The Faith of Barack Obama: A Book Review

I recently finished reading The Faith of Barack Obama by Stephen Mansfield (also the author of The Faith of George W. Bush). I have been participating in the Thomas Nelson publishing company's book review program, and this is my review of his latest book.

The Faith of Barack Obama is a kind, thoughtful attempt by Stephen Mansfield of presenting Barack Obama's "Christian" faith to the world in a positive light. That said, as a Christian woman seeking to follow God's will for my life and striving to share the love of Christ with others, I'm afraid that Mr. Mansfield had a tough row to hoe. The story is organized chronologically, which is helpful to the reader and, at least, helps the reader to understand what brought Barack Obama (to whom I will now refer as our President) to the point he is today, spiritually. I do believe after having read this book that Barack Obama is "spiritual" in the 2009 sense of the word. I do not, however, believe that Barack Obama is the same kind of Christian I am. I, quite honestly, am unsure whether our President is a Christian at all.

Mr. Mansfield's book is clear, concise, and honest -- all qualities that make for a good read. That said, I can't say that I feel any better about our President's faith than I did before I read the book. I chose the book with optimism -- hoping that, maybe, the critics were wrong. I have for so long, particularly after Mr. Obama became our President, wanted him to be a brother of mine in Christ. I am now unsure, and for that reason alone, I am disappointed in the book.

As Mansfield describes our President's self-proclaimed spiritual transformation, the picture that is painted is a troubling one: "What did Barack Obama become, then, on that Sunday morning in 1985? He became, he says, a Christian. He confessed his faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God who died for his sins and rose again. Yet he denies that his Christianity is the sole path to God, and he applies a great deal of doubt to the doctrines of his faith: the inspiration of Scripture, the matter of the afterlife, the moral standards of tradition. In this he is not alone. His Christianity is shared by most of the mainline Protestant denominations today as well as the unchurched young in America." (pp.57-58) Mansfield then goes on to paint a more optimistic, and un-judgmental picture. He appropriately describes that, as Christians, we are evolving "works in progress," and that "no man can be accurately portrayed by a portrait frozen in time."

All of this to say, Stephen Mansfield does an amazing job of forcing me to sympathize with our President's journey to spirituality. The son of an atheist mother...the son of a Muslim father, who abandoned his family early in Barack's life...later, the stepson of a practicing Muslim...all at the same time that he attended Catholic school "because the education at the school was among the best available." (p.14) Mansfield presents this journey in an appropriately sympathetic light...how could we possibly expect a child to emerge from such a religious melting pot with a sense of belonging. Needless to say, this book revealed to me that, as a woman raised in a Christian home, I have taken for granted the ease with which I was led to accept Christ as my Savior. Many in this world, our President included, have been presented with a much more difficult journey. At the end of the day, this book left me intrigued, yet burdened...and grateful for God's grace that led me down a clearer spiritual path.