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Obama Talks God at National Prayer Breakfast

February 05, 2009 10:56 AM

At the National Prayer Breakfast at the Washington Hilton Hotel this morning, President Obama spoke about the discovery of his own faith and went into his religious heritage in more detail than he generally did on the campaign trail.

“I was not raised in a particularly religious household," the president said. "I had a father who was born a Muslim but became an atheist, grandparents who were non-practicing Methodists and Baptists, and a mother who was skeptical of organized religion.”

The president described how he found faith while working as a community organizer in the south side of Chicago and how it grew to be an important part of his life.

“I know this breakfast has a long history in Washington," the president said at the annual event, held the first Thursday in February since 1953. "Faith has always been a guiding force in our family’s life, so we feel very much at home and look forward to keeping this tradition alive during our time here.”

Mr. Obama said that in history, faith has too often been wielded as a tool to divide, or as an excuse for prejudice or intolerance. “There is no doubt that the very nature of faith means that some of our beliefs will never be the same. We read from different texts. We follow different edicts. We subscribe to different accounts of how we came to be here and where we’re going next –- and some subscribe to no faith at all," he said, making a nod to atheism that was unusual for the setting.

"But no matter what we choose to believe, let us remember that there is no religion whose central tenet is hate," he said, perhaps a wishful notion more than a factual one, given religious fanaticism seen from Topeka to Riyadh.

The president said that the motivation of personal faith can promote a greater good for everyone, which he described as the purpose of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships that he will announce formally later today.

“The goal of this office will not be to favor one religious group over another, or even religious groups over secular groups," the president said. "It will simply be to work on behalf of those organizations that want to work on behalf of our communities, and to do so without blurring the line that our founders wisely drew between church and state.”

Obama said that he intends to reach out to leaders and scholars around the world to open up a peaceful and productive dialogue on faith.

“I don’t expect divisions to disappear overnight, nor do I believe that long-held views and conflicts will suddenly vanish," he said. "But I do believe that if we can talk to one another openly and honestly, then perhaps old rifts will start to mend and new partnerships will begin to emerge.”

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair was Obama's warm up act, giving the new president some advice about the company he will need during his time in office.

“You don’t need cheerleaders but partners, not spectators but supporters," said the man derided by the British press as "Bush's poodle." "The truest friends are those still around when the going gets toughest.”

Blair said Obama’s faith will need to be leaned on in the coming years.

“Should it ever be tested, I hope your faith can sustain you and your family. The public eye is not always the most congenial,” Blair told Obama.

Blair then congratulated Obama for winning the BlackBerry battle.

“Great news about the BlackBerry,” Blair said laughing, recalling getting his first mobile phone after leaving office and sending his first text message.

“Back came the reply: ‘Sorry, who are you’?” Blair laughed, “Twenty-four hours later.”

-- Jake Tapper and Sunlen Miller

February 5, 2009 | Permalink | Share | User Comments (63)

User Comments

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doinbetter, I agree that our president should be referred to as President Obama; thanks to my parents and my schooling. Also, separation of church and state means that no one religion should rule. We are a free country and should be able to express our faith openly. Why has all this changed? And did we have all these problems after we left God out of country. We go to church to worship our God; if fellowship is there that is good, but not the reason we are gathered together.

Posted by: pat | Feb 7, 2009 10:31:53 PM

Since Obama's earnest drive to convince the nation to weaken its economic strength through redistribution as well as weaken its national defense, have confirmed the very threats to our Republic's survival that the Constitution was designed to avert, it no longer is sustainable for the United States Supreme Court and Military Joint Chiefs to refrain from exercising WHAT IS THEIR ABSOLUTE CONSTITUTIONAL DUTY TO DEFEND THE NATION FROM UNLAWFUL USURPATION. The question of Obama's Kenyan birth and his father's Kenyan/British citizenship (admitted on his own website) have been conflated by his sustained unwillingnes to supply his long form birth certificate now under seal, and compounded by his internet posting of a discredited "after-the-fact" short form 'certificate'. In the absence of these issues being acknowledged and addessed, IT IS MANIFEST THAT OBAMA REMAINS INELIGIBLE TO BE PRESIDENT UNDER ARTICLE 2 OF THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION. Being a 14th Amendment "citizen" is not sufficient. A "President" MUST BE an Article 2 "natural born citizen" AS DEFINED BY THE FRAMERS' INTENT.

