A Word on Obama

I'm not typically one to get involved in politics (except for voting my conscience) - nor is this meant to be a change in that personal policy (not that I have anything against it, it's just that I need to regulate it because of my own obsessive/compulsive tendencies . . . getting involved would open the door to politics taking over my life), HOWEVER, this letter came to me from my aunt and it confirms everything I've believed about Obama from the beginning. My aunt met the author of this article and the author is relaying 1st hand information and personal opinion. His credentials are detailed at the end.

I'm not putting this out there to open debate - it's just that I agree with it and it's important to me.

Is Obama a Muslim?
By
Avi Lipkin

There is a famous English saying: "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." I will never forget the appearance of then Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain who was confronted by this sweet American elderly woman who asked the senator what he thought about Obama's being a Muslim.

His answer was swift: "No, Madam, I do not believe he is a Muslim. He, himself has denied it."
After completing a two month lecture circuit in the U.S. and Canada, the first such lecture circuit since Obama's election victory, I felt the need to set the record straight with a few lines in this periodical.

In spite of a few muted accusations that Obama should not be president by virtue of the fact that he was born in Kenya and seems to not be able to provide a genuine birth certificate showing he is American born, there is no doubt that President Mubarak Hussein Obama is the son of a Sunni Muslim, and even the proud member of a Sunni Muslim tribe in Kenya, the same tribe that slaughtered tens of thousands of Kenyan Christians a few years ago.

According to the Islamic faith, if his father was a Muslim, so is the son, Obama.

There is no debate, either, that his white mother remarried a second husband, also a Sunni Muslim and lived with Obama in Indonesia for a number of years. Obama attended a Madrassa (Islamic school) until age 11 and attended the local mosque.

I think it was the Jesuit Priest Francis Xavier who said: "Give me a child until 10 and I will make him a man."

With a father and step-father who were both Muslims, and a school and religious system which raised him as a Muslim until 11, it would seem a shut and closed case that the president of the U.S. is a Muslim.

It is true that with his marriage to the future First Lady, Michelle, he began attending Rev. Jeremy Wright's black supremacist church and spent 20 years as a regular attendee on Sundays.

In his famous interview with George Stephanopoulos, he was referring to "his Muslim faith," but quickly corrected himself when Stephanopoulos interrupted him and said, "You mean, your Christian faith..." and Obama, said: "Yes, my Christian faith."

Now according to the Koran, in Sura IV entitled Women, verse 137, it says:"Those who accept the Faith (Islam) and then renounce it, who again embrace it and again deny it and grow in unbelief -- Allah will neither forgive them nor rightly guide them." (This means any Muslim who abandons Islam must be killed.)

There is also a term in Islam: Takiyah, which means permission to lie to the infidel for the purposes of Allah/Islam. In other words, it is permissible for a Muslim to attend a Christian church, pretend to be a Christian, only as a cover to achieve goals for the Muslim cause, such as to become president of the United States.

Now, let me go on record as praying for Barack Obama's long life. Indeed, New York Pastor David Wilkerson speaks in his prophecies of the cities in the U.S. going up in flames, a terrible scenario that would most definitely happen if anyone killed Obama, God-forbid.

Here are three radio broadcasts my wife, Rachel, intercepted at Kol Israel in the last few years:
1. Before Obama's election in November 2008: Saudi Radio: "We will have a Muslim in the White House in the 2008 elections...
2. After his election: Libyan Radio: Qaddafi: "Our man in the White House."
3. The Sunnis are having meetings to coordinate policy together with President Obama to first deal with the Shiite Iranian Ayatollah regime in Teheran which threatens all Sunnis in general as well as the Saudis in particular; and then to deal with the "fanatic" new Israeli government under second-time Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

These are the three broadcasts I spoke about during my lectures in the U.S. and Canada during the period Feb-April 2009.

In addition, in a recent prayer breakfast in Washington, DC, everyone who spoke quoted the Bible. Obama quoted the Hadith (Islamic teachings not in the Koran).

