There are quotes from every U.S. president that become
woven into the fabric of America. President Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address,
President Franklin Roosevelt’s “we have nothing to fear but fear itself”,
President Kennedy’s “Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can
do for your country” and President Reagan’s “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall”
are all inspiring messages from the Commanders in Chief.
Some of the less inspiring but equally memorable
presidential utterances include President Nixon proclamation “I am not a crook”
and President Carter’s “malaise” television address.
The worst utterance from a president came last week
during a Prayer Breakfast speech when Mr. Obama lectured Christians to “get off
their high horse” when condemning radical Islam. Dredging up the Crusades and
the Inquisition as examples of white European excess, he declared that the
country had no right to condemn the ideology of those who are decapitating or
burning alive their captives because our ancestors had been bad too. He then
threw in slavery as an additional example of white cultural sin.
What the President neglected to mention was that while
all cultures have dark chapters in their history, Christians have paid a hefty
price to correct theirs. The Christian reformation beginning with Martin Luther
challenged the excesses of the Catholic Church. Internally, the Catholic Church
corrected the excesses of a bygone era and shed the intrigue. Today, numerous
Christian denominations thrive peacefully and retain no remnants of the Crusades
or the Inquisition.
The United States fought a civil war to eradicate
slavery, at the expense of many citizens’ lives. The nation’s sin was washed
away in the blood of its citizenry.
What amazed me was that no matter how much work has been
done to correct the historical abuses of Christians; it is never enough for
those who rule by guilt or excuse the bad behavior of others. Personally, I feel no guilt for the crusades
or slavery. I participated in neither. I do feel anger and revulsion towards
those who currently slaughter innocents in the name of whatever ideology they
claim to serve.
