Glenn Beck says Obama adheres to Marxist aligned ‘liberation theology’
FOX news personality Glenn Beck said recently that Obama does not follow genuine Christianity, but instead, has views akin to Latin American liberation theology, a Catholic movement that is aligned with Marxism.
In his program Beck played a clip where Pope Benedict strongly condemned liberation theology. He also played a tape reel with clips of Jeremiah Wright, Jim Wallis and Michael Pfleger, and a tape of Obama saying, “My individual salvation rests on our collective salvation,” the Christian Science Monitor said.
Beck cited this as “evidence” that Obama is not a real Christian and in this way he implied that neither is Obama a loyal American, the CSM said. However, rd Magazine questioned Beck’s qualifications as a religion expert.
Noting that even many orthodox Mormons (Beck’s religion) see Christ’s atonement as collective rather than individual suffering and loss, rd Magazine stated that a number of Christian denominations share the idea of collectivism as part of Christianity as well.
Of note, Beck has conceived and is promoting a rally for this Saturday themed, “Restoring Honor,” in Washington D.C. His rant against Obama could be one way of trying to generate a huge turnout for this media event and to build personal media mileage, rd Magazine said.
The rally is described by Beck as a tribute to U.S. servicemen and citizens who uphold the country’s principles of “integrity, truth and honor,” according to Beck’s website.
Harold Attridge, dean of the Yale Divinity School said of Beck’s statements, “This is nothing but political rhetoric. There are many Americans with many views of Christian faith that align with what the president believes,” CSM said.
Attridge noted that Beck has a “narrow view” of true Christianity and cited Biblical sources for the collective aspect in Christianity. Matthew 25 for instance shows Jesus saying that “what one does to the smallest member of a community, one has done to Christ,” CSM said.
Attridge also noted that in the Gospel of John it says, “We do belong to one another, by the grace of God we have to care for one another,” and suggested that Beck, rather than opening up a religious dialogue had a political agenda designed to attack Obama, CSM said.
Richard Flory of the Center for Religion and Civic Culture, University of Southern California said, “Clearly it has to do with the upcoming elections,” CSM said. Beck could also be viewed as deliberately perverting Christianity to cast further doubt among the public about Obama, rd Magazine said.