In affirming his belief in so-called “gay marriage,” President Obama noted that people of faith might be uncomfortable with his position. Speaking of himself and the first lady, Obama told ABC News: “we are both practicing Christians, and obviously this position may … put us at odds with the views of others.”
Indeed. As for President Obama, however, he has no problem reconciling his faith with his position. He added a giant “but” to his statement: “But, you know, when we think about our faith, the thing at root that we think about is, not only Christ sacrificing himself on our behalf, but it’s also the Golden Rule … treat others the way you would want to be treated. And … that’s what motivates me as president.”
So, thus, President Obama has invoked the Golden Rule in support of gay marriage.
For Catholics, this might seem puzzling: Gee, what Christian faith does President Obama belong to? Well, that’s a good question. During the two decades that he sat in the church of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, the blaspheming, screaming, hip-gyrating, pelvic-thrusting preacher who married Obama, baptized his children, and was the inspiration for the title of Obama’s second memoir, Obama was a member of the very liberal United Church of Christ. But that was then. He bolted Wright once Wright’s views became public. Now, Obama is without a denomination.
If only he were Catholic…. Our faith clearly prohibits homosexual marriage.
Of course, then again, that doesn’t stop certain progressive Catholic public officials from following Obama’s line on gay marriage. One of them is Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi. Affirming Obama’s position, Pelosi said that her Catholic faith “compels” her to “be against discrimination of any kind.” And thus, she supports gay marriage.
What we have here (yet again) is cafeteria Catholicism from Pelosi and cafeteria Christianity from President Obama. It’s a selective faith, a selective morality, a selective diversity, a selective tolerance. And the latest casualty is our most ancient of institutions: the marriage bond between a man and a woman.
For Catholic Exchange dot com and Ave Maria Radio, I’m Paul Kengor.
