Franklin Graham: Christianist Bigot Claims Religion is Genetic Except for Christians

I never cease to be amazed by the idiocy and bigotry of self-righteous and self-congratulatory Christians. Case in point: Franklin Graham, the son of Billy Graham who but for his famous father would more than likely be a complete nobody and unknown to anyone (perhaps not a bad thing). This fool and bigot - no other words seems quite appropriate - has shot off his mouth claiming that Barack Obama is a Muslim since with Islam "the seed of Islam is passed through the father like the seed of Judaism is passed through the mother." The exception to this genetic passage of religion is, according to Graham Christians who must "accept Jesus." Yep, that's what evangelical Christianity is coming to. One apparently needs to first have a lobotomy before one can be a Graham style Christian.
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There's no way to state it nicely - Graham is a buffoon and a bigot. In the reality of the objective world - as opposed to Graham's bigoted fantasy land - religion is something CHOSEN and changeable at any time in one's life. It is NOT genetic in any way. And it is NOT an immutable characteristic. No one is born Catholic, Jewish, Muslim or any other denomination or faith. Instead one is either raised by parents in a particular faith tradition (or no faith tradition in some cases) or selects a faith tradition for themselves. Indeed, one can change their religious belief/affiliation at will and countless Americans do so every year according to various Barna Group studies. Indeed, 60 MILLION Americans have changed their religious tradition according to the most recent studies.
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The other thing noteworthy about Graham's verbal diarrhea is that he says that Christian belief is being immutable. This flies squarely in the face of the positions of the majority of anti-gay professional Christians. One of the standard lines of the professional anti-gay crowd is the allegation that being gay is "a choice" and therefore, not an immutable characteristic worthy of constitutional anti-discrimination protections. This specific argument was made in Lawrence v. Texas and the Prop 8 supporters attempted to make the same argument in Perry v. Schwarzenegger more recently. Under Graham's bizarre world, since being Christian is clearly a choice, then by taking the Christianists' own logic to its logical conclusion, born again Christians should net receive any anti-discrimination protections since their religion is a choice and, therefore, clearly not immutable.
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Frankly, Graham's position is pure idiocy. Obama was no more born Muslim than the man in the moon. But if Graham intends to stand by his allegations (which he has said he does), then I say fine. Let's start a ballot initiative to amend California's constitution to strip all born again Christians in that state of anti-discrimination protections. Let them be fired from their jobs, refused housing and subject to all kinds of discrimination. If being a born again Christian isn't an immutable characteristic, then lets use the same logic the Christianist use against LGBT Americans. Here are highlights from ABC News on Franklin Graham's utter batshitery:
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"I think the president's problem is that he was born a Muslim, his father was a Muslim. The seed of Islam is passed through the father like the seed of Judaism is passed through the mother. He was born a Muslim, his father gave him an Islamic name," Graham told CNN's John King in a televised interview that aired Thursday night.
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"Now it's obvious that the president has renounced the prophet Mohammed, and he has renounced Islam, and he has accepted Jesus Christ. That's what he says he has done. I cannot say that he hasn't. So I just have to believe that the president is what he has said," Graham continued, adding that "the Islamic world sees the president as one of theirs."
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As for why Obama and his family rarely go to local church services, the article continues as follows:
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Obama has favored a more private faith since he took office in January 2009, attending formal church services just a handful of times, including Easter of this year.
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Like his predecessor George W. Bush, Obama has said he prefers worshiping at the chapel at Camp David. But the president rarely goes to the presidential retreat, and instead spends Sundays at the White House. Weekend activities often include basketball or golf.
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While the president and his family initially planned to join a church in Washington, they put the search on hold after finding the trappings of the modern presidency too cumbersome for congregation life. Before the president attends a service, the building must be swept for threats and every churchgoer screened for weapons.
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An Obama family visit to the 19th Street Baptist Church, a historic African-American congregation in Washington, turned into a circus atmosphere that dismayed the family, according to aides, particularly after learning that longtime church members were turned away from the service.
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This explanation has real merit. When my sister died, one of my former law partners who was at the time Attorney General of Virginia attended the funeral. Accompanying him were state troopers and a number of plainclothes body guards. I can only imagine the circus involved with an appearance by a U. S. President.