NPR Compares President Barack Obama to Jesus Christ?
In a post on its website this week, National Public Radio (NPR) compared remarks President Barack Obama made during a rally to words spoke by Jesus Christ to one of his disciples.
The blog post, attributed to NPR reporter Frank James, covers President Obama's rally in Raleigh, N.C., on Sept. 14, and was published the same day.
During the rally, held at North Carolina State University, Obama spoke on motivating Congress to pass his jobs bill.
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James notes that during the president's remarks, an audience member yelled out, "I love you, Barack!"
To this, the president replied, "I love you back. But first - but if you love me - if you love me, you got to help me pass this bill. If you love me, you got to help me pass this bill."
President Obama's words apparently brought to mind for James a scene found in John 21:15, which, as the NPR reporter notes, holds the following exchange:
When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?"
"Yes, Lord," he said, "you know that I love you."
Jesus said, "Feed my lambs."
That is how the blog post, titled "Obama: 'If You Love Me, You Got To Help Me Pass This Bill,'" ends, without further commentary or explanation.
However, it is noted earlier in the short post that the exchange between President Obama and the audience member was "reminiscent of a Bible story."
The NPR post also reminds readers that Obama held an "almost messiah-like status...in the eyes of many supporters in 2008."
Although much of the nearly 400 comments on the blog post were in reaction to President Obama's jobs bill, some readers wondered at James' comparison of the president's words with those spoken by Jesus to his disciple Peter.
One commenter, Troy Riser, wrote, "I am embarrassed for you, NPR. Even obliquely comparing President Obama to Christ is way, way, way over the top, even for a progressive news outlet. ... I mean, 'Feed my lambs'? Really? There aren't any words for this."
Another commenter, Caspar Blattmann, took a more humorous route: "Hey, we need to get rid of Obama because of separation of church and state. We can't have 'jesus' running the government."
The NPR blog post was published with the category tags "Jesus, President Obama."
During his 2008 presidential campaign, Obama was sometimes given a messianic air by supporters, which some Christians criticized, going the polar opposite - wondering if the young, charismatic politician from Illinois was not instead the Antichrist.
Obama, a Christian, has also had to fight claims that he is a Muslim and that he was not born in America.
