage that is so radical that it's doubtful that our own Defense Department would survive its application?"

Obama responded Tuesday saying the speech underscored the notion he is a man of faith and highlighted the importance that people like him who find faith important “try to translate our concerns in a universal language so that we can have open and vigorous debate.”

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/06/25/obama-says-dobson-making-stuff-up/

[Jeannieb43]

James Dobson used to be a paragon of Christian parenting and child-rearing. His book "Dare to Discipline" was a handbook for me when my kids were young. And his video series on family life was shown serially on Wednesday nights in our church. This was 30 years ago.

Now he's gotten into politics, has formed a huge empire [Focus on the Family] and has gone way off the deep end. Just because he's a Ph.D. in psychology and is a Christian himself [taught at Point Loma College in San Diego, which I think is a Church of Christ college] does not make him a Protestant Pope.

He cannot be the conscience for every living person on earth. He should remember that one of the hallmarks of Christianity is to appreciate the free will with which we've been endowed. God did not create robots; neither should any human being attempt to become conscience for another adult. Representing Christ to the world should include allowing others to decide for themselves how best to live.

[carolaa]

Quote:

"Loving your enemies strongly implies not killing them."

Is that what Jesus taught the Roman soldiers? The passage needs to be taken in context. Jesus said the Roman centurion had greater faith than all in Israel. Do we somehow believe this Roman centurion was a pacifist?

I think that was his point - that Obama is right about wondering who decides how scripture is interpreted.

[carolaa]

Now he's gotten into politics, has formed a huge empire [Focus on the Family] and has gone way off the deep end. Just because he's a Ph.D. in psychology and is a Christian himself [taught at Point Loma College in San Diego, which I think is a Church of Christ college] does not make him a Protestant Pope.

He cannot be the conscience for every living person on earth. He should remember that one of the hallmarks of Christianity is to appreciate the free will with which we've been endowed. God did not create robots; neither should any human being attempt to become conscience for another adult. Representing Christ to the world should include allowing others to decide for themselves how best to live.

Well said. Obama is right on, while Dobson is assuming we would go with the majority Christian view - represented by him, of course.

[CyberGuy]

As much as I disagree with Obama on most of his political views I do agree with him on this one. Dobson is taking a very arrogant view that only his view of the bible is correct and every one who disagrees with him does not know what he or she is talking about.

[Dr. Shane]

I think Dr. Dobson may have shot himself in the foot a bit. I watched the coverage of this on CBN news broadcast and it was not too favorable to Dobson.

[Tom Wetmore]

It could be dangerous to shoot himself in the foot when his foot is in his mouth...

Sadly, Dobson has turned himself into the posterchild for what is wrong with mixing politics with religion. Politics becomes the religion and religion becomes political. Religion loses and politics wins. No amount of religion can purify politics. But even a little of politics easily soils religion.

Tom

[there buster]

I concur. IN fact, I'll go one further. Dobson is great when it comes to pre-adolescent child development. That is his field. When he steps outside that field, he's not a particularly well-informed person, and it shows.

I haven't listened to him for twenty years, because he has this annoying habit of interviewing himself instead of the guest. Danny Shelton does the same thing.

It goes like this: Dobson/Shelton "I've noticed that when people start talking about xyz, they're really talking about abc. Have you noticed that?"

Guest: "Yes."

Often the self-interview question goes on for paragraphs.

The other reason I don't like listening to Dobson on politics is that, even when he's right, he's so clumsy about it.

This all crystalized for me when I heard him 'interview' then Attorney General Dick Thornburgh (that gives you an idea how long ago it was)

Dobson: "Here's Atty. Gen. Dicke Thornburgh. And I want you to know, sir, that we at Focus onthe Family lobbied hard for your appointment."

At the time, I was lobbying the state legislature. I was appalled at the ham-handedness of Dobson's approach. Thornburgh, however, finessed Dobson skillfully.

