This is an off-the-cuff "rant"--take it for what it is.
Obama is President…so what?! I (reluctantly) voted for McCain (who I still say really didn't want to win based on his choice of Palin for VP and the way he ran his campaign), but I don't think this nation will now implode (or explode) because Obama is President. Even if he is a "secret Muslim" or a Socialist or the most liberal man who ever walked the face of this earth; even if he can't trace his ancestry back to Africa (whatever that's supposed to prove!) and is not really "black" at all (I wish the Radical Christian Right morons would just shut up and quit giving my Lord a bad name!! Do they even know what the Gospel is? I doubt it!!); anyway, even if Obama is the "anti-Christ", so what?! My life hasn't ended because my guy didn't win the White House.
Since when did we as "Christians" start believing that we had the "right" to...well...anything! Oh yeah...it's in our Constitution. So what?! Did the early Church have any "rights"? Well, yes they did, I guess; they had the right to be persecuted unto death! And they rejoiced!! The greatest growth in the Christian church came as Believers were faithful to Christ all the while being persecuted throughout the world (beginning in Judea, Samaria and unto the ends of the earth). And do we see anywhere in the NT where we, as Christians, are said to have any "rights" whatsoever?! Do we see in the NT a call for us to act like the most despicable people possible in our opposition to someone that we don't agree with?! Where in the NT are we called to despise individuals who don't agree with us? We are called to LOVE all people! EVERY HUMAN BEING has been made in the image of God and because of this EVERY HUMAN BEING deserves to be treated with integrity and respect (as God defines it)!!
This continued waste of time and energy decrying and fighting against this Political Monster of our Government (national as well as local) is really beginning to...aggravate me!! If "Christians" were as concerned with sharing the Gospel as they seem to be with creating a Sacral Society (which isn't the same as a "Gospel Society"--see Constantine and the Roman Empire), then much of our angst with the government would go away--because true Christians would vote according to godly principles and possibly even take office themselves. The goal of the Christian, however, should not be a (supposed) Christian government but sharing his faith and being used by the Spirit to help build the Kingdom of God! Christ never promised to us a Christian nation (until He returns, that is); what He promised us is that while we will be persecuted in this world (because His Kingdom is not of this world) He will never leave us nor forsake us; He promised that His grace is sufficient for us and that we can endure and even triumph in all things through His Spirit who strengthens us; He promised that all things work together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose; He promises that one day He will return! And then there will be a righteous rule over all the earth because only then will it be truly His rule.
Christ's Kingdom is a present reality (as those of you who have been following our Sermon on the Mount series have been shown); but it's a reality that is spiritual, not earthly. America is not the Kingdom of God...it never has been! The Church (the true Church made up of true Christians) is the Kingdom of God that is in this world but not of this world. It's hard to fathom the absurdity of calling America a "Christian" nation...as if Christ Himself has ever ruled this country. Sure, we should do our part to spread the gospel--but it's not by all the hate-mongering, political activism that seems to captivate our "Christian Leaders". Our hope is not in government but in Christ! We should be better students of the NT. The Apostles never called on us to be political activists (in the worst sense of the word); they called on us to live by faith and to share the Gospel hope that is within us. Our calling is to make disciples not governments (here or in Iraq!).
Obama is now President; and the world will not end because of it, not even America (and there is a difference no matter what Bill O'Reilly thinks!). I hope that we (those of us who call ourselves Christians) can get our eyes back on the ball, or as Paul says, "...forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call in Christ Jesus." Our goal should be to faithfully live out our lives as God's Children by the power of the indwelling Spirit; which is to say, honoring our Lord and Savior by living lives of love!
We who claim the name of Christ--who are we? Republicans? Democrats?...or Christians?! After all the mud-slinging and Political idolatry we've witnessed during this election (and past elections, of course), I'm not sure Christians even know what being a "Christian" means. All I can say is that Christ is my Messiah...not McCain, or Bush, or Reagan (don't shoot me!) or Clinton or Obama or this constitutional amendment or that law or this policy or...!
Thank God it's over!
18 comments:
Yes,
Thank God it's over!
Man, Jason!
That was a rant. Did you happen to read my blog today? And if so, did you write this before, or after you read my blog? I ask because, you touch down on the very essence of what I wrote. I wrote, we exist for God, and our responsibility is to go out and disciple as our one true purpose.