Posted by: Ted | Feb 6, 2009 6:50:56 PM

Its good to listen to the New Prez of the US of A.
I would pray that God will bless Prez Obama and his team to take decisions wisely that would benefit and indeed prepare HIS kingdom on earth.

Posted by: Chandu | Feb 6, 2009 9:15:51 AM

That's all we need, so called "christian" rightwingnut dittoheads judging someone else's faith. Let your actions in life speak louder than words. Don't preface your political affiliation with the word "christian". Who are you trying to convince? Do your actions speak otherwise?

Posted by: Denise | Feb 6, 2009 7:56:01 AM

Obama is very confused.

Posted by: Disgusted in Ohio | Feb 5, 2009 9:13:04 PM

I see religion as just another means to divide the people. I see some that use the Church as a place of networking for business purposes.
We seem to actively seek ways of promoting separatism.

Even though I was born into the Catholic faith, I had too many questions and was not satisfied with the blind faith answers given to me.
For many years as Christians threw the Bible at me including members of my own family. I tried many different Churches to try to fit in and studied yet even more religions. I prayed that I would find some faith that I could truly believe in.
Then I studied the history of religion itself, and there I found the answers I had been seeking. It was always within me, never something outside of myself.

Now, I have no need to bind myself to a particular religion, nor am I am Atheist. I seek no life in the Christian heavens nor do I blame the devil for bad experiences in my life.

IMO, I think that a person's faith is very personal and although we can share similar beliefs, we are ultimately responsible for our own salvation...

I share in President Obama's thoughts of faith, as they seem reasonable and more fair. It describes a tolerance towards diversity that is inclusive to all people no matter their faith.

I am definitely for the separation of Church and State. History should be proof enough to us that religious power is not above corruption. And moral character should not be defined by a person's faith or lack of faith.

But, these are only my opinions...

Posted by: braith morgan | Feb 5, 2009 8:46:31 PM

Mr.Obama needs to know something about religion before making any statement about his faith. Both religion and faith have another in similarity. Religion is a belief in a supernatural power recognized as the creator. Faith is a belief in the trustworthiness of a person. You can have faith in a number of thing, but not only to God. Mr. Obama is using his faith office to assume God's place. God's place is not in the White House, but in your heart. faith is not in the White House either, it is in your heart. If that what Mr.Obama try to say, that the White House is his church, and the faith office is his office. Than Mr. Obama need to be in his faith office, and I guess we need to find someone else to be the President. I don't have faith in him anyhow.

Posted by: Joe Fattal | Feb 5, 2009 8:29:34 PM

President Obama can unite people of all faiths, if anyone can. He and his family have roots in two major religions - Christianity and Islam. In fact, he even carries an idol of the Hindu god Hanuman as a lucky charm,which seems to have worked for him.
This could signal the beginning of a new era in American politics.

Posted by: Niraj Chandra, Canada | Feb 5, 2009 8:19:32 PM

Separation of Church and State is a myth: it was in a PERSONAL letter from Thomas Jefferson to a friend of his and has been taken completely out of context by left-wing liberals.

Posted by: nightengale7 | Feb 5, 2009 7:45:58 PM

"Faith has always been a guiding force in our family’s life, so we feel very much at home and look forward to keeping this tradition alive during our time here.”
Hmm...father - atheist (check) grandparents - non practicing (check) mother - skeptical (check) yep that qualifies as 'guiding force' alright. what a joke. just come out atheist Obama and i'll love you forever.

Posted by: slimdave420 | Feb 5, 2009 5:54:40 PM

obama is a punk

Posted by: Jon | Feb 5, 2009 5:38:40 PM

ABC has broken a story sure to rock the political world. Reporter Scott Mayerowitz has discovered that Barack Obama's compensation is actually more than the recently reported $400,000. Unbeknownst to many, in addition to that large 6-figure sum, Obama is allowed to use, TAX FREE, a very fancy limo which comes with a driver for whom he does not pay.

