President Obama used an Easter breakfast at the White House Tuesday to call out what he viewed as unbecoming comments by fellow members of the Christian community.
“On Easter, I do reflect on the fact that as a Christian, I’m supposed to love, and I have to say that sometimes when I listen to less-than-loving expressions by Christians, I get concerned,” the president said to a gathering of Christian leaders. “But that’s a topic for another day.”
Obama appeared to go off script in that exchange. He did not allude to whom he was referring.
Obama said the Easter holiday reminded him that even in the White House, some of life’s problems are trivial compared to the “extraordinary sacrifice of Jesus Christ.”
“For me, the celebration of Easter puts our earthly concerns into perspective,” Obama said. “With humility and with awe we give thanks to the extraordinary sacrifice of Jesus Christ, our savior, and reflect on the brutal pain that he suffered, the scorn that he absorbed, the sins that he bore, this extraordinary gift of salvation that he gave to us.”
The president has ignited controversy in the past with his remarks on religion. Earlier this year, Obama drew a comparison between Islamic extremism and the Christian crusades.
“And lest we get on our high horse and think this is unique to some other place, remember that during the Crusades and the Inquisition, people committed terrible deeds in the name of Christ,” he said at the National Prayer Breakfast.
Obama kept his remarks lighter on Tuesday.
Noting that his daughters were now visiting colleges, Obama said simply, “I need prayer.”