I think Israel must be very concerned and so should the entire Christian world that the U.S. president is either a Muslim, or firmly in the Muslim camp. Indeed beauty is in the eye of the beholder. If the Muslims see him as a Muslim, then for all intents and purposes, he is a Muslim.

Whatever, if Mubarack Hussein Obama is a Muslim or self-proclaimed Christian, God's eyes are on every move America and the world make regarding Israel. Many Christians have said to me on my most recent lecture circuit that if Obama moves against Israel God's judgment on America will be a punishment on all Americans, Christians and Jews included.

It is indeed a time for Christian Revival for Israel's Survival! (The name of my second book).

The above article first appeared in Israel Today, June 01, 2009 and is reprinted with permission. Avi Lipkin ( pseudonym Victor Mordecai) Is a columnist for Israel Today, is a frequent guest on the Michael Medved and Michael Savage radio programs, and has appeared on hundreds of television and radio programs worldwide. He served in the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) from February 1972 until January 1973 as IDF Spokesman for the Judea and Samaria Command under Lt.Col Rafael Horovitz. His IDF reserve duties included artillery reserves from 1973 to 1989 and as an officer in the IDF Spokesman’s Office from 1989 to 2001. He is the author of four books, and is a candidate for the Israeli Knesset elections at the head of a Judeo-Christian Bible Bloc party called “Gush Hatanakhi” in Hebrew. Avi has appeared in over five hundred churches and synagogues in the US, Canada, Mexico, UK, Norway, Finland, Holland, Belgium, Switzerland, Greece as well as in Israel. For more information visit: www.vicmord.com
Reprinted with permission from the Roseburg Beacon News, Vol.2- Issue 32 August 12, 2009

McMinn - 4-MAT

McMinn, M. (1996). Psychology, Theology, and Spirituality in Christian Counseling. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

Concrete Response

Until a few months ago I was engaged in a weekly mentoring relationship with a high school senior from the church I was attending at that time. Through God's grace, I employed several of the techniques mentioned in this book and God used them to produce significant growth both in the young lady and in myself. One key ingredient in our mentoring relationship was prayer.

On many occasions I can remember struggling over and praying fervently about how to lovingly confront her regarding some behavioral issue only to have God beat me to the punch. In our next meeting or through a phone call between meetings, she would confess how God had convicted her and then detail her response to that conviction. Always the change was what I had been praying for or a better solution I had not considered. This greatly increased my belief in the power of prayer.

The use of scripture was also primary in our mentoring meetings. When we first started meeting I realized she had a very unhealthy sense of self. Because of unhealthy relationships with her brother, father and boyfriend, she felt helpless and unlovable. She believed she had to earn affection through meeting the demands of others. Through employing cognitive restructuring based on God's word (though I didn't know anything about "cognitive restructuring" at that time), she gradually developed a healthy sense of self and was able to take action to correct or positively affect her unhealthy relationships.

Reflection

While I really enjoyed this book and learned a great deal from it, there was one significant factor missing throughout. With all of the insightful questions posed and the wise cautions offered, there was not one mention of our need to be totally dependent on the guidance of the Holy Spirit. God the Holy Counselor was completely left out of the equation when it came to determining when/how to apply prayer, scripture, confrontation of sin, or a call to confession or forgiveness - yet this is His area of specialty. Quite honestly, I would have expected a book like this to be full of reference to the work of the Spirit.

On a more positive note, I greatly appreciated the section on redemption, specifically in reference to informed consent. Ethical issues are addressed throughout the book but the suggestion of including religious values in the informed-consent form will address many potential issues and may open "an opportunity for Christian truth to be incarnated in the therapy relationship" (p. 240).

