MSNBC Guest Dr. Craig Mitchell Questions Obama's Faith: 'I Don't Know If He's A Christian Or Not' (VIDEO)

MSNBC's Martin Bashir was outraged over guest Dr. Craig Mitchell's refusal to say that he believed Obama is a Christian on Wednesday.

The exchange took place one day after another MSNBC guest questioned President Obama's religious beliefs. Franklin Graham, the son of televangelist Billy Graham, refused to say whether he knew that Obama was a Christian.

On Wednesday, Bashir asked Mitchell, an associate professor at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, to weigh in on critics' allegations that Obama is "somehow sub-Christian."

Mitchell said that other American presidents have faced those charges, and that people had the right to question Obama. "But you know, people do have their concerns and it’s not wrong for them to express those ideas," he said.

Bashir asked him to identify other presidents who have been questioned over their religious beliefs. Mitchell said that Obama "has a unique set of circumstances." The MSNBC host then asked his guest a blunt question. "Sir, do you believe he’s a Christian?" Bashir asked.

"What I know is that he says he's a Christian, so I have to take him at his word," Mitchell answered.

Bashir was not satisfied with the response, and cited what he said were Obama's public affirmations of his Christian beliefs. "I'm not asking you if you take him at his word," he said. "Do you believe that he's a Christian?"

"I don’t know if he’s a Christian or not," Mitchell said. "I've never met the man. I've never talked with him and a lot of people say that they're Christians. That doesn't mean that they are."

He later said, "All I know is that he says he's a Christian and that's sufficient." When pressed to explain further, Mitchell said, "What I'm saying is I accept the fact that he says he's a Christian and until I actually talk with him, I won't know for sure."

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Comments

[dear mud]

11:18 AM on 03/14/2012

Why didn't he ask him the obvious question: Do you believe Santorum/Gingrich are Christian, do you believe Romney is Mormon? Going by his logic, one cannot know if any of the above are of their associated religion unless one has talked to them and questioned them.
Also, I think there were less biased ways to conduct the interview which would not have put l'idiot on the defensive so much.

[BooTay]

04:56 PM on 02/29/2012

Anyone with even a passing familiarity with the Bible will readily and correctly identify these craven faux-moralists as the demonic agents that they are. Nothing about them bears the remotest resemblance to the Christ.

[Satchamosowner2000]

03:20 PM on 02/29/2012

jjmn writes: "This country was founded on the separation of church and state, because of the persecution of people in Europe trying to practice their own faiths and were killed and all kinds of things, so they came here."
From then on, there has been nothing but hypocrisy. Starting with how those who came here to flee the persecution in Europe....Promptly turned around and did the same to the Native American's they encountered.
This is not to argue with you jjmn... I'm merely making a point about hypocrisy. I agree 100% with all you posted. Thankyou, f&f!

[relentless63]

02:02 PM on 02/29/2012

Another dullard with a microphone. Next!

[syllable]

01:53 AM on 02/26/2012

Could we just live and let live....move on from this card carrying CHRISTIAN nonsense? Jeez.

[jjmn]

11:23 PM on 02/25/2012

This is about the intelligence and COMPETENCE to be President. If you put all the things together that Obama has dealt with, he has been BRILLIANT. This country was founded on the separation of church and state, because of the persecution of people in Europe trying to practice their own faiths and were killed and all kinds of things, so they came here. Obama, compared to the abysmal group of four buffoons, I am sorry, but I cannot think of a more appropriate word here, is a superstar. He is calm, cool, intelligent, and is going to kick their rears in November. Thank goodness. Any one of those four men sitting in the White House would be a disaster. Santorum would put us back two hundred years. What right does he have to tell women what they can do with their own bodies? Not to mention no birth control or public schools. Romney is a bigwig in a very scary cult, and cannot say anything without screwing it up. I ilke to fire people, my wife has two cadillacs. Good, you will be very helpful for the downtrodden who cannot find a job, and my favorite, I ilke firing people. Me too....Mitt, you are FIRED. The casual elegance and ease of Obama still gives me hope. Those four? They scare the daylights out of me. I am glad this is taking so long, because the longer it lasts, the worse they look.

