Obama & Robinson: The Attempt to Abandon from Christain Principles in the Government

Posted by Mike O

On the sultry July 4, 1776, the founding fathers signed a document that bound them to high treason in pursuit for the high ideals of freedom and individual expression.  Embracing Judeo-Christian principles, these god fearing men carefully engineered a social experiment that implemented democratic liberties, which were based on the conviction that these liberties were the gift of god. In the article, “Bishop Robinson To Ignore Scripture During Inaugural Prayer, “Joseph Bell, a former editorial writer for several Connecticut newspapers, analyzes the political significance of Obama’s decision to invite Gene Robinson, a homosexual Evangelical bishop, to deliver the inaugural prayer at Obama’s inauguration, scrutinizes Gene Robinson’s decision to ignore Christian ideals in his inaugural prayer, and describes Robinson’s decision as the abandoning of the liberties and principles that the founding father had laid for the United States.

Joseph Bell claims that Robinson’s decision is an attempt to undermine and eventually cast away the Judeo-Christian principles that heavily influenced the core of the American government and constitution. As well, he advocates that this nation’s democracy was derived from religious principles.  Analyzing Obama’s decision to invite a man who is terrified by these principles, Bell argues that such a decision reveals that President-elect Obama disregards the importance of the principles that the nation was founded upon. Most interestingly, if this non-existent devotion to the ideals that fostered this nation continues, the essence of America will metamorphose. 

Overlooking Bell’s analysis, I think it’s absurd that an Evangelical bishop is unwilling to implement any form of Christian principles in his prayer for the inauguration of a president in a predominantly Christian nation. If it’s not going to be a Christian prayer, who will Robinson address his prayer to? Pluto? Athena? The flying Spaghetti monster? This is by far secularism at its extreme form; its secularism that is sought to purge the roots by which this country was founded upon. Such an attempt could definitely change America as the way we know it. 

Obama’s decision to invite Gene Robinson is based on the same reason for Rick Warren’s invitation, which is gaining political support from the Evangelicals. However, the most interesting thing is that the Evangelicals haven’t seen this as something preposterous. This reaction reveals the phenomenon that the Evangelicals are emerging out of their bubble and entering mainstream politics, which was mentioned in Alan Wolfe’s article “Obama’s New Pastor Problem?”