President Obama—Inciting Young People to Adopt a Secular Worldview?

It was my mother’s pastor who brought the following item to my attention. I attended church on Sunday with my mother in Brisbane, Australia, and the pastor’s sermon mentioned a speech given by President Obama in Australia a few days before. The pastor was shocked that, among other things, the president encouraged young people to go against the beliefs of the older generation. The pastor was so bothered by what the president said that I decided to do a web search later and found the president’s speech (on the White House website). Once I read the words for myself, I could understand why my mother’s pastor was so concerned.

“And For The Young People . . .”

As part of the G20 conference held in Australia, President Obama gave one of his major speeches at Queensland University (Brisbane). You can read the entire text of President Obama’s speech given at Queensland University as part of the recent G20 conference at the link provided at the end of this article.

I have excerpted some quotes for your interest. During his speech, President Obama said the following:

And I often tell young people in America that, even with today’s challenges, this is the best time in history to be alive. Never in the history of humanity have people lived longer, are they more likely to be healthy, more likely to be enjoying basic security. The world is actually much less violent today.

Comment: Considering 57 million children have been murdered in their mother’s wombs in America since the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion (making the terrible atrocities of Hitler look pale in comparison), I do not consider the world “much less violent today.” And as you are probably aware, President Obama supports abortion rights and the work of Planned Parenthood.

Throughout his speech, the president emphasized topics in what appeared to be an effort to influence young people—the coming generations. For instance, throughout his speech we heard statements such as the following:

And so I want to thank all of the young people especially for welcoming me here today. . . .

And I often tell young people in America. . . .

Empowered by technology, you—the young people in particular of this region. . . .

And for the young people. . . .

Rejecting Their Parents’ Teaching

And then, towards the end of his speech, the president brought it all to a climax when he stated the following:

But let me say, particularly again to the young people here: Combating climate change cannot be the work of governments alone. Citizens, especially the next generation, you have to keep raising your voices, because you deserve to live your lives in a world that is cleaner and that is healthier and that is sustainable. But that is not going to happen unless you are heard.

Climate change was one of his big agenda items in the talk. But as he discussed this issue, the president made a statement that seemed to be encouraging young people to reject the worldview of the previous generations. Now, I’m not saying everything from past generations is correct, but it seems to me that President Obama is pushing an agenda with young people to go against those who disagree with him on things like what is causing climate change and, in essence, going against what their parents may have taught them. Obama said the following:

It is in the nature of things, it is in the nature of the world that those of us who start getting gray hair are a little set in our ways, that interests are entrenched—not because people are bad people, it’s just that’s how we’ve been doing things. And we make investments, and companies start depending on certain energy sources, and change is uncomfortable and difficult. And that’s why it’s so important for the next generation to be able to step and say, no, it doesn’t have to be this way. You have the power to imagine a new future in a way that some of the older folks don’t always have.

More Freedom For Who?

President Obama also pushed gay issues with young people when he said the following:

We will stand up for our gay and lesbian fellow citizens, because they need to be treated equally under the law.

President Obama added the following:

We’ll advance human dignity by standing up for the rights of minorities, because no one’s equality should ever be denied. We will stand up for freedom of religion—the right of every person to practice their faith as they choose—because we are all children of God, and we are all fallible. And the notion that we, as a majority, or the state should tell somebody else what to believe with respect to their faith, is against our basic values.

Really? The more I see what is being advanced by President Obama, the less I see of freedom for Christianity in America and more of the government dictating to Christians what they can and can’t do!

And as he ended his speech, the president again appealed to young people—trying to stir up the next generation to shed the worldview of the past and change the world in the way President Obama wants (and has been doing) in America: to impose an anti-Christian worldview on the culture, that results in an increasingly anti-Christian sentiment. He calls it being “free”—but I believe he really means being free from a theologically conservative Christian worldview! President Obama said the following:

I spend a lot of time with young people. I spend a lot of time with old people, too. But I prefer spending time with young people. (Laughter.) I meet them in Tokyo and Seoul, and Manila and Jakarta. It’s the spirit of young men and women in Kuala Lumpur and Rangoon, who are participating in our Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative. And like you, they’re ready to lead.

To the young woman with an idea who dreams of starting her own business -- if she just had the network, if she just had the capital, America wants to be her partner, because we believe in the entrepreneur that you can be, the innovations you can spark and the jobs you can create. And when you succeed, we’ll all be more prosperous.

To the young man who’s working late in a clinic, tending to a patient, who dreams not just of treating diseases, but preventing them -- if I just had the resources, if I just had the support -- we want to be your partner, because we believe in the advocate that you can be, and in the families you can reach and the lives you can save. And when you succeed, our world will be better.

To the young woman tired of the tensions in her community, who dreams of helping her neighbors see beyond differences -- if she could just start a dialogue, if she knew how others had walked the same path -- well, America wants to be your partner, because we believe in the activist that you can be, and the empathy that you can build, and the understanding you can foster between people. And when you succeed, our world will be a little more peaceful.

And to the young man who believes his voice isn’t being heard, who dreams of bringing people like him together across his country -- if he just knew how to organize and mobilize them -- we want to be your partner, because we believe in the leaders that you can be, in the difference you can make to ignite positive change. And when you succeed, the world will be a little more free.

The sad thing is, what President Obama means by “free” is being free from a Christian worldview! I believe, based on what he just stated in Australia and previously, he is trying to stir up more and more young people to embrace his very secular worldview. In the last sentences of his speech, he claims that Americans, supposedly united by common values and vision (although I don’t see room for the biblical worldview in his statement), have the capacity to advance human dignity:

Bound by the values we share, guided by the vision we seek, I am absolutely confident we can advance the security and the prosperity and the dignity of people across this region. And in pursuit of that future, you will have no greater friend than the United States of America.

I find it ironic that while President Obama aims to foster a nation that actually rebels against God’s commands, the Bible says that those same actions will actually be the downfall of a nation through the rebellion of its people. You see, when you reject God and His Word, Scripture is clear that you are “suppressing the truth in unrighteousness” (Romans 1:18). The result of this rejection of God is Him giving individuals up “to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator" (Romans 1:24-25). Romans 1 reveals that rejecting God and His Word comes at a great cost! You can read his entire speech.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

 

This item was written with the assistance of AiG’s research team.