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The Faith of Barack Obama
Author: Stephen Mansfield
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
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Recently Thomas Nelson supplied a free copy of their new release, The Faith of Barack Obama, in exchange for my review. I began the book with some trepidation, prepared to refute what I thought would be chapter after chapter of propaganda. After all, I’m not voting for Obama, but neither is the author.

The book is meticulously researched and well written. I found the author to be amazingly insightful, and generous - more generous to this “rock star” of a presidential candidate than I could ever be. What took me by surprise was how Obama’s childhood story riveted me. I felt something for him I couldn’t admit before - compassion. As a bi-racial youth, he certainly grew up feeling displaced, without a sense of country, abandoned by his biological father, someone who would search for years for identity, community, and purpose.

Many demonize Obama for his liberal politics; others applaud his vision to lead this country in a new direction. According to Mansfield, Obama is helping to give voice to a Religious Left and symbolizes a new generation who are deeply religious. Republicans aren’t the only ones with faith, the Democrats are saying. The problem is, faith nowadays can mean almost anything, especially when “the majority of America’s young are postmodern, which means they do faith like jazz: informal, eclectic, and often without theme.” Postmodern Christians today pick and choose what they want to believe, and so Obama’s nontraditional faith and his respect for non-Christian religions has broad appeal.

But Obama’s faith isn’t nontraditional because an atheist mother raised him, nor because he had a Muslim father and stepfather. For sure, he calls himself a Christian and it’s not our place to judge the man’s heart. But there are certain things a professing believer will not deny, truths that are clearly spelled out in the Scriptures, the central truth being: There is only one way to God - through His Son Jesus Christ.

Obama says, “I am rooted in the Christian tradition.” He has also said, “I believe that there are many paths to the same place, and that is a belief that there is a higher power, a belief that we are connected as a people” (pg.55).

According to the author, Obama has other disturbing views. When Obama’s daughter wanted to know what happens after death, he later said this: “I wondered if I should have told her the truth, that I wasn’t sure what happens when we die, any more than I was sure of where the soul resides or what existed before the Big Bang” (pg.56-57).

While Obama denies that his faith is the only path to God, he also doubts the inspiration of Scripture and the afterlife. Mansfield reminds us that he is not alone, though, that many of Obama’s beliefs are shared by most of the mainline Protestant denominations and the unchurched (pg.58) who “rework traditional faith in their generational image.” Appalling as that may sound, the author also reminds us to draw conclusions cautiously, that “all faith is a work in progress, and no man can be accurately portrayed by a portrait frozen in time.”

It’s safe to say that Barack Obama represents the new face of religion in American politics today. He’s passionate about social justice. What I find absolutely ironic is how the same man who desires to speak up for the oppressed in this country does not have a voice for the unborn.

After reading The Faith of Barack Obama, I no longer question if this man has faith, but how his particular brand of faith will affect the leadership of our nation, should he win the election. We need to be praying, especially in light of Obama’s admission:

“Alongside my own deep personal faith, I am a follower, as well, of our civic religion.”

Civic religion? Does this mean that traditional faith must kneel at the altar of the state? Obama certainly uses symbolic language that many say only conceals a hidden agenda. Mansfield’s book, however, doesn’t push agenda, but thoughtfully raises all sides of speculation, providing ample documentation while letting the reader conclude what he will about Obama.

This book takes an in-depth look at the forming of Obama’s unorthodox faith, the condition of our nation, and our present troubled political landscape. I still have questions about the man that nobody can answer, perhaps not even Obama himself. Yet it seems imperative that we pray, not just for the election, but that Barack Obama would grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. Instead of spewing vitriol, we have the privilege and responsibility to pray for those who influence our nation.

Obama’s left-wing voting record is just too much for me; his brand of spirituality seems foreign to everything I know about biblical Christianity. But he once said he was committed to discovering God’s truth. May it be so. Whether we like it or not, Obama will probably be around for years to come, whether he wins this presidential election or the next. ~