Jesus Voted For Obama

If there are two things that bother me it’s racists and Arminians….  Ok just kidding there are a lot of Arminians that I love.  So what bothers me…hmmm we will call it racists and people whose functional savior is government.  Last night I had my first post election conversation with someone who is a believer (though it seems to me he might be worshiping something other than Christ) and a Christian in ministry no less. As it turned out he was near death with despair over our new president.  Our conversation reveled that he was both ignorant of issues of race and issues of scripture.  On the issue of race I will not even repeat the foolishness because he is young and I will hope he grows,  but needless to say it was foolish and reflected the reality that many young Christians have been so sheltered in the white, American ghetto of Christianity that they have no experience or understanding of how race affects what happens in our country.  Has no one taught them the concept that reconcilliation amongst men is a sign of the power of the gospel?

Not only that but he was ignorant it seems of the fact the God is in control.  We all say this,  but I find that so few of us live it.  I think the reason we do not live it is because  we not actually worship the God of the Bible but rather the god of Americanism.   I keep hearing people (people with bad eschatology, but people none the less) say that this is a sign of the end times, and acting as if Jesus has been thwarted. That is just a bunch of bunk!  Americans think like this because we long ago abandoned Jesus as our hope and his glory as our goal for the safety of a president who would legislate our comfort.  I want all you who are worried to hear this:  Barack Obama won because Jesus wanted him to.  God is soverign.  Votes are cute but really they only serve to convince silly men that they are in charge.  Barack Obama winning did not upend the plans of God.  His plans are his plans.  Now does this mean that Barack will be a great president?  No. He may be,  but he might just be awful,  he might destroy this country and all your worst fears might come true.  So then you ask why would Jesus allow Obama to be president?  Simple.  Jesus is not interested in  building a “government for the people, by the people…”,  he is building a Kingdom.  A Kingdom for him, and by him. His glory is the point.  And frankly God’s glory and bad government have a interesting way of dwelling together,  and if you doubt this ask the 1,000,000 people who come to Christ every month in China and India.  Democracy is ok government,  but if you place your trust in it you will see that it is bad math and bad theology.  Bad math because is seems to believe that the will of the masses has more power than the one who created it all.  Bad theology because it seems to believe that someone and something other that Jesus is in control.   And if Jesus is in control and he himself is our peace, who are we to live in fear if he should choose to build this nation up or if he should bring it low?  He will accomplish his purposes and if we trust him he has told us that his purposes are good.  Even if the goverment does not go our way history and the universe always go Jesus’ way.   In the first centruy the Christians were a minority who refused to give their honor to the empire..and many of them died,  and yet from the blood of the Martyrs came a witness that converted the world. I just can’t imagine first century Christians wringing their hands over the “election” of Nero in a great worry that he would destroy their nation.  In fact as I recall they refused to say “Ceasar is Lord”…when the heck will we?

Great Post Here

Black and Free…

This is not an endorsement of this video,  however when a person of color has a dissenting position it is proof that he is free and has escaped mental slavery that demands that to keep his “blackness” he must agree with the prevailing position of the national black leadership of the moment.

From Cedarville to Cedar Ridge to Barack to Hell Apparently

So I am not going to get into the whole actual issue in this Anti-Cedarville scribe…Because for one thing I really don’t care and for another…ummm, I guess there is no other reason. But I will point out his paragraph:

Claiborne’s book has a foreword by liberal political activist, Jim Wallis. While Cedarville’s Dean of Student Life (Purple) told Lighthouse Trails that Cedarville is “very conservative,” pointing students to a book that is partially written by Wallis seems to give a different message.

Now read in context the suggestion seems to be that if you are going to be Theologically conservative, you must be politically conservative. Does anyone else find that line of reasoning old? Trite? Stupid? I know I do. If Postmodern Christianity has it’s excesses (and it does, like an excess of things it’s ok to believe in as long as you aren’t really sure you believe them,) then this is a prime example of the problems of modernism, the confusion of the Kingdom of God with the Kingdom of man, and of conservative politics with Christian behavior. Because we all know what Jesus really wants from us is a tax break for the upper class….

A Little Disappointed in My Generation…

So if you know me (and most of you don’t) you know that I am anything but conservative in my politics…You also know I hate large mindless voting blocks (read evangelical republicans and African American democrats) who don’t really think, they just follow the masses and vote for who ever their leaders tell them to vote for. That said I can not at all get into all the love other Christ followers are showing Obama. I mean I love to hear the guy speak and wish I could vote for him, but this is a guy who supports partial birth abortion. I know, by the way, that abortion is not the only issue, but it is still an issue. I love the fact that young evangelicals are waking up to other social issues…we need too! But that does not mean that we abandon other postions where by some political fluke we happened to be right, and I find it hard to make a compelling argument for abortion from a Biblical position. To me this is a civil rights issue, unborn children need to be protected.

Right now I love Huckabee, especially when I hear people whine about how he is not really conservative…To which I say exactly!

On another note it disappoints me to hear all the racist rhetoric about immigration. Most of you got here somehow…and it was not because your family line began here on American soil…beyond that if you are a Christ follower, i think you have an obligation to put people before country. To me this is a justice issue. It makes me sad to hear Tom Tancredo and his ilk spouting stuff that sounds like it could come from the Klan. I think this country is becoming increasingly polarized and it is acceptable to say all kinds of racist things about Latinos and Hispanics and pretend like it is OK…it isn’t. In fact if we are to be the people of God then we are called above all else to be a people of reconciliation.

Oh well just late night rambling….