Thomas the false pundit

(Photo of false pundit/prophet, Cal Thomas)

Cal Thomas, beloved pundit of the Catholic and radical right, claims now that Obama is a "false prophet." Not a Muslim, not the incarnation of the devil, just a mere "false prophet."

How would Thomas know that? Well, God didn't tell him, that's for sure. He figured it out all by hisself.

Thomas is a little miffed that Obama would even consider "wooing" the "conservative Christian vote." After all, those folks vote always Republican! He was even more miffed by the fact that Obama had the audacity to call himself a "committed Christian."

"He can call himself anything he likes," barks false pundit Thomas, "but there are certain markers among the evangelicals he is courting that one must meet in order to qualify for that label." Thomas goes on to reference an interview that Obama gave Chicago Sun-Times religion editor, Cathleen Falsani.

What has Thomas' shorts in a knot is this response to a Falsani question: "I'm rooted in the Christian tradition," said Obama. "I believe there are many paths to the same place, and that is a belief that there is a higher power, a belief that we are connected as a people."

Thomas thinks what makes Obama a "false prophet" is the statement "I believe there are many paths to the same place." And considering Thomas' religious viewpoint, that makes sense, as Thomas is a Roman Catholic who believes no one gets to god except through the portals of the Vatican or portals authorized by the Vatican.

The so-called "Christian" news outfit, onenewsnow, says that "Thomas concludes his column with biting criticism of Senator Obama's statement of faith:

"...[T] here is a clear requirement for one to qualify as a Christian and Obama doesn't meet that requirement. ... One cannot deny central tenets of the Christian faith, including the deity and uniqueness of Christ as the sole mediator between God and Man and be a Christian. Such people do have a label applied to them in scripture. They are called 'false prophets.'"

Boy, Thomas and his Catholic conservatives and Protestant fundys must really be worried for him to do a hatchet-job like that on a U.S. Senator. Talk about beating up on a "brother in Christ!"

Oh, that's right. Thomas feels qualified to determine whether or not Obama believes enough of the "right" things to be admitted behind the Pearly Gates.

Sorry, Cal! We're going to bite back!

Let's look at some other things that Obama said in his interview with Ms. Falsani:

"I am a Christian."

"I believe ... [T]hat there are values that transcend race or culture, that move us forward, and there's an obligation for all of us individually as well as collectively to take responsibility to make those values lived."

Falsani opines that is "an unlikely theological position for someone who places his faith squarely at the feet of Jesus..."

Obama responds, that it depends on how one interprets the verse from the gospel of John where Jesus is reported as saying, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me."

While he doesn't say this to Ms. Falsani, the truth is that numerous Christians down through the years have interpreted those words in much the same way that Obama does: Jesus points people to God. His life, his ministry, his teaching all provide direction in how one "comes" to the Father. Jesus is quite clear in other places that the way to god is to do the will of god. Belief is not what god requires. Action is what god requires.

Furthermore the path people take is determined by the religion in which they were raised, their culture, and their education. So the passage in John is seen as a positive statement, not as raising the bar of exclusion.

Of course, most fundys forget or ignore other not so welcoming passages in the Gospels -- particularly the one in Matthew where Jesus tells his disciples his ministry is only to the Jews, and not the Gentiles! Oops!

Obama told Falsani that "I think there is an enormous danger on the part of public figures to rationalize or justify their actions by claiming God's mandate. I don't think it's healthy for public figures to wear religion on their sleeve as a means to insulate themselves from criticism, or dialogue with people who disagree with them."

He has a "personal relationship with Jesus Christ," but Obama says that wasn't the result of some cataclysmic, earth-shattering experience. "It wasn't an epiphany. It was much more of a gradual process for me..."

While he considers himself a man of prayer, he rejects the notion "that if people haven't embraced Jesus Christ as their personal savior, they're going to hell."

Falsani says Obama doesn't believe anyone is going to hell.


That does not sound like Obama is out there "wooing" the fundy vote! Rather than bamboozling conservative Christians to con them into giving him their vote, as Thomas charges, he is straightforwardly putting forth views, many of which contradict fundamentalist Christian beliefs about Scripture and Christian dogma.

He is not a "false prophet" at all. He does not claim to be any kind of a prophet. He's merely a Senator who thinks he can be a good president.

Like so many of the pundits on the conservative side of the ledger, Thomas falsifies Obama's motives and his actual beliefs. And like so many conservatives, Thomas seems to think that one's "religion" is based more upon what one says rather than what one does. Obama emphasizes the "doing" and that rightfully makes a lot of conservatives nervous. What they say and what they do are often two different things.

We know what Bush "believes." We know Bush is "born-again." We know Bush believes all the proper dogmatic stuff. But look at what this believer has done! His administration is responsible for disaster after disaster, many of these caused by falsification of information and straight-out lies.


There may be a "false prophet" in the building, but it ain't Obama. It smells like a Thomas.

And the really sad thing is that because of the religious right we feel compelled to discuss in detail whether or not a candidate for the presidency of the United States has given his heart to Jesus! Aargh!

You can read the entire Chicago Sun-Times interview here.