President Obama spoke of the need to practice true faith, and not misuse it.
President Obama spoke at the National Prayer Breakfast on Thursday. The President explained the dangers of distorting faith, and the characteristics needed to avoid such abuse of faith.
Former NASCAR driver Darrell Waltrip gave the keynote address. Waltrip gave a brief testimony of how he came to accept Jesus Christ as his Savior; after being a champion of the sport, Waltrip suffered a crash in 1983. "It scared the hell out of me, and I mean that literally. I realized that I could have been killed that day. What if I'd lost my life right there that day at Daytona? What would I have done? Would I have gone to heaven?" he said.
The former champion began attending church with his family after the accident. "I got down off my high horse and got down on my knees ... and that was the greatest day of my life," said Waltrip.
President Obama then delivered his speech. He began by citing examples of the good deeds that faith allows. Obama shared the story of Christian Doctor Kent Brantly from Samaritan's Purse, who treated Ebola patients in West Africa before contracting the disease himself. After his return and recovery, Dr. Brantly donated his blood plasma to other patients with Ebola within the United States. Dr. Brantly sat next to Obama during the breakfast and prayed the opening prayer. Obama also mentioned Saeed Abedini, an American Christian Pastor who is imprisoned in Iran for helping create a system of churches. Abedini wrote a letter to the President recently, describing his imprisonment and thanking the President for visiting his family in Idaho.
The President went on to explain the dangers of misusing faith, particularly the acts of ISIS in Syria and Iraq. "We see faith driving us to do right, but we also see faith twisted and distorted, used as a wedge, or worse, sometimes used as a weapon," said President Obama.
"This is not unique to one group or one religion. There is a tendency in us, a sinful tendency, that can pervert and distort our faith," said the President. He continued to say that Islam is not the only religion to have been misused; slavery, the Jim Crow laws, and the Crusades were carried out in the name of the Christian faith, said the President.
Obama then stated the responsibility of religions to stand against the abuse of faith.
"No God condones terror. No grievance justifies the taking of innocent lives or the oppression of those who are weaker or fewer in number. And so as people of faith, we are summoned to push back against those who try to distort our religion - any religion for their own nihilistic ends," he said.
He then explained the need for humility in order to avoid the abuse of faith. Humility allows for both those of faith and those who have not yet found faith, to respect one another.
"If we are properly humble, we drop to our knees on occasion, we will acknowledge that we never fully know God's purpose. We can never fully fathom His amazing grace. We see through a glass darkly, grappling with the expanse of His awesome love. But even with our limits, we can heed that which is required: To do justice, and love kindness, and walk humbly with our God."
