I had gotten into a bit of a discussion about Obama with an old friend of mine (Ken Jones) on Face Book One of my biggest fears with Obama is "Will he really up hold this county's Christian Values and moral standards?" My fear contrary to what some of you who read my blogs think is not "race" based I question Obama's believe system that is really my only fear of the man. (Well that and there is no way in hell we are going to be able to pay for his health care plan.) But thats another can of worms. Any way my question to Ken was this: "Do you really think that Obama will up hold this country's Christian values?"
For the record Ken is a Seventh-day Adventist so his view is of course from that of an Adventist.
And so a direct quote from Ken's replies on the topic of "Will Obama up hold this country's Christian Values."
Hey, re-read my post, I never said "you" or certainly wasn't attacking you, I was talking about the various fear based "talking points" that have been rolled out by the Republican machine. I certainly respect your opinion and your willingness to keep an open mind, so let me address your core question. How can a Christian, or furthermore an SDA, vote Democratic? I've given this a lot of thought personally, and I have a couple of opinions. 1) Neither party provides a completely compatible platform for SDA's, to me, our beliefs would most accurately line up with that of a conservative democrat or a liberal republican. I personally could be classed as either one.
My problem with the Republicans is that as an SDA we tend to value highly the separation of church and state, (or as some say, church and hate, lol). The GOP right loves to blur this line, by trying to legislate things I don't believe support the example Jesus left at all. The whole mix of the flag, our founding fathers, and Jesus is very uncomfortable if you really look at how our country was founded. Was it really some mandate from God? Built on the backs of slaves and stolen from the Native Americans?? But I digress....lets just say that the way Jesus chose to become a CHANGE agent did not involve legislation or working with the politicians of the day. He showed general disdain for these political structures, actually.
2) SDA's support LIFE. This makes the abortion stance of the Dems incompatible, no doubt. By the same token, the abortion issue is not the only flagrant disregard for the sanctity of life. The way the Repubs tend to be war hawkish, to be ready to send troops into harms way with little regard for diplomacy or their being a just cause is definately troubling for me! The Repubs tend to have this nationalistic flair that smacks of the Ugly American other countries loathe. The unilateral attitude sucks and won't work in this complicated world. We need allies!
....and this means more than just trying to buy or strong arm cooperation. This for us or against us crap! THAT is not diplomacy, but those overtones continue to reverberate through the GOP. Again, I digress...my point is the death tolls from a pointless and unjust war in Iraq I find hard to stomach. And I'm not just talking about American lives. I'm talking about Iraqi children whose daddies are not coming home, needless casualties. If we go to war, it needs to be for cause, for a just cause. Repubs carry that "the poor are usually that way b/c they're lazy" mentality. The Bible is clear about how a just society should treat the poor. I'm a social worker. I know what welfare pays. I talk to people all the time who have to choose between accepting welfare for their children, or fighting through barriers to land a min. wage job which won't even pay for daycare and food, so they make a "business decision," and stay on welfare so that they can spend time with their kids and scrape by. Is the system abused at times? Sure. But while we're talking about abused systems, shall we compare to the system which led to this billion dollar bailout?? At least when people abuse welfare, it doesn't lead to economic collapse!! But the Repubs don't want to make that comparison....Basically, I find the religious right extremely hypocritical, and most of the time I'm embarrassed by the way the misrepresent the Jesus I love. So here's my shocking statement.
I believe Jesus would be a Democrat!!! He was a liberal to the leaders of his day! He was definately not a conservative! He wrecked their traditions, hung out with pimps and hoes, partied with sinners and those who's sexual identity didnt sit well with the religious elite, He plucked grain on the Sabbath, and healed in the temple. These acts were heresy to the religious right of the day! He was a radical. Plain and simple.
And we haven't even talked about his treatment of the poor. It definitely wasn't an attitude of economic Darwinism. So my point is, from a Christian standpoint, I have NEVER understood the so many SDA's completely back a party which one day will be behind the total erosion of separation of church and state. There is a natural tension for SDA's in either party. We are faced with a decision between the lesser of two evils. I can be a pro-life Democrat, which is the position I've chosen because to me pro-life also means how we treat the less fortunate.
As for your Obama's comment about spreading the wealth, which was way taken out of context, I would only ask Christians to consider the early church in the book of Acts, where the people sold all and gave it to the apostles, who redistributed to all so that noone was wanting. Noone wants to talk about that, b/c it sounds like the S word, and we all know that Jesus founded this country on Capitalism, didn't He? Or is capitalism even Biblical??
Ken thank you very much for your point of view and your insight on Obama. You made a very clear point here I don't know that you will sway my vote by this but it was a good point none the less.
Disclaimer: I have not been a practicing Christian of any kind for MANY years to many to count really (although I have been to church more in the last year then I have in the last 15 years.... Thanks to Amy Kreismanis) well and maybe a Godly power :)
with that said though I do believe that it is important for Christians to have a voice in the country and I am just scared that "Christians" are losing the fight. And I really believe that we DO need the Christian point of view.
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