Your post was quite a bit longer than mine. And, I was not angry as much as disappointed and took it as a personal loss, after what I had been doing to promote McCain's campaign. I feel he did a farely good job with what he had to work with and against. The media was a 24/7 campaign ad. for Obama and against McCain. O.k., I'm over it! That's my rant. Oh, wait, over 90% of Obama's supporters bailed on the homosexual union beliefs of Obama.
Wow...that was quite a rant... enough exclamation points to keep me happy for months! Maybe even years...
Thanks for the post. It was rather rant-y, but nevertheless, it was excellent. It's nice to get a breath of fresh air once in a while. :D
Jim,
No...my rant was spurred by comments I keep hearing Christians make that seem to suggest that if you are a Christian you must vote a certain way. And since God is a Republican, of course, a Christian must vote for whoever the Republican candidate happens to be.
Personally, I'm far more comfortable with the idea of McCain as President...but that doesn't mean that I hate Obama, or that I think Obama is the anti-Christ in disguise. I think Obama has a lot of good policy ideas and I'm excited to see how he governs this nation. I disagree with him over certain things (primarily his pro-choice stance), but that doesn't mean that he's going to destroy this country. Come on...that's just a bunch of fear-mongering that has no place in the Christian vocabulary.
Obama claims to be a Christian (his pro-choice stance not withstanding); let's give him the benefit of the doubt instead of labeling him as some Osama Bin Laden groupie, or a secret "Muslim" agent who is going to install Sharia law in this country--give me a break!
Sometimes I think conservative talk show hosts and the religious right are, at best, simply giving in to their own fear and not trusting God to work all things for good to those who love Him regardless of who wins these things (which, of course, is ultimately in God's hands anyway), or they're simply flat-out liars who betray their lack of faith by putting their hope in the government and doing whatever they can to see their "man" win regardless of how it negatively reflects on Christ. We just don't need this in the Church or in the country.
Oops...another rant. This time you DID bring it on! :-)
Thanks Jim! :-)
Thanks Abbey,
I thought you might notice!! :-)
I wanted to make sure that people understood my...exasperation?...exacerbation?...aggravation?...agitation?...provocation...perturbation?...vexation...irritation?...irrigation? (oops, how'd that get in there?)...umm, I guess that's all.
Do you think it worked? I could re-write it and throw in a few more !! if you think it would help convey my annoyance...with people's arrogance...which is a nuisance...causing an exuberance...which leads to an abundance of...exclamation points! :-)
Thanks for reading!! Sorry, I couldn't resist a couple more.
See 'ya tonight?!
jj
GGM,
I don't think Christian's or God are to be Republican. I do think that Christians ought to vote their morals. And, I can honestly say, without a doubt and McDonald's cups in your face in Sunday School that a lot of 'so called' Christians voted for Obama in the church I go to.
Now, the McDonald's boycot is over. But, at the time, their were people in Sunday School class demonstrating their support for the culture war and McDonald's role in the Homosexual agenda.
It is in a way, fear mongoring to tell someone they stand a pretty good chance of not being on the Lord's side in casting a vote for Obama.
And, for those who are not Christians, what are they thinking? McCain launched an ad describing the illegal activity and misappropriated funds from the Illinoise State Treasury tha Obama gave friends and family. Obama, the guy the Dems want to be their President, will pretend to be a friend to Israel, and say exactly the opposite to another foreign contact. I don't really want to see what he is going to ignite in Israel. I've got a lot of stuff to raddle on about concerning Obama. But, it will not change anything. I'm just stating some things I find difficult to find understanding in when considering Obama's supporter's values.
I understand that there are many "moral" issues that can legitimately direct a person's conscience when voting for President or Congressman or whatever. And I think it is a good thing to vote your conscience...as long as your conscience is well-informed.
My gripe is the falsehoods and flat-out lies that BOTH campaigns engaged in. And my main gripe is the falsehoods and flat-out lies that "conservative" Christian organizations engaged in. It's one thing to promote your own canditate of choice, but it's quite another to assassinate the character and misrepresent the policies of the other candidate.
I just feel that the Christian community at large places far too much energy into trying to "fix" what they think is wrong in the government instead of witnessing to their neighbors and their neighbors' neighbors...etc. This is truly the way to "change" this country--not succumbing to mud-slinging and fear-mongering.
