It is one thing for people to blatantly say, "I do not accept the terms, verbage, history, principles, or doctrine" of any given faith. No one is ever forced to accept a faith system or embrace it as their own against their will.
It is entirely a different thing to pretend to embrace something for the sure benefit of something enhancing your status as you run for President.
Today's edition of the New York Times released a most interesting "story of conversion" about Barack Obama. It is supposed to be the definitive piece of journalism that explains how he went from being more or less a secular person, to a person with a mild brush of curiosity and exposure to Islam, and then a full blown "conversion" to "Christianity".
There is but one problem. Even though the supposed "Christian" voice of Jim Wallis claims that Obama's story is one of "personal and adult choice" and one of a "conversion" story. There is not one ounce, one iota, one small piece of evidence that suggests a conversion ever took place.
There is much discussion of his reverand's "music and profanity spiked sermons," there is even more discussion of "widespread racism" and resistance against "America's unjust foreign policy." The article clearly articulates a caring relationship, one of mentoring, between Obama and his reverand. There is also much empathy towards "caring for the poor" and rejecting "America's middle classness" (which interesting enough is the single class of people who give in overwhelming numbers the MOST amount of dollars towards poverty relief, the prevention of AIDS, and dozens of other compassionate works - than any other single group of people in the WORLD, not to mention the United States.)
There is also mention of Obama's doubt of any thing like an "afterlife" and "what happened to exist before the Big Bang."
There is talk of how Obama wishes to reach out to "committed Christians" and much talk about how "church and state must be kept seperate."
But what is missing - is the very essence of Christianity itself.
A confession that Barack Hussein Obama was/is a sinner, completely incapable of redeeming himself, that he throws the entirety of his soul upon the finished work of the cross of Jesus Christ, that he accepts that compeleted work, and now dedicates his life to the TRUTH of the unchanging word of God. What is missing is his willingness to submit to the scriptural text, and to urge others to do so as well.
In short - the only things missing from Obama "conversion" to "Christianity" - is the actual conversion AND the Christianity.
A vapid conversion to a non-existent faith, speaking words of meaninglessness - the perfect "religious message" for Barack Obama in 2008.