Excerpts from

President Obama's Speech and Inauguration Prayers

with personal comments & observations

January 20, 2009

See  Smiling at Socialism & Scorning the Bible

The Socialist Phenomenon | Marx's Concept of Man | Election 2008

Skip down to Rick Warren, Joseph Lowery or Food


President Obama's speech

....That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet....

Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land - a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights....

On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.

On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.

Notes: Could those "worn out dogmas" refer to Biblical Christianity and moral values?

Even as our new president spoke about unity, his White House website already includes this item on its agenda:

WhiteHouse.gov - Civil Rights: "Expand Hate Crimes Statutes: President Obama and Vice President Biden will strengthen federal hate crimes legislation, expand hate crimes protection by passing the Matthew Shepard Act, and reinvigorate enforcement at the Department of Justice's Criminal Section."[1] See "Why "Hate Crime" laws would ban Biblical Christianity"

In the next paragraph, Obama points to the Bible twice, but his points are totally out of context. See footnote [2]

We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness....

...our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions - that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.

For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act - not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science [3] to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions - who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage. [See Smiling at Socialism]

Saul Alinksy -- one of Obama's main sources of Marxist inspiration -- left his pupil with the tutorial book, Rules for Radicals. He wrote:

"In this book we are concerned with how to create mass organizations to seize power and give it to the people; to realize the democratic dream of equality, justice, peace.... "

"A Marxist begins with his prime truth that all evils are caused by the exploitation of the proletariat by the capitalists. From this he logically proceeds to the revolution to end capitalism, then into the third stage of reorganization into a new social order...." p.10

"To the organizer, imagination... is the dynamism that starts and sustains him in his whole life of action as an organizer. It ignites and feeds the force that drives him to organize for change.... The organizers searching with a free and open mind void of certainty, hating dogma...."pp.74-75

"All change means disorganization of the old and organization of the new." p.116

These excerpts from "Brainwashing in America" help explain the transformational power of the human imagination:

"...to launch the new system, the old patterns must be blurred and broken. The educational establishment knows that children who are fed a daily diet of biblical truth will resist their plans for change. They also know students collectively bombarded with strategic suggestions and idealized images will probably reject Christianity. If schools can build the 'right' kind of framework or filter in the minds of children early enough, the new global beliefs will fit right in.... Unlike facts and convictions, the imagination can easily be manipulated...."

"They... walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward." Jeremiah 7:24

What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them - that the stale political arguments [including moral issues?] that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works - whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account - to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day - because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.

Could he be referring to government transparency? That makes no sense in the light of his campaign. Never before has the media and the world "tolerated" such cover-up of a candidate's background and finances. For example:

"Funny Money: How Barack Obama Bought the White House for $668 Million": "Barack Obama and his team smashed all fundraising records on the way to victory, raking in a staggering $668 million. But some of that all-important cash came from questionable — even make-believe — sources. ... Millions more flowed into his coffers from unidentifiable sources, including prohibited financial support from foreign nationals. And, astoundingly, nearly half of his total campaign contributions, over $300 million, came from donors under $200 — donor names Obama still won't release for public scrutiny."

 

For much more evidence, see Election 2008

Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control - and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous.

No nation has so effectively offered opportunities for its people to rise out of poverty. If government ownership and control replaces the "free market," we'll see the end of America's celebrated freedom.

The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our Gross Domestic Product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart - not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good....

For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus - and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.

To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West - know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.

How? By setting aside our Christian beliefs and moral values in order to build "common ground" and evolving universal values? Remember what Obama said in 2006: "Democracy demands that the religiously motivated translate their concerns into universal, rather than religion-specific, values.... Now this is going to be difficult for some who believe in the inerrancy of the Bible, as many evangelicals do. But in a pluralistic democracy, we have no choice. Politics depends on our ability to persuade each other of common aims based on a common reality. It involves the compromise, the art of what’s possible."[4]

As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment - a moment that will define a generation - it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.

For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith [in what?] and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break...

Faith in what? Ourselves? Our government? Our president? Human nature or "good intentions"? None of those can be trusted! As the Bible warns:

"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?" Jeremiah 17:5-10

"Jesus did not commit Himself to them... for He knew what was in man."  John 2:24-25

Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends - hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism - these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility - a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.