Lastly, I appreciated the emphasis on the counselor's personal spiritual walk throughout the book. We must not ask our clients to do what we are unwilling to do ourselves. Each of these "religious techniques" is really a spiritual discipline and must never become routine. Our time in prayer must reflect a precious, intimate and personal connection with our Savior. Our time in His Word must come from a deep desire to know Him better. Our hearts must be humble before Him in confession of our own sin and our constant need of His strength and the leading of His Spirit. Our forgiveness of others must stem out of understanding what we have been forgiven.

Action
First and foremost, as with Ortberg's book, I see my need to step it up in regards to the spiritual disciplines mentioned. I believe McMinn is correct that, "the value of counseling interventions is found less in one's technical training and theoretical orientation than in one's character" (p. xi). This concept and others from this book and from Ortberg's book will become foundational to my personal theory of counseling and will be included in the personal theory paper I will be writing next week for another class.

The questions about what form of technique to apply to which client in which circumstances and whether this technique will establish a healthier sense of health or a healthier sense of need or a healing relationship will be incorporated as part of my personal therapeutic process. I believe these are important and useful questions that will help me be more discerning in the proper application of any technique, not just the religiously oriented ones.

Postmodern Approaches Critique

Personal Perspective
These are both very intriguing therapies and I believe several aspects can be incorporated into an integrative approach. I can see several concepts and techniques which I will incorporate into my own approach though I cannot see myself taking any postmodern approach as my foundational therapeutic focus.
There are several things I appreciate about these therapeutic approaches. First, the concept of the therapist as expert in the process of change but "not knowing" in relation to the client. We really don't know the people who come into our office until we allow them to tell us who they are. At the same time, I don't agree that the client is always the expert on what their problem is - mankind is notorious in overlooking his own failings. I also disagree with the idea that all people are "healthy, competent, resourceful, and possess the ability to construct solutions." Those who do not know Christ are blind (Ps. 146:8; Matt. 15:14) and lack wisdom (Rom. 1:21-22). Those who do know Christ realize that it is only through the power of the Spirit that we can do or be anything of value (Phil. 4:13; Gal. 6:3).
I also appreciate the focus on solutions and the optimistic approach to change. The evident effectiveness of SFBT in treating domestic violence offenders (Corey, 2009, p. 402) is encouraging. I disagree with the concept of personifying the problem as I believe this tends to allow the client to deny responsibility for the choices they make that contribute to the development of the problem.

References

Corey, G. (2009). Theory and practice of counseling and psychotherapy. (8th ed.). USA: Thomson Brooks/Cole.


Hinkley, P. (n.d.). Reality therapy presentation. Retrieved July 28, 2009 from http://www.liberty.edu/media/1413/COUN510/Postmodern_Approaches/index.html.

Feminist Therapy Critique

Personal Evaluation
I must admit that just the title of this therapy triggers strong negative emotions for me. I believe that "feminism" has done much damage to women through the years under the guise of freeing them from male oppression. Nevertheless, I agree with Corey that feminist therapy has made a vital contribution to therapeutic practice by bringing awareness to the "impact of cultural context and multiple oppressions." It is essential that we recognize all aspects of diversity and how both we and our clients are influenced by societal norms in therapeutic practice. Failure to consider the whole person, in whole context, can result in failed treatment.
Regardless of its contributions, I cannot stand in agreement with the foundational concept that problems result from socially defined gender roles and oppression. While it is good to understand how society dictates gender roles and how oppression might influence the individual, this does not negate the individual's right and ability to make choices and their responsibility for the consequences of those choices. I also heartily disagree with efforts by practitioners of this therapy to oppose the concept of objective truth. Jesus said He alone is "the Truth" (John 14:6). Without Christ and His Word, we stand on shifting sands and are doomed to fall.

References

Corey, G. (2009). Theory and practice of counseling and psychotherapy. (8th ed.). USA: Thomson Brooks/Cole.

Hinkley, P. (n.d.). Feminist therapy presentation. Retrieved July 28, 2009 from http://www.liberty.edu/media/1413/COUN510/Feminist_Therapy/index.html.