Religion in politics is bad if you disagree with the war(s) that it gets you wrapped up into, but apparently it’s all fine and good if your man gets elected to the big chair.
Obama: He’s been sent by God! This kind of idolatry needs to stop, and Obama is the one that needs to make it stop.
It’s bad enough we have professed Christians in this nation who pray over the golden bull of Wall Street, but now we have a President-Elect who is getting a more messianic welcome from Christians than did Jesus Christ from His own brethren.
The thought makes me tremble, and I do not believe it to be an exaggeration to call it evidence of God’s judgment upon America.
Surely Obama is not blind to what people have said about him, about how he has been portrayed in the media. His reaction, or lack thereof, will be telling.
To my Christian brethren: Be careful not to get wrapped up into this sort of idolatrous behavior. In a world which draws us to adore celebrities, politicians, sports stars, and so on, you do well to keep your guard up.
Hi Rick –
I’ve read a lot of what you have contributed to the evolution of the Thesis theme – and think you’ve done a phenomenal job in helping LOTS of folks sort through some otherwise pretty thorny issues. Much appreciated!
That said – it amazes me how inflexible and sort of mythos minded so much of your personal theology is – somewhat shocking actually – and I think is reflective of a pretty shallow world view. I’m Jewish, not very religious – but certainly believe in some sort of higher power. But the thought that God had anything to do with Obama being elected president is not too much different than believing your football team won ( or lost) because your diety of choice was betting your way..:-)
(and quite frankly – the very same arguments that fundamentalists of ALL types and stripes use to motivate the mediocre minded masses to blindly follow dictates and mandates that are shallow guesses, at best )
You strike me a bright guy – I just think it’s telling that you commented on not knowing “many black people”…and that the folks you know are a bit racist, whether they may know it, or not.
I think if you open your mind to a bit of a wider window worldview, you might find you share more in common with that mindset – as articulated through your writing – than you might otherwise be aware.
Obama has no responsibility to tell the populous to knock him off his lofty perch – people blindly follow hope, Rick – wherever they find it – be it their politicians – or their dieties.
Love your WordPress pointers though..:-)
Best..:-)
ian: Thanks for commenting; always nice to meet a fellow Thesis fan! (Although, I probably already have met you on the Thesis boards!)
I realize that my worldview is narrow. I desire to shape my faith, my morals, my values upon the enduring words of Scripture — the Old & New Testament both testifying of a God who has determined the ending from the beginning, whose will is always fulfilled.
In light of that, I can confidently say that it was God’s will that during this election season, Americans would choose Barack Obama. It was God’s will that earlier today, you would visit this site. It is this sovereignty that assures me a prayer for “Your will be done” is not in vain, but is instead an affirmation of simply what is.
It is my determination that if God is not sovereign over the affairs of man, He is no god at all and is not worthy of my time.
And yeah, I don’t know many black people — my county is predominantly white — 97.6% according to the 2000 census. And for whatever reason, there’s plenty of latent racism among people in this county; I can assure you I am not a racist, not even a little bit. I’m not sure what I’ve written here which has led you to believe that I may share that mindset.
Again, thanks for visiting. Always great to hear from a “fan” — and to hear from people who might not agree with me (but are willing to be civil about it!).
It’s an interesting perspective, Rick – one I just happen to fundamentally disagree with..:-)
I didn’t, by the way – mean to infer your comments were racist, rather – any sort of exclusivity ownership as far as one definitive dogma being better than another, in my view – has the potential to be a slippery slope that ultimately ends in some form of discrimination.
It’s probably a conversation that ultimately finds itself very challenged within the confines of a comment box though..:-) I just happen to believe there is AMPLE room for a god we don’t fully understand, operating in ways that are abundantly unclear, that allows for all sorts of insignificant personal, micro and macro drama ( from me stopping by your blog – to world leaders being elected) to NOT be reflective of a choice made by a creator who has more skin invested in one outcome versus another.