This is the price and the promise of citizenship. This is the source of our confidence - the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny....

In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:

"Let it be told to the future world...that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive...that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it]."

...In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.


Pastor Rick Warren's Inaugural Invocation

...Help us, O God, to remember that we are Americans, united not by race, or religion, or blood, but to our commitment to freedom and justice for all.... When we fail to treat our fellow human beings and all the earth with the respect that they deserve, forgive us. And as we face these difficult days ahead, may we have a new birth of clarity in our aims, responsibility in our actions, humility in our approaches, and civility in our attitudes, even when we differ.

Help us to share, to serve and to seek the common good of all. May all people of goodwill today join together to work for a more just, a more healthy and a more prosperous nation and a peaceful planet. And may we never forget that one day all nations and all people will stand accountable before you....

I humbly ask this in the name of the one who changed my life, Yeshua, Isa [Islamic], Jesus [Spanish pronunciation], Jesus, who taught us to pray: “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come...."[5]

According to Christianity Today, Rick Warren complimented Obama for inviting the homosexual Bishop Gene Robinson to pray during the inauguration festivities on Sunday, January 18. Perhaps this helps explain Warren's repeated emphasis on "people of goodwill" -- those who are willing to set aside Biblical absolutes in order to seek common ground:

"President-elect Obama has again demonstrated his genuine commitment to bringing all Americans of goodwill together in search of common ground."

Rev. Joseph Lowery's inauguration benediction

God of our weary years, God of our silent tears, thou, who has brought us thus far along the way, thou, who has by thy might led us into the light, keep us forever in the path we pray, lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met thee, lest our hearts drunk with the wine of the world, we forget thee.

Shadowed beneath thy hand, may we forever stand true to thee, oh God, and true to our native land.

With your hands of power and your heart of love, help us then, now, Lord, to work for that day when nations shall not lift up sword against nation, when tanks will be beaten into tractors, when every man and every woman shall sit under his or her own vine and fig tree and none shall be afraid, when justice will roll down like waters and righteousness as a mighty stream....

Lord, in the memory of all the saints who from their labors rest, and in the joy of a new beginning, we ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get in back, when brown can stick around ... when yellow will be mellow ... when the red man can get ahead, man; and when white will embrace what is right. That all those who do justice and love mercy say Amen.

Though I am glad Obama's victory has show that "white" are more than willing to vote for diverse people, it is sad to see the continuing focus on racism and the difference in color. Reports tell us that Obama smiled as Rev. Lowery's prayer ended. Was he pleased the conclusion?

If so, it helps explain the direction we are headed. While Obama calls for unity, discrimination against "white" continues according to this article:

Obama adviser: White males need not apply: "Robert Reich tells House panel stimulus package should emphasize 'social return' over worker skill.  ...'make sure the money doesn't go to just 'white male construction workers' or the highly skilled.'...

     "Rep. Charles Rangel... noted the 'middle class' would be unlikely to create any opposition to funds directed to minorities. 'One thing that you can depend on, you don't have to be worried about what the middle class is going to do Things are so bad, they have to put food on their tables, get clothes for their kids, get them in school,' he said."

Notes:

1. http://www.crossroad.to/articles2/007/hate-crimes.htm

2. For example, the Biblical references to "equality" assures us that those who are "born again" through faith in atoning death and resurrection of Jesus Christ are one in Him. While assigned different roles, all true Christian are of equal standing before God. This assurance does not apply to unbelievers. See "Biblical Unity"

3. See the Communist emphasis on "social science" at "Government religion in the United States" <www.crossroad.to/articles2/006/carle/government-religion.htm> and "Marx's Concept of Man" <www.crossroad.to/Quotes/communism/marx-fromm.htm>.

While true science has been advancing fast in America, false & politicized science <http://www.crossroad.to/Quotes/science.htm> are increasingly being used to "validate" political and social agendas. See Green Lies at http://www.crossroad.to/articles2/007/earth-day.htm

4."Barack Obama Versus Religion" at http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=LXcvbnzNIjg&feature=related. To illustrate his point in this video, Obama ridicules various Old Testament Scriptures by taking then out of context and twisting them into arguments against God's ways and Word. See also "UCC member Sen. Barack Obama's keynote address"

5. http://www.jewishjournal.com/thegodblog/item/what_rick_warren_said_at_obamas_inauguration_20090120/