[Activist Annie]

05:17 PM on 02/26/2012

You are right on with every account.

Also, as much as I don't like this nonsense dragging on, you're right ... the longer it lasts, the worse they look.

[galigal]

12:04 PM on 02/25/2012

Religious myths have no right to be in the political discourse. Seperation of church and state.

[CJ40inWI]

05:24 AM on 02/25/2012

*face palm* The dumb keep getting dumber...

[adcan49]

11:08 PM on 02/24/2012

Dear God: PLEASE do away with religion from our daily lives. Amen.

[Squonk32]

10:23 PM on 02/24/2012

One thing you leftists either ignore or are unaware of is that Dr. Mitchell was lured there under the pretense that the discussion was to be about religious freedom, not President Obama's faith. Dr. Mitchell was ambushed and answered appropriately. If you really don't know a person, you can't know for sure if they are a Christian or just a poser. You may be right to question the faith of Dr. Mitchell if you don't know him but the same is true of Obama. Maybe you have never known of a religious poser but they do exist for a number of reasons. To take a person at his word as Dr. Mitchell did, though that wasn't good enough for Brashir, is all we can do unless that person proves otherwise.

[Dogwithoutaleash]

09:30 AM on 02/25/2012

Well, I'm a "leftist" as you so call them, and I agree with you except for one thing. You said this: "If you really don't know a person, you can't know for sure if they are a Christian or just a poser. You may be right to question the faith of Dr. Mitchell if you don't know him but the same is true of Obama." First of all, I don't think anyone can ever really know for sure whether a person is a Christian or not no matter how well you know them. Second, I don't think you can or ever should question anyone else's stance on Chritianity or any other religion because, frankly, being a Christian means different things to different people. No matter how hard religions try, they can't get into people's head and they can't create a single religious worldview. I think it it inappropriate and counter-productive to ever ask the question about someone else's Christianity. I think it was wrong for Bashir and it was wrong for Franklin Graham.

[Squonk32]

10:02 AM on 02/25/2012

Well said.

[Osusuki]

12:19 PM on 02/25/2012

F&F. I was always taught that no one but God knows what is really in a man's heart.

[thebigbike]

08:42 PM on 02/24/2012

Well, prof Mitchell, I'll take you at your word that you are a "christian" but I can't for the life of me figure out why President Obama would want to be a Christian, based on the example of your observance

[cre8ive]

08:16 PM on 02/24/2012

He's the president of the United States, not pastor of the Christians. The Bible says all leaders are where they are because God put them there and that believers are supposed to be praying for them, and submitting to them. It also says that if a man declares himself to be a Christian, you are to treat him like one. Finally, it says the world would know that believers belong to God by the love they have for one another. Hmm...Franklin, Rick, and this Dr. Mitchell need to do a bit of reading. Just sayin...

[stagebandman]

07:06 PM on 02/24/2012

Millions of auto industry jobs saved. Economy moving in the right direction for over a year. Unemployment improving. Tens of thousands of troops returned home. The status of the USA as a world leader restored. The future looks bright. Finally.

I don't care if he's Martian.

[Judith Ford]

05:43 PM on 02/24/2012

Obama's a christian when its convient for the right.When they want to use Rev. Wright aganist him.

[Abelardo Perez]

04:44 PM on 02/24/2012

i future when they have hearings on the rights of black people, the panel should be made up of KKK members; when hearings on the rights of jews, the panel should be made up of palestinians; when rights of heterosexual marriage, the panel should be made up of queer eye for the straight guy...it would only be fair

[Abelardo Perez]

03:24 PM on 02/25/2012

Racist much?