seems like old times.....

It's an OBAMA day here at the kyle+blog. (checking to make sure it is 2009...)

This morning President Obama went to a National Prayer Breakfast and for the first time, in my life time , said some things that ALL Presidents should have been saying all along. Some of these things are going to make the Christanists go even more crazy. Mr. Warren was soooo a minor speed bump. 

"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.."

The United States of America is NOT only a Christian nation, so sayeth the President of these United States! 

"We know too that whatever our differences, there is one law that binds all great religions together. Jesus told us to "love thy neighbor as thyself." The Torah commands, "That which is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow." In Islam, there is a hadith that reads "None of you truly believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself." And the same is true for Buddhists and Hindus; for followers of Confucius and for humanists. It is, of course, the Golden Rule - the call to love one another; to understand one another; to treat with dignity and respect those with whom we share a brief moment on this Earth."

I am a little bit of a whole lot of different religions , and President Obama included ME in this discussion for again, the first time. Putting Humanists ( the scourge of the religious right!) on equal footing with the other major religions.

"The goal of this office - (the office of faith-based AND Neighborhood partnerships )  - will not be to favor one religious group over another - or even religious groups over secular groups. 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."

Exactly, getting money to ANYONE who can do some good with it, be it Christian, Islamic or no religion what so ever. A major change from the FAKE Christian ethics of President Bush.

He also added this , which is something that , yes, he had to fear while on the campaign trail , but not now. I wish he could have been so honest then, but we all knew. Religious people , Christian , Hindu, Muslim , what ever, are not the only harbingers of right and wrong.. of "goodness" at all.... 

"I was not raised in a particularly religious household. 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, even as she was the kindest, most spiritual person I've ever known. She was the one who taught me as a child to love, and to understand, and to do unto others as I would want done."

I to am skeptical of organized religion, which is pretty darn odd since i spend a WHOLE lot of time IN a very organized ( well , sometimes ) Church. This sort of talk , from the President of the United States, is just very uplifting to me, sort of what religion is supposed to do... right?