“There is Work to be Done”


(The Presidential Inaugural Address)

The local newspaper ran a special section on the inauguration of Barack Hussein Obama as the forty-fourth president of the United States of America on January 20, 2009.  The Inaugural Address was presented to about 2,000,000 people (purportedly the largest such gathering in history), in 20 degree temperature, gathered on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.  The speech outlined the changes needed at the present moment.  Significantly, the heading of President Obama’s inaugural speech was “There is Work to be Done.”

There is much good found in the speech and we can definitely say that it was expertly written by Obama’s speech writers and was delivered with fervency and eloquence.  The people were definitely touched by his stirring words of challenge that offered a break with the past and a dream of a better day. 

Obama made reference to 1 Corinthians 13:11, where Paul said that when one becomes a man, he puts away “childish things.”  The president said that we, as a nation, must put away childish things and move on to solve the problems confronting us all.  He said, “The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.”

The president stated, “We rethe most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth.  Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began.  Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no les needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished.”

Obama stated the politically correct view of different religions: “We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus—and nonbelievers.  We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that American must play its role un ushering in a new era of peace.”  Addressing Islam in particular, the President said, “To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect.”

Challenging his audience to rally as a nation to face the present crisis in the country and the world, Obama said, “For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies….”  He went on to affirm, “This is the source of our confidence—the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny. This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed—why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent Mall. . . .”

At the conclusion, Obama affirmed, “Let it be said by our children’s children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God’s grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.  Thank you.  God bless you.  And God bless the United States of America.”

We attempted to locate those portions that could be construed as references to God and His help at this time of crisis.  We can say, in a positive way, that President Obama has an ambition, he is eloquent in his delivery, and he seems to have some capability.  Although he is largely inexperienced in national and international affairs, he may well carry himself and try to advance the cause of the United States as best he can. 

At the same time, we must point out the very humanistic tone to his entire speech.  Apart from his statement that God’s grace must be upon the citizens and his pronouncement of God’s blessing on the country, the speech was largely an affirmation that we—as human beings—can solve our own problems, given enough determination, with enough unity, and enough positive thinking.  Reminiscent of Nebuchadnezzar’s words, the idea is that we have come this far with the genius and hard work of our forbears and we shall succeed in the future as well.

As we have pointed out in other writings, Obama is an evolutionist and doesn’t believe in special creation, according to Genesis 1.  He is a pluralist and sees value and dignity to all religions.  Furthermore, it has been reported that, of all the senators in congress, Obama has had the worst record on human rights for the unborn of all the others.  He has plans to continue his pro-abortion agenda in a radical measure.  He also supports homosexuality, affirming that he will advance the sodomite agenda early in his presidency.  He wants to be “inclusivistic” in his presidency, including people of all persuasions and views and moralities. 

How could this happen?  People were tired of the two wars in the Middle East.  They were shocked and dismayed with the spiraling national debt that is in the trillions of dollars.  They were concerned about bank problems, the loss of jobs, and the bankruptcy of businesses.  They were also increasingly a population of people who reject absolute truth and moral standards, thus they were willing to make their decisions on another basis.  They wanted a change of administration.  And now they have it.  They wanted “a new era of peace” and this is just what Obama is seeking.  He envisions a new day, a new era, a new world of world-wide cooperation and prosperity. 

Sadly, this dream is not based on the absolute truth of the Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16-17).  During his campaign for the presidency, Obama made it clear that he would not use the Word of God, as clearly revealed, as his guide and law.  This dream is one of religious inclusiveness, not one that would affirm the truth that Jesus enunciated—that He is the only “way and truth and life” and the only possible way to God (John 14:6).  This truth of Christ Jesus would be too radical to be found in the pluralistic population of this increasingly-diverse nation. 

This dream is one of material prosperity, but not one of spiritual rebirth and renewal.  This dream is one of acknowledged “equality”—but not equality, respect and protection of the unborn (50 million of whom have been slaughtered since 1973)!  This dream is one of equality for all people, regardless of their morality, their spirituality, their devotion to truth and righteousness.  It is a dream of an era when two homosexual perverts can be legally united as one and when parents can choose to murder their unborn babies, with little or no restriction.  It will be a new era, it is true, but it makes one long for the past. . .

  • When the majority of the citizens agreed that God created all things and evolution was not tolerated.
  • When it was unlawful to teach evolution in the classrooms (and now it is considered unlawful to teach creation!) 
  • When the citizens agreed (for the most part) that the nation was built on God’s principles and the “Christian religion”—even though their conception of God’s principles and true Christianity was woefully lacking. 
  • When divorce was rare and frowned upon, when a homosexual was afraid to announce his perversion, when children were largely valued (though, sadly, many died in infancy). 
  • When premarital fornication and “living together” was considered a scandal.
  • When religion was respected and not ridiculed.
  • When the McGuffey Readers were the norm rather than the politically-correct, secularistic, humanistic, and immoral textbooks of today.
  • When the Bible was greatly respected, though not always read.

No, we must not idolize the past and must not imagine that everything was well.  Not at all! There was vast injustice and evil—the wrongful treatment of the African-American slaves, the American Indians, and the Eastern immigrants.  There was drunkenness, prostitution, smoking, violence, labor strife, domestic hatred and beatings, and so much more.  We would not pine for the past.  The future is before us.  But we must not assume that President Barack Obama will solve all of the problems by bringing in a new era or new age.  We see signs of great lawlessness and immorality and apostasy.

Let the devoted follower of Christ pray for President Barack Obama and Vice-President Biden and all who are in authority (1 Timothy 2:1-2).  Let us obey the government leaders as far as we can, apart from disobeying our God (Romans 13:1-7; Acts 5:29).  But let’s remember to place our ultimate faith in our God and Father, not in any earthly authority!

Richard Hollerman