Franklin Graham, Idolater
Today is Monday, 23 August 2010.
Speaking yesterday on CNN, “Rev.”* Franklin Graham said: "His [Barack Obama’s] father was a Muslim. The seed of Islam is passed through the father...He was born a Muslim, his father gave him an Islamic name...Now it's obvious that the president has renounced the prophet Mohammed, and he has renounced Islam, and he has accepted Jesus Christ. That's what he says he has done. I cannot say that he hasn't. So I just have to believe that the president is what he has said."
How is “the seed of Islam passed through the father”? Like a peach pit? As a bit of undigested beef? By racist pseudo-genetic eugenics?
No one is “born” a Muslim, or a Christian, or any other religion, or lack of religion. Religious belief or non-belief is either chosen through free will or forced upon one through mental and social violence (the bigot’s idea of “nurture”).
Whatever “theology” Graham is preaching here is most emphatically not Christian, at least of any variety even vaguely resembling orthodoxy. It is in fact primitivism of the Nazi “blood-and-soil” variety. Such exaltation of the male sexual organ and its impregnating power is in fact phallus worship. One can only assume that Graham particularly worships his own personal equipment, such as it may be. Graham cannot be considered a Christian, but an idolater.
Graham commits the sin of bearing false witness when he claims that Obama has “renounced” Mohammed and Islam. There is no evidence that Obama was ever a believer in Islam. One can only presume Graham is deliberately part and parcel of the assaults on Obama motivated by racist and religious bigotry.
No, one is not “born” a Muslim – any more than one is “born” an asshole: the latter is a choice one makes, as did Franklin Graham, choosing to follow in the footsteps of his father, Billy.
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* “Rev.” is in quotation marks to indicate that I’m quoting a title accorded to Graham by others, but not recognized by myself.
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On this date in 1927, Sacco and Vanzetti were judicially assassinated.
On this date in 1966, Lunar Orbiter 1 takes the first photograph of Earth from lunar orbit.
Speaking yesterday on CNN, “Rev.”* Franklin Graham said: "His [Barack Obama’s] father was a Muslim. The seed of Islam is passed through the father...He was born a Muslim, his father gave him an Islamic name...Now it's obvious that the president has renounced the prophet Mohammed, and he has renounced Islam, and he has accepted Jesus Christ. That's what he says he has done. I cannot say that he hasn't. So I just have to believe that the president is what he has said."
How is “the seed of Islam passed through the father”? Like a peach pit? As a bit of undigested beef? By racist pseudo-genetic eugenics?
No one is “born” a Muslim, or a Christian, or any other religion, or lack of religion. Religious belief or non-belief is either chosen through free will or forced upon one through mental and social violence (the bigot’s idea of “nurture”).
Whatever “theology” Graham is preaching here is most emphatically not Christian, at least of any variety even vaguely resembling orthodoxy. It is in fact primitivism of the Nazi “blood-and-soil” variety. Such exaltation of the male sexual organ and its impregnating power is in fact phallus worship. One can only assume that Graham particularly worships his own personal equipment, such as it may be. Graham cannot be considered a Christian, but an idolater.
Graham commits the sin of bearing false witness when he claims that Obama has “renounced” Mohammed and Islam. There is no evidence that Obama was ever a believer in Islam. One can only presume Graham is deliberately part and parcel of the assaults on Obama motivated by racist and religious bigotry.
No, one is not “born” a Muslim – any more than one is “born” an asshole: the latter is a choice one makes, as did Franklin Graham, choosing to follow in the footsteps of his father, Billy.
________________________________________
* “Rev.” is in quotation marks to indicate that I’m quoting a title accorded to Graham by others, but not recognized by myself.
________________________________________
On this date in 1927, Sacco and Vanzetti were judicially assassinated.
On this date in 1966, Lunar Orbiter 1 takes the first photograph of Earth from lunar orbit.
posted by HH at 1:12 PM
4 Comments:
That's the great thing about America - you can say any ignorant, racist thing you want. And if you have enough clout, you can speak your mind on TV. Gotta love it.
Okay, I absolutely agree that one is not "born" a Muslim (or any other religion, for that matter). And I can agree that Franklin Graham's remarks are ill-considered and just plain wrong. I don't presume that he "is deliberately part and parcel of the assaults on Obama motivated by racist and religious bigotry."
And phallic worship/idolatry? Don't think I'm gonna go down that road with HH, either. Just a bit much.
Anon,
I might agree that HH is pushing pretty vigorously on the envelope with this post but at the root of the issue (primitivism, blood and soil, fertility) to push the analogy just a little bit more, the paternalism of the Rev is unmistakeable and stakes ground of in-phalli-bility (sorry, just can't help myself) usually reserved to papists (heaven forfend that a good ole fundamentalist more-or-less protestant should emit such blasphemy).
Calling it what it is (a "civilized" and Christian sanitized holdover from pagan fertility worship) may be discourteous. However, impropriety does not generally affect the truth of the matter, only the reception thereof.
I just don't believe that the "root of the issue" is primitivism, blut und boden, and/or fertility. I believe that F. Graham is a publicity-seeking fool, who is willing to appear on television and/or radio and make remarks which garner attention for him. He is willing to pander to the idiocy of others, and to partially play to their fears and irrational beliefs - all the while appearing to be not too crazy ("So I just have to believe that the president is what he has said.").
The philosophical jump from that to Graham's "exaltation of the male sexual organ" and the assumption that Graham "particularly worships his own personal equipment" is simply a bridge too far for me.
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