FRC's Tony Perkins: Christians Who Voted for Obama Should Repent
Correction appended
President Obama is “hostile” and “disdainful” of Christianity.
That’s according to Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council. Perkins told Dr. James Dobson, president of Family Talk, in a broadcast last week that he believes Obama has used his position as a bully pulpit that has “created an atmosphere that is hostile toward Christianity.”
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Perkins’ comments came after the two, along with Alan Sears of the Alliance Defense Fund, discussed a recent incident in which the Air Force Academy apologized for promoting the ministry Operation Christmas Child on campus. The apology was issued after a former cadet and founder of the Religious Freedom Foundation, Michael Weinstein, complained that the Air Force crossed the line in promoting the charity because it endorses Christian ideas. According to Christianity Today, the Religious Freedom Foundation got phone calls from over 130 cadets after they received a campus-wide email detailing the ministry and Weinstein filed a complaint that forced the Air Force to issue an apology.
“And we’re seeing this (hostility) played out all across this culture. And the courts have been emboldened by this. And now you see the military doing it as well. There’s no end to this as long as you have someone who is the Commander-in-Chief, who is the president of this country that has a disdain for Christianity,” Perkins continued.
Evangelical pastor Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse which oversees Operation Christmas Child, somewhat agrees with Perkins. He, however, did not say Obama himself was hostile to Christianity, but acknowledged that some in his administration was. In a CNN interview a year ago, Graham said:
“I don't think there's any hostility [from Obama]. But I certainly think there are probably some people under him that would be hostile towards evangelicals.””
“The evangelical community has been disenfranchised in this administration. I think they need to understand that there are millions of evangelicals that voted for President Obama this last election. But there has not been a movement towards this administration, toward the evangelical community at all.”
Perkins told The Christian Post that the administration has coined a new term called “freedom of worship” which is distinctly different from the “freedom of religion” that the constitution guarantees.
“There is a huge distinction between the two. Freedom of religion is the ability to live your life based upon your religious teachings. Freedom of worship is what constitutes 9 to 11 am in most Churches on Sunday morning.”
Perkins went on to explain that the Obama administration is taking away a citizen’s right to live based on religious teachings and that it is evident in recent court cases as well as the military. For example, the health care overhaul mandates Catholic institutions provide health insurance to cover contraceptives.
“That’s strictly against their doctrine,” Perkins said.
“Any Christian that voted for Obama in 2008 should be repenting [and voting differently] in the next election. This administration has been the most hostile toward religious freedom.”
Perkins urges the public not to be fooled by Obama’s campaign rhetoric which will probably ramp up its pro-Christian language just in time for the election.
“Whether you vote Democrat or Republican, disregard the (candidate’s) rhetoric and look at the record. This administration has an extensive record of hostility toward Christianity.”
Correction:Friday, November 18, 2011:
An article on Thursday, November 17, 2011, about Tony Perkins' comment about voting for President Obama incorrectly stated that Dr. James Dobson is the president of Focus on the Family. Dobson is the president of Family Talk, and the founder of Focus on the Family, which he is no longer affiliated with.
