I realize many of you knew this already, however, there are many who are not aware that President Obama is the first President in our history (as a professing Christian) to be officially sworn in without placing his hand on the Bible.
By the way, John Quincy Adams didn’t either, but he was admittedly a unitarian. Teddy Roosevelt didn’t because Roosevelt was sworn in quickly after President McKinley’s assassination, and no Bible was available. Hmm. Finally, there’s Lyndon Johnson, sworn in on a Catholic missal (Roman Catholic mass book). - JT
As noted by Fox….
Personally, I’m not a fan of Fox News, so I’m naturally prejudiced against anything put out against this, but what I do have to offer up is that the media has been known to change the facts from time to time to make a story look a certain way, and Fox News is no stranger to this practice. I do know that President Obama and whoever was responsible for his swearing-in practiced the ceremony several times before going onstage, and even then there was a small error in the creed. So why could this photo not have been taken at one of the photo sessions?
If he was sworn in privately with no Bible, I am sure that his intentions were not to disrespect God or the Christian faith in any way, but more as a reassurance to himself that he was taking the presidency for the people, not for God. It is a difficult thing to accept, but because the world has so many different systems of beliefs, we as Christians, when in power, cannot use our power to pressure our faith onto non-believer. A believer born out of fear is a seed spread upon the rock: it has no root of love, and will soon wither with the coming trials. I fully support President Obama and what he is trying to do for our country until he makes a decision that I disagree with, whether he is Christian, Muslim, or Atheistic, and I feel that he deserves that from all of us, if only so he can give this nation the strength it needs to get off its knees.