And the car is not just your average run-of-the-mill limo but chock full of fancy gadgets including rididculously expensive bullet-proof glass and other high-tech security features.

And the car is not Obama's only tax-free perk. He is also given, in addition to his handsome salary, a $50,000 budget for....wait for it....PARTIES! That's right, if he wants to welcome, say, Nicolas Sarkozy to the United States he can get the beer and chips and stuff FREE. At a time when many Americans have lost their jobs Obama is partying on your dime.

ABC News has also revealed this shocking truth: Obama has been given a HOUSE to live in TAX FREE while he is President. That's right, just when people are losing their mortgages Obama is given this gigantic perk and guess what he pays on it monthly: nothing! Nada!

As you can see, it's not some fix-er-upper either. It's got a ton of rooms and comes with another tax-free perk: free staff.

Really, as if this weren't enough, ABC informs us that Obama also gets to use, at taxpayer expense, a huge free airplane. He flies first class or coach or anywhere he wants to sit because the whole plane is his to use tax-free. There's more too but you'll have to read the full exclusive story for that.

ABCNews.com is also letting us know, in their top story, that on the stimulus bill "Obama lost" even though they say it will pass.

Just when we thought traditional media was dying ABC News comes along with these gems to prove they've still got it.

Posted by: BlueJersey | Feb 5, 2009 4:54:54 PM

WhatChange is the kind of person I don't want to go to church with. Where did Jesus say "end of faith discussion" or anything like it? He befriended those who were cast out by people like WhatChange.

Posted by: obamamama | Feb 5, 2009 4:32:16 PM

Reason, since you claim that those who believe we can't see Obama's birth certificate, medical records, or college papers are blindly following viral e-mails...

I haven't received any e-mails, just done my own research with an open mind. Please point us to the records and documents you mentioned, so we can put this issue to rest once and for all. And don't bother telling us about Obama's COLB. That hardly qualifies as a replacement for his vault-sealed birth certificate; in fact, his half-sister Maya Soetoro Ng, whom we know was born in Indonesia, also has a COLB issued by the state of Hawaii.

Posted by: marylou | Feb 5, 2009 4:18:27 PM

I'm sure some of you know the exact quote from the Bible, but isn't there something about church being wherever two gather in his name? Did Jesus go to church? We all see how Obama got treated for going to a church that some Christians didn't like. Judge not, lest ye be judged, eh?

Posted by: obamamama | Feb 5, 2009 4:15:54 PM

I don’t care how he worships, who he worships or if he worships. The Constitution of the United States gives him the right to do as he thinks is best for him. I will defend his Constitutional rights and mine. Even the Constitutional rights he says he will circumvent.

I’ll defend your rights Mr. President. You leave mine alone.

Posted by: Oonogil | Feb 5, 2009 4:11:28 PM

Hey , have you found the birth certificate yet? LOL

Posted by: Denise | Feb 5, 2009 3:58:57 PM

You guys who are not at church,you would like to understand the scriptures
your way and not the pastors interpretation, but you miss the fellowship,1yr ago I was in exactly the same boat,now I go to a home church and am enjoying myself tremendously,my suggestion is give it a go.

Posted by: Think about it | Feb 5, 2009 3:33:47 PM

REMEMBER THAT THE FAULTS OF HUMANKIND ARE PRETTY EVENLY DISTRIBUTED AMONG ALL OF US.
Why can we so easily overlook in ourselves the faults we are quick to spot in others? It is easy to be objective when it comes to criticizing our friends, family members, and business associates, but it is far more difficult to be honest about our own shortcomings. Only when we recognize that we are all human, with the same faults and failings, do we begin to develop that wonderful quality of tolerance that enables us to accept others as they are and ask nothing in return. Replacing faultfinding with "goodfinding" is never easy. But when you become one who always compliments instead of criticizes, you become the kind of friend we would all like to have.

Posted by: DivideWeFall | Feb 5, 2009 3:13:02 PM

"Real Christian" What's that? All Christians think they are "Real Christians"......even when they are willing to kill one another. "Christianity is a wonderful religion. Too bad no one follows it."....Mohandas K. Gandhi.

Posted by: Sammy | Feb 5, 2009 2:37:21 PM

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