Via both our friend Dad29 and our friend Feddie at Southern Appeal, a little lesson in authority.
From the Westminster Shorter Catechism:Presumably, the Senator meant to say something like "one's own values," which is a highly contestable definition -- but still a far kinder reading than, "Sin is when one doesn't align with my values."
Q. 14. What is sin?
A. Sin is any want of conformity unto, or transgression of, the law of God.
From the Baltimore Catechism:
Q. 278. What is actual sin?
A. Actual sin is any willful thought, word, deed, or omission contrary to the law of God.
From Senator Obama:
Q. Do you believe in sin? OBAMA: Yes.
Q. What is sin? OBAMA: Being out of alignment with my values.
In fairness, however, read the whole interview. They ask some very difficult questions. It might be worth trying to see if you can answer them yourself. There are a few I would want a long time to consider.
A far more serious confession is here:
OBAMA: When I’m talking to a group and I’m saying something truthful, I can feel a power that comes out of those statements that is different than when I’m just being glib or clever.So bear in mind: Obama really does think that, at least some of the time, the Holy Spirit is moving him when he speaks.
GG:
What’s that power? Is it the holy spirit? God?
OBAMA:
Well, I think it’s the power of the recognition of God, or the recognition of a larger truth that is being shared between me and an audience.
That’s something you learn watching ministers, quite a bit. What they call the Holy Spirit. They want the Holy Spirit to come down before they’re preaching, right? Not to try to intellectualize it but what I see is there are moments that happen within a sermon where the minister gets out of his ego and is speaking from a deeper source. And it’s powerful.
That's a bold statement: that a politician's work is like a minister's; that he is doing God's own work, and speaking words inspired by the Holy Spirit.
Do you believe that? About him? About yourself?
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