The American Spectator

Reader Mail

(Page 2 of 7)

br> Jacksonville, North Carolina /p>

Let's do a thought experiment:

I'm a non-Christian, but I decide to study the topic. After I study, I remain a non-Christian. Can I truthfully say the following:

"... I let Jesus Christ into my life. I learned that my sins could be redeemed and that if I placed my trust in Christ, that he could set me on the path to eternal life when I submitted myself to his will and I dedicated myself to discovering his truth and carrying out his works."

This was said July 5 by Sen. Obama. In my opinion it says that he did an academic study, but says nothing about the outcome in terms of faith at the time, nor what is his present faith.

"... I let Jesus Christ into my life." can easily mean that he spent time to read about and hear about Jesus' life and teaching. When I read Moby Dick, I let Ishmael, Ahab, Melville, and even the whale into my life.

"I learned" is an academic statement that says nothing about emotions, about faith, or about belief. The sentence in its form is: "I learned" that X could happen "if" A, and that Y could happen "when" B and C. So Mr. Obama, what happened next? Did you ever do A, B, or C, or not? It is nice to hear about your cognitive understanding of the premises of this religion, but these weasely and evasive words seem more than anything to have the goal to mislead. If that was your intention, then you are or have a very good TelePrompter writer. Even the headline writer was fooled.

I'm not sure I would believe Sen. Obama if he made a direct statement of faith, but I think it is important to note when he wants to convey an impression while avoiding an outright answer.

This would make an excellent example for a class on critical thinking. One could point out his use of words that will make an emotional connection with his audience, while not really saying much:

p>Sins br> Trust br> Eternal Life br> Submitted br> Truth

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