the faith of barack obama

Almost a month ago, I took up the offer of Michael Hyatt to read and review The Faith of Barack Obama by Stephen Mansfield on my blog. Although I know I am behind a lot of other bloggers, I am finally getting my post written about this book. I won't bother to repeat all of the excellent things that Michael Hyatt said about why this book is important for people to read. I will simply send you to his post because my thoughts echo his.

In the introduction of the book alone, I highlighted line after line. Here is one portion that struck me as important, especially as I consider that my adult daughters are part of this generation:

"Religiously, the majority of America's young are postmodern, which means they do faith like jazz: informal, eclectic, and often without theme. They have largely rejected organized religion in favor of a religious pastiche that works for them. They think nothing of hammering together a personal faith from widely differing religious traditions, and many acquire their theology the same way they catch colds: through casual contact with strangers."

As a believer who puts great emphasis in the importance of God's word and the biblical discipling of believers, I found the above paragraph very illuminating.

If Barack Obama becomes our next president, it would behoove all of us (Republicans, Democrats, Independents) to understand what motivates him, what informs him, out of what worldview does he operate. And even if he isn't elected in November, he is going to be around in politics for a long, long time.

I appreciate the author of this book a great deal. He has called Americans to be able to hold discourse without the nastiness that too often defines our politics. But first we must begin by getting the facts, not simply being swept along by rumors and the type of scurrilous garbage that is being slung even now at Sarah Palin.

I highly recommend that you buy The Faith of Barack Obama and read it soon.

-rlh-