There it is again

As I've been reading Audacity of Hope, I find myself, over and over again, thinking "that's EXACTLY what I think!" This was another one of those times.

Obama is writing in response to a women who called into a radio show he was on in response to his stance against same sex marriage. The woman said that, while she had chosen to vote for him knowing his position, she felt that bringing religion into the issue diminished her and other homosexual couples.

I felt bad, and I told her so in a return phone call. As I spoke to her I was reminded that no matter how much Christians who opose homosexuality may claim that they hate the sin but love the sinner, such a judgment inflicts pain on good people -- people who are made in the image of God, and who are often truer to Christ's message than those who condemn them. And I was reminded that it is my obligation, not only as an elected official in a pluralistic society but also as a hristian, to remain open to the possibility that my unwillingness to support gay marriage is misguided, just as I cannot claim infallibility in my support of abortion rights [editorial note: he is pro choice.] I must admit that I may have been infected with society's prejudices and predilections and attributed them to God; that Jesus' call to love one another might demand a different conclusion; and that in years hence I may be seen as someone who as on the wrong side of history. I dont believe such doubts make me a bad Christian. I believe they make me human, limited in my understandings of God's purpose and therefore prone to sin. When I read the Bible, I do so with the belief that it is not a static text but a Living Word, and that I must be continually open to new revelations -- whether they come from a lesbian friend or a doctor opposed to abortion. [previously in the book, he described another interaction with a supporter who was prolife.]

If you aren't surprised by that kind of candor from a politican, you ain't been living in the same america as me.