I operate under the assumption that this god does exist in some form – probably very different than yours – or even the vigilantly comitted of my own faith, but I guess I believe that ultimately – the more inclusive we are of all people and their beliefs, the better off we are all going to be in the end. (hopefully I’ll have air conditioning whereever I end up..;-)
Please rest assured though – when it comes to matter of template tags and the like, your perspective is far more appreciated, and informed than mine..:-)
Rick, I understand where you are coming from. Everyone has their own point of view, and me being a Christian, I know. I don’t think people are racists, but I do believe religion plays a strong role. Religions hate on other religions. That’s just a fact. All religions think “their” religion is the way to go. It doesn’t matter if you are Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, and so on. It’s just that Obama’s view on certain things don’t go along with Christian’s views.
Hey Ian
I appreciate your feedback on both this post and the “why I voted for McCain” post. First, as Pat noted on the McCain post. Out here, that is, Tulsa, OK.. Christians bank everything on abortion, EVERYTHING while ignoring other significant issues. Even if we don’t agree or like or whatever, we can’t expect the Federal government to force people to live a lifestyle I approve.
Christians rant about children but don’t seem to be concerned about the 10s of thousands of kids that die daily because of poverty. Also, if life is good, among other reasons, I can not pledge my vote to a man or men that would freely send troops to war, we have to be consistent and we’re not. :(
McCain joked about more wars, bombing and so on, LIFE! We’re so quick to stand up for lives but that seems to change when it comes to war? Interesting.
We end up with these types of arguments, the logic presented is way off when people (not only Calvinists) bank everything on weather or not it or this or that was God’s will. Cmon folks…
Ian, I agree, you said “the very same arguments that fundamentalists of ALL types and stripes use to motivate the mediocre minded masses to blindly follow dictates and mandates that are shallow guesses, at best…”
When people blindly follow a certain doctrine, everything they see is seen through Calvinistic lens. Another discussion.
I’ve studied theology in the academic arena for the last 5 1/2 years and counting. I working on my MA. No hard feelings Rick, but when I read your comments and see your logic, as a Christian I find it disgusting, you have much to learn brother.
Anyhow, bro keep up the great work at the Thesis forms! Maybe you all should start video tutorials.
Jamie: You’re right about everyone think they are right in their own eyes. That’s the funny thing about truth; if it exists (and I believe it does and is preserved for us in the Scriptures), then by definition everything which is contrary to the truth is false.
It is not crazy but is rather a logical conclusion to believe that everyone who believes differently than you do is being deceived, duped, or otherwise smackledorfed.
Miguel Wickert: The issue of abortion will always trump the issue of an unjust war — at least until the casualties of war outnumber those of abortion.
The covenant God established with man after He judged the world with the flood included a very simple mandate: If you murder, you will be put to death.
The reason behind that is because man is made in the image of God. This is a religious reason, but in all honesty, there is only religious reason to forbid murder (one cannot look at the animal kingdom and deduce that murder is morally wrong, period).
The Scriptures are clear on two other issues as well: God forms us in the womb, and God hates those who shed innocent blood.
It doesn’t get any more innocent (and defenseless) than man while he is yet in the womb.
Scientists have established that a fetus is a living human being; what science cannot establish is at what point does the fetus acquire the same value as any other person. The question of value or importance is outside the realm of scientific study, and so it is left up to one’s personal worldviews to answer it.
Now, in America, we outlaw murder. The Constitution provides a guarantee of life, after all.
Because I believe a fetus bears the image of God and thus is as meaningful a human as I am, I believe abortion is murder, and I make no qualms about it.
Those who perform it or otherwise have their hands in it are guilty of manslaughter. Choice be damned.
But a great deal of people have been mentally duped by a philosophy which can establish no firm morality.
As a result, because a fetus cannot say for itself, “Please don’t crush my skull,” crushing a fetus’ skull must be perfectly fine — after all, the mother can say, “I don’t want this baby in me anymore.”
I’m not babysitting this site as much as I used to — been working on something better — and the comments in this thread have little to nothing to do with the idolatrous praise and adoration being given to Barack Obama (which is what the original blog post was about, after all), so I’m closing comments.
Abortion is murder.