I saw a link to this article and had to comment. It quotes President Obama like this:
Falsani: Do you believe in sin?
Obama: Yes.
Falsani: What is sin?
Obama: Being out of alignment with my values.
The author goes on to say: “Have you ever found a pithier summary of the narcissistic core of today’s “progressive” Left-liberal ideology? I’m not sure I have.”
Okay, I have to say, this quote from President Obama needs more context before I’m willing to judge it. Did he mean that the very concept of sin is based on his values, as the author seems to read him? Or was he saying something a bit more innocuous: that sin is when you do something inconsistent with your own values and beliefs?
This is a verbal exchange, so analyzing the words and grammar to death will not do. When you a speaking, you use the words that come to mind to express the unspoken thought. What matters is what was intended and nothing else. I do not know what the intent was, but I’m prepared to not assume the worst.