There’s been yet another stink in the left-wing press about Gov. Scott Walker and his reluctance to give the “right” answer to their bear-trap-oriented questions.  When asked if Barack Obama is a Christian, Walker responded “I don’t know.”  But THEN he also responded:

“I’ve actually never talked about it or I haven’t read about that,” Walker said, his voice calm and firm. “I’ve never asked him that,” he added. “You’ve asked me to make statements about people that I haven’t had a conversation with about that. How [could] I say if I know either of you are a Christian?”

Walker said such questions from reporters are reflective of a broader problem in the nation’s political-media culture, which he described as fixated on issues that are not relevant to most Americans.

“To me, this is a classic example of why people hate Washington and, increasingly, they dislike the press,” he said. “The things they care about don’t even remotely come close to what you’re asking about.”

Exactly, Mr. Walker.  When I saw the headline from the WaPo article, it became apparent that this is another “trap the Republican and make him look bad” moment from the press.

Matt Lewis opines that Walker should have just lied:

In case you were wondering, the correct answer was not “I don’t know.” The correct answer would have been, “Yes the president is a Christian. His policies are bad.”

No, that is not the correct answer.  The correct answer IS “I don’t know”, for precisely the reason Walker stated.  How is he to know?  He’s not friends with Obama, any more than he is friends with or knows the reporters posing the question.

What Walker could do is form his opinion based on the fruits that Barack Obama displays as part of his attempted leadership as President.  From the New Testament, Matthew 7:15-23 (ESV):

A Tree and Its Fruit

¹⁵ “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. ¹⁶ You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷ So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸ A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. ¹⁹ Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.

I Never Knew You

²¹ “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²² On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ ²³ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

“Thus you will recognize them by their fruits” – While one does not become a Christian via works, their faith in Christ (or lack thereof) is demonstrated BY those fruits/works.  Should we take the word of Barack Obama that he is a Christian, apart from the fruits he demonstrates?  No.  “On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?”  The fact that one claims to be a Christian does not make it so.  It is a matter of the heart, which again, is shown through their works.

Mr. Walker cannot know Barack Obama’s heart through anything but what he observes, since he does not know the man personally.  Let’s take a brief look at some of the “fruit” that Barack Obama has displayed:

• Disrespect for Christians as “bitterly clinging to their guns and their religion”
• His extremist support for abortion and his vote for infanticide
• His outright lies about opposition for homosexual marriage and his support for it, and using his “faith” as an excuse
• Obama’s long-time affiliation with hate-speech “pastor” Jeremiah Wright
• The twisting of Scripture to suit Obama’s agenda.
• Obama’s own “Violent Extremism” summit day is started with a Muslim prayer and no Christian (or any other) equivalent.

The list goes on and on.

Some would claim that Obama shows the fruit of his faith through his left-wing philosophical beliefs and policies around the poor.  That would be true if his policies actually DID benefit the poor. But increasing welfare payments does nothing but make the poor more subservient and dependent upon the government.  It does not benefit the needy to make them reach for the government’s teat rather than enabling them to be productive members of society.

I’m sure my reference to Matthew 7 will cause some to respond “Bill, you hypocrite.  Did you skip Matthew 7:1?  You’re not supposed to judge anyone!”  To which I would respond: “You missed the latter part of Matthew 7:5 – Jesus didn’t say ‘never judge’ – he said ‘be sure that speck is out of your eye FIRST”.  Am I without flaw as a Christian?  Certainly not.  But I have two eyes and I plainly see the alleged “leader of the free world” behaving and acting in ways that do not remotely resemble the teachings of the Bible that he allegedly adheres to, and shows no inclination to repent of that behavior.

Scott Walker sees the same things the rest of us do.  I think he actually showed great restraint in answering with what is a pretty easy conclusion.  Walker should continue to refuse to pander to the press and feed them answers that are politically correct.  As he said, people increasingly dislike the press.  They see liars like Brian Williams and repeated attempts to trap Republicans in any sort of statement that might not match their agenda.  Could Walker have responded better?  Sure, as they say, “nobody’s perfect”.  He could have taken the latter part of his comments and just simply said “Are YOU a Christian?  Is that relevant to foreign policy, taxes, or national security?”

Walker doesn’t know Obama’s heart but he does see his fruit, and that leads him – and me – to refuse to commit to a statement that Barack Obama is a Christian.  He may be just very early on his walk through sanctification.  Like Walker, I don’t know.  From Leviticus 19:  “¹¹ “You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; you shall not lie to one another“.  Walker told the truth.  He should continue to do so.