DannyM wrote:Canuckster1127 wrote:DannyM wrote:This was no simple bow of the head. He was almost on his goddamn knees. I'm afraid the implications of this at least in Muslim eyes is that we have the top man of a top Christian nation bowing to the level of this Muslim king's midrif. I'm afraid this looks completely horrendous if you are Christian and proud and know that the Muslim faith is a sham.
I wasn't aware the US was the "top Christian nation" or that Obama was representing Christians before Muslims in this regard. I guess that's why I'm missing the importance of this.
Oh come on! Whether or not you see the US as Christian, I'd lay money that many Muslims and Christians around the globe see the US as Christian and Obama as her leader. That bow was farcical, surely? Anyhoo, I guess it's all about opinion.
Pereception is reality in many cases. When we travel to foreign soil it's not unreasonable for US representatives to show respect by following the local protocol and customs. Neither is is unreasonable for foreign dignitaries to do the same things when they come to the US.
The US has at times created a lot of ill will by pushing and focusing upon our favored position and not treating other nations with more diplomacy and tact. That culminated in the Iraq War and the lack of support our actions garnered internationally. Perhaps Obama is moving too far in the other direction. That a matter of opinion and open to debate. However, there is no question that when he ran he made clear he intended to change the tone internationally and these changes in protocol are highly symbolic of that. They're not lost on the rest of the world either. Whether they will make a difference down the road remains to be seen. There's no question however that the rest of the world has responded mostly positively to this. Some of that played into why Obama received the Nobel Peace Prize before he even assumed office. It was something of an international statement of hope and belief that the tone and policy would change from the US.
I'm more concerned about how that is managed than whether Obama practices customs of respect with other dignataries. Other countries may have religion tied formally into their state customs and practices, but Obama is not a titular head of religion and doesn't represent Christendom before other nations in any way beyong his own personal beliefs which as far as I can see are not particularly strong but that's between him and God.
Now if the Pope starts bowing then I'm sure we'll hear something about it, at least from those who think he represents Christianity .......
As far as whether "pride" enters into it, I seem to recall Jesus serving and washing other's feet. I'm not sure that "Christian pride" would be something to appeal to in that regard at least as far as Christ Himself was concerned.
Dogmatism is the comfortable intellectual framework of self-righteousness. Self-righteousness is more decadent than the worst sexual sin. ~ Dan Allender