President Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for his "extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples," especially his efforts to eliminate nuclear weapons.
The surprise move was praised by National Association of Evangelical President Leith Anderson and megachurch pastor Joel Hunter.
Leith Anderson
"I first heard the call for a world free of nuclear weapons from President Ronald Reagan when he addressed the National Association of Evangelicals over twenty-five years ago. The Nobel prize for President Obama acknowledges and perpetuates the Reagan vision."
Joel Hunter, pastor of Northland—A Church Distributed
"The ambition to free future generations from the fear of indiscriminate destruction is a truly nonpartisan ambition that resonates with our deepest moral convictions. President Obama is to be congratulated for setting a course so that the generation that had school drills to hide under our desks in case of nuclear attack should be the source of a permanent recess from fear for our grandchildren."
Tyler Wigg-Stevenson, founding director of the Two Futures Project
"There is much to be done and the road to a world free of nuclear weapons is daunting and long. But this Nobel Prize highlights the importance of setting that goal to guide our steps in the short term as we seek to shape a more secure world. To prevent nuclear terrorism, we must make progress toward the complete abolition of nuclear weapons. A new generation needs to deal once and for all with the legacy of the Cold War." The Two Futures Project, a confessional Christian movement for the abolition of nuclear weapons, is sponsoring a track on preventing nuclear terrorism at today's NAE-sponsored Evangelical Leaders Forum.
If people do criticize the prize, they might risk being aligned with terrorists by the Democratic National Committee.
"The Republican Party has thrown in its lot with the terrorists - the Taliban and Hamas this morning - in criticizing the President for receiving the Nobel Peace prize," DNC communications director Brad Woodhouse told Politico. "Republicans cheered when America failed to land the Olympics and now they are criticizing the President of the United States for receiving the Nobel Peace prize - an award he did not seek but that is nonetheless an honor in which every American can take great pride - unless of course you are the Republican Party."
What do you think? Does Obama deserve the prize?
Update: Cathy Ruse writes on Family Research Council's blog "President Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize for…funding abortions overseas?"
"Mother Teresa called abortion the greatest destroyer of peace. But according to the Nobel committee, forcing taxpayers to fund it gets you a peace prize."
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