Thornburgh: "Well, I'm sure you'll be watching my performance to see that I do the right things."

translated: "I understand you have influence, and that if I displease you, you'll be after my scalp. You're watching me, and I'm watching you."

Dobson, happily interviewing himself, never noticed.

[carolaa]

It could be dangerous to shoot himself in the foot when his foot is in his mouth...

Sadly, Dobson has turned himself into the posterchild for what is wrong with mixing politics with religion. Politics becomes the religion and religion becomes political. Religion loses and politics wins. No amount of religion can purify politics. But even a little of politics easily soils religion.

Tom

Very well said. I may have to tuck that post away for future quoting.

[Liz]

As my son likes to say, "Loving your enemies strongly implies not killing them."Tom

[Woody]

Quote:

Danny Shelton does the same thing.

I had somehow noticed this but did not want to be negative ... so I kept quiet. But it seems he likes to talk about himself and his experiences more than that of the guest. It is frustrating to hear his same old tales. I just wish that I could hear the guest without interuption.

Okay ... Okay ... Please don't shoot me.

But, I've not had enough contact with Dobson to know if he does this also.

[Stan]

The Canadian version of Dobson is radically different, they do not talk about politics, if they do they loose their charitable status..

Rather pleasant, when you hear him and do not have listen to his personal politics. It is just on family.

[there buster]

To be fair, interviewing is a difficult thing to do well. I'm not saying that either James Dobson or Danny Sheldon are self-centered, or just like the about themselves. I am saying they should let someone else conduct interviews.

My guess is that both of these men feel a strong need to make certain points, and they expect that your guests will make those points for them. With those points, and that urgency in mind, they state the point they want made and then ask their guests to ratify it. And again to be fair, that's exactly why certain people are interviewed, because the host wants to promote the guest's point of view.

I'm not saying that what either man is doing is either sinister or manipulative. I'm simply saying that interviewing is not one of their skills, and they would be wise to let someone else conduct interviews for them.

[Woody]

Well .... Danny doesn't do as many interviews now ... Praise God. But his replacement is only moderately better.

[carolaa]

Quote:

Danny Shelton does the same thing.

I had somehow noticed this but did not want to be negative ... so I kept quiet. But it seems he likes to talk about himself and his experiences more than that of the guest. It is frustrating to hear his same old tales. I just wish that I could hear the guest without interuption.

Okay ... Okay ... Please don't shoot me.

But, I've not had enough contact with Dobson to know if he does this also.

Even Oprah - a trained reporter and experienced interviewer - does this from time to time. I suppose it's an easy thing to slip into, but it is annoying to the listeners.

[Dr. Shane]

The Canadian version of Dobson is radically different, they do not talk about politics, if they do they loose their charitable status..

Rather pleasant, when you hear him and do not have listen to his personal politics. It is just on family.

From what I understand, in the US, churches can talk about and support political issues but not political candidates. Now Dobson has formed a political organization outside if Focus on The Family that is not tax exempt. Since he is the spokesman of the organization he is able to support specific candidates without losing Focus on The Family's tax exempt status. It is kind of a loop hole he found in the law which allows him to get away with that.

Dr. Dobson has survived a heart attack, cancer and a major stroke. He believes he is living on borrowed time and God has given him this time to make a difference in political issues. He may be misguided on that but I certainly respect his dedication and consider him an honorable man doing what he believes to be God's will. He as flat out rejected the idea of a Sunday law as he believes it would contradict the command not to esteem one day above another.

[Robert]

Quote:

"Loving your enemies strongly implies not killing them."

Is that what Jesus taught the Roman soldiers? The passage needs to be taken in context. Jesus said the Roman centurion had greater faith than all in Israel. Do we somehow believe this Roman centurion was a pacifist?

Faith Shane, not goodness....You can't justify war. All war is based in the self-love (self-preservation)....

The remnant will love not their lives unto death. Like Christ they would rather die than sin....

[Anderoo]

It is noteworthy, to say the least, that Erik Prince (founder of Blackwater , a mercenary army) has financed Dobson and Focus on the Family.