Dear David,
I’ve enjoyed our dialogue and so appreciate your insightful comments. You are without question, a man of God whose heart is for the truth. Though we differ in our approach, we both seek to bring understanding to life as God would have us live.

In between our exchange, I wrote the following for a newspaper which addresses the Obama/Golden Rule in a different venue:
Quote:
President Obama laid back in bed, and with a deep sigh said, “Oh God.”
“Yes, Obama.”
“Oh God. Oh God, is that You?”
“Yes.”
“Oh God. Oh God!”
“Calm down my child, and stop looking for the TelePrompTer. I want you to listen.”
“Oh God, I mean...er, yes but, uh...”
“Believe it or not, being President does not place you above Me.”
“Oh, You do know my thoughts.”
“Yes, which brings Me to the question of where in Heaven did you get that interpretation of the Golden Rule?”
“Well, Reverend Wright always said...”
“Stop right there! I told you the very first time you listened to him, not to, but you did. And it almost cost you the election. By the way, you should know why you won the election.”
“What do you mean?”
“It was My response to the prayers of past slaves. Now that was a people of prayer! Very few people pray like your fathers did. I mean, if just a faithful few would lift their voices up and cry out, ‘Sweet Lord Jesus, break these chains that bind me’, the blessings would pour down from Heaven!”
“I don’t get it?”
“Praise Me! You’ve got it: You don’t get it!”
“I don’t get what?”
“Just about everything about Me. Abortion. Stem cell. Marriage the way I ordained it to be. Which brings me back to the Golden Rule. Dust off the bible your grandma gave you and read what My Son said. It’s not what you say but what He said. In the Sermon on the Mount, He said “Do to others what you would have them do to you.”
“Didn’t He say, ‘Love one another’?”
“Yes, but loving one another was never meant for a quick fix to the mess the world is in. Loving others begins with loving Me. And those who love Me will keep My Word. Talking about My Word, there’s something you need to do.”
“What’s that?”
“Correct Bill’s mistake with ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’. I told him not to compromise the Truth, but I knew he would. Between you and Me, most people have the problem of living a lie. What one does in private does not stay private. You can not sin in isolation. Your sins will find you out. That’s why ‘Don’t ask, Don’t Tell’ don’t work! Repel it and watch how many will come to Me.”
“Well, it was one of my campaign promises.”
“No, it was My desire placed upon you.”
“Oh.”
“And Obama. The next time you pray, try coming to Me with more than “Oh God.”
“O.K.”
End of Quote.

Finally, thank you for correcting the Scripture reference in your initial response. You are correct, there is only one Revelation. :-) Bosan

Dear David,

It would help our discussion if you would copy your “real” answer. One reading your response would assume you actually addressed “Mr. Obama” in your original answer. To correct your error, simply place an “End of Quote” following “loving one another.” Otherwise you have selected to blind others from the truth. No offense intended my friend.

Now that you have included the sentence on Obama we are open for discussion. The fact you “see no problem” is the very problem which problems me. Your view is obviously held by the majority since there has been no “out cry.”

The exception, and deep concern I have with your emphasis on “loving one another” is you overlook the single source which allows one to love another.
One must first love God in order to love and do rightly to others. Yes, it does exclude all others, but that’s why Christ concludes the emphasis on the Golden Rule with the illustration of the narrow gate. Many desire to live a life of love, “and only a few find it.”

Now I admit the above statement seems illogical. But when Scripture speaks against what others prefer to place in a neat logical box - logic comes in second behind the Bible: God’s Word.

By the way, my name is really Bo, and living in Japan I am called “Bo-san”. I have a BFA in painting and drawing from WCU where I was a collegiate wrestler (two-time state champion in H/S). Retired from the Marine Corps in ’94 as a LtCol and immediately went to seminary. I have a MDiv from SEBTS and pastored Koza Baptist Church in Okinawa Japan from ’97 to 2008. Due to the onset of Parkinson’s, I stepped down as senior pastor last July. I’m currently writing and illustrating a children’s book, beach combing for Japanese fishing floats, collecting and restoring Oriental antiques, and serving part time in a prison ministry. I’m married to my high school sweetheart and have one son who teaches here in a Japanese school.

Help take the bite out of dogma - love one another. Bosan

Dear David,
Please forgive my nonsense which boggled the mind of one so bright. I did not intend for it to be a stumbling block.

The point I addressed is stated in the first sentence: “How can President Obama continue to misquote and abuse the Golden Rule without an outcry?”
To which you have yet to respond to.

Thank you though, for inviting me over to “L&F”. I will respond to your closing reference to the message of Christ. As a Bible believing Christian, I take the words of the Son of God seriously. When He said no one comes unto the Father but through Him, He is stating He is the only answer. Yes, His statement is hubristic. But to one who believes, boy does it bring confidence!
Rightly related to God in Christ, Bosan