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Can you believe the audacity of our President to say that our country was founded not only upon Judeo-Christian principles, but also on the words of the Muslim Koran?! In his nationally televised speech, the President declared that “[American] character is... sustained in our national life by the truths of Sinai, the Sermon on the Mount, the words of the Koran, and the varied faiths of our people.” As if unilaterally revising our country's history wasn't enough, he went on to identify the Koran with Jesus Christ Himself, when he blasphemously asserted that “[These] ideals of justice and conduct (referring back to the Law of Moses, the Sermon of Jesus and the Koran) that are the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Are you kidding me?

In quoting the verse from Hebrews 13:8, most Biblically literate believers realize that the Scripture is in direct reference to Jesus Christ, who Himself “is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Thus it logically follows that the President, who at least professes to be a Christian, is claiming that the word of God and the words of the Koran are not only inspired by the same Spirit, but also are both as eternally truthful as Jesus Christ. Imagine that, a Christian President announcing for all the world to hear, that he believes that the Bible, the Koran, and Jesus Christ are all one in the same Truth of God. The ecumenical movement is in full force with the power of the White House behind it! This of course is no surprise, I must confess, but when conservative Christians heard this from the second inaugural address of George W. Bush, no one seemed to notice-- and that was surprising, not to mention disappointing.

President Bush was given a pass by the conservative Church in his insistence that Islam was a religion of peace. Remember that only a week after 9-11 he said this about Islam after quoting from the Koran, “The face of terror is not the true faith of Islam. That's not what Islam is all about. Islam is peace.” Although the Christian community was willing to overlook and ignore Bush’s religious rhetoric, the same cannot be said of our current President, Barack Obama, who has said nothing as controversial as Bush’s statements. President Obama is lambasted by conservative Christians for nearly every comment he makes, even if in some respects he is more conservative than his predecessor. President Obama’s faith in Christ is minimized and even doubted, while Bush’s liberal Christian worldview is revered and honored, with many evangelicals running to bookstores to pick up the latest biography of Bush‘s faith.

It was incredible to see the outrage that was sparked earlier this year when President Obama visited Turkey. Christians were up in arms over his comments that America was no longer a Christian nation. Of course he didn’t actually say that, did he? But it didn’t matter, as the internet and talk radio were quickly filled with the President’s denial of America’s Christian heritage; even though the President’s actual speech was very much in line with the spirit of America’s founding fathers. On April 6, 2009, President Obama said the following: “Turkey and the United States can build a model partnership in which a predominantly Christian nation and a predominantly Muslim nation... can create a modern international community that is respectful... that there are not tensions, inevitable tensions, between cultures... That's something that's very important to me. And I've said before that one of the great strengths of the United States is-- although as I mentioned, we have a very large Christian population-- we do not consider ourselves a Christian nation or a Jewish nation or a Muslim nation; we consider ourselves a nation of citizens who are bound by ideals and a set of values.”

In 1797, the treaty of Tripoli was ratified by the U.S. Senate and signed into law by John Adams. It is important to note the treaty was initially signed in Tripoli under the administration of George Washington, but only became official policy three months into Adam’s presidency. This first treaty with a Muslim country emphatically states that “the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion; as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquility of [Muslims]; and... no pretext arising from religious opinions, shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.”

Before Barack Obama became president, it was usually held in high esteem that while we are a majority Christian nation, we have never sought to enforce a union between Church and State that would endanger or prohibit someone else’s ability to worship as they pleased. It once gave us pride to live in a country where the freedom of religion was secured in our constitution; and we once agreed with the sentiments of President Obama that religious freedom and tolerance is one of our “great strengths” as a united people. Yet, because conservative Christian’s have committed themselves against this President, it has forced many to disavow beliefs that were previously the pride and joy of our citizens, and especially of our churches.