If a person's conscience is well-informed, then whoever he votes for is the "right" choice. If a person's conscience is directed only by Rush Limbaugh, James Dobson, Sean Hannity, et al, then he is simply contributing to the ignorance that plagues our society. And this is true of BOTH major parties, not just the Republicans.
Thanks Jim
Hey,
I left a message for you on my blog to expound on my 'benefit' idea.
Jason,
Yes, I understand what it is your gripe is. It is mine as well. I heard things I just could not believe the other side had the audacity to say about the other. I've been well informed. One way to do that is spend about five hours a week in Comcast political fourum. So, I've heard from both sides continually. And, even after the election is over, at least until Monday you can hear it too.
So, I still say, I can not understand what it is that made so many people ignore common sense and morality. But, I get your point.
This is an off-the-cuff "rant"--take it for what it is.
Obama is President…so what?! I (reluctantly) voted for McCain (who I still say really didn't want to win based on his choice of Palin for VP and the way he ran his campaign), but I don't think this nation will now implode (or explode) because Obama is President. Even if he is a "secret Muslim" or a Socialist or the most liberal man who ever walked the face of this earth; even if he can't trace his ancestry back to Africa (whatever that's supposed to prove!) and is not really "black" at all (I wish the Radical Christian Right morons would just shut up and quit giving my Lord a bad name!! Do they even know what the Gospel is? I doubt it!!); anyway, even if Obama is the "anti-Christ", so what?! My life hasn't ended because my guy didn't win the White House.
I think we have quite a bit of agreement, and I discussed related on the satire blog.
Jason, while I do agree that the world will not end just because Obama is president, his election will almost certainly have negative ramifications for Christians in this country. His friendliness toward abortion and gays is likely to change the face of the Supreme Court, in a way that will negatively affect the entire nation.
There is no doubt in my mind that this is a nation founded by Christians. It's not Jesus' nation, nor should it be, but since I agree with the principles on which the USA was founded, I do not want to see it stray away from them.
Rush and rest of the conservative extremists aside, all you need to do is read the official platforms of the Democratic and Republican parties, available on their respective websites. Having read both, I cannot say that a Christian can only be Republican, but I can honestly say (and this may cause me some backlash) that no real Christian can support the Democrats and have a clear conscience.
I think the conservatives have one very important thing right: we need to steer the Republican party back to traditional conservatism (i.e. the principles that our country was founded on, which are based on the Bible).
Thanks Greg,
I appreciate your input.
"but I can honestly say (and this may cause me some backlash) that no real Christian can support the Democrats and have a clear conscience."
Of course, many would disagree with you on this point.
My friend Bob Robinson at Vangaurd Church has some good material on all of this. He's had a running "comment" dialogue with Byron Harvey on the post "Reasons why Evangelicals should vote for Obama" (as well as other posts) that was an interesting read. Just go to my sidebar and click on Vangaurd Church and you'll find it. I think you would enjoy reading the post and the dialogue.
Thanks again!
Jason
By the way, for Greg and anyone else. If you check out the blog at Vangaurd Church, I encourage you to search for his posts on Shalom and the Gospel. I really appreciate Bob's efforts in this area as well.
Hi Jason,
Here is a blogger for you to check out. His name is Yung Suk Kim - click here to visit.
Check out the article in his profile about Paul's Theology.
Jim
Thanks Jim,
I was able to quickly scan some of his material and it looks pretty good. I'll spend more time with him later.
Jason,
Yung Suke Kim's blog will no longer accept comments.
However, I have a new blogger friend whom will be ready for some serious blogging when she returns home in about a week.
Her name is Patricia Hickman -click her to go to her blog
Also, you may be interested to know what the media is saying nothing about. That is, a writ was handed down from the United States Supreme Court, mandating that Barak Obama provide a vaulted copy of his birth certificate by Dec. 1, 2008. This is not the same one that was dismissed for lack of standing. This has nothing to do with Berg. His petition was denied. However, the Supreme court wants answers.
Go to Talk Wisdom and talk to Christine about it
Hi Jason,
Here is a blog I think you are already familiar with. However, I have asked if Kermit - the thinking frog would like to network. Kermit says that 'Kermit' is interested in linking with General Population and not only Christians.
Jim
Thanks Jim,
I'll check Kermit out shortly.
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