Sizing up the candidates from a biblical perspective
It came up as a point of contention in my "Vote with your brain" blog of the depth and sincerity of Obama's Christian faith over McCain's as evidenced by how much Obama talks about it versus how little McCain does.
There are several warning flags that must be raised before ever stepping on something as personal as ones faith.
First, we MUST make sure that we are not judging by mere appearances but make a right judgment. Jesus himself taught us to do this after people were reacting over things he said (or wasn't saying) (John 7). Let's make sure we don't make the same mistake by reacting to a sound bites here or there... but then how does one make a right judgment? Keep reading...
Secondly, we MUST be a wise as serpents, yet as innocent as doves. Jesus taught this in Matthew 10 when commissioning his disciples to go out into the world and influence it for good rather than be influenced by it. "Beware of men", Jesus said, and we need to heed those words now more than ever. We must not be naive and think that what we are hearing via the media outlets is an accurate rendering of the truth.
Reporters are people too with motives and biases that shade their perception of the facts. Long before this political season came along, surveys indicated that the media is heavily slanted in a liberal direction. We need to be wise enough to keep that in mind when listening to what they are saying/ reporting, especially with anything that touches on religion and politics. To not do so sets you up to be deceived.
Lastly, we MUST remember that we will know them by their fruit far more than by their rhetoric. Jesus said that we will be able to recognize false prophets by the fruit of their lives (Matthew 7). What do their actions say? When you look at Obama's and McCain's track record, anyone with eyes to see will realize that they are polar opposites. As such, it should not be hard for the discerning Christian to identify who is bearing the fruit of a Christian via their political positions and decisions and who is not.
There are 3 big tamales that help me separate the wheat from the chaff.
1. Pro-life vs pro-choice.
Jesus is for life (John 10:10). Heck, He is life (John 14:6). Can anyone in their right mind imagine Jesus endorsing the termination of an unwanted pregnancy or terminating the life of an "unwanted child". Jesus beckoned children to come to him and said that we should be like them (Matthew 19).
The verbal and voting record of McCain is FAR MORE pro-life than Obama's. In fact, Obama repeatedly voted against partial birth abortion and spoke against the Born Alive Infant Protection Act. Now McCain may not be as pro-life as they come, but he is far more protective of innocent unborn lives and the women who carry them than Obama is.
2. Pro-family/ marriage vs pro-homosexual.
Jesus is pro-family and pro-marriage (Mark 10:1-9). Heck, he created marriage and family, and defined it as between one man and one woman. He knows humanity. He knows how we are made and how we work. And he designed us to experience the most out of life in the context of a loving, providing family with a mom and a dad. Do we even need to argue this?
Again, the verbal and voting record of McCain is FAR MORE pro-family and pro-traditional marriage than Obama's. In fact, Obama opposes DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act) which undermines the most fundamental institution of any society on earth. McCain has been stalwart in defending and protecting parental rights and the institution of traditional marriage.
3. Freedom of speech (even unpopular speech) vs hate crimes/ suppression of speech.
Now, no one can say that Jesus was a pc kind of guy. He said his fair share of volatile things (John 6), but always in the name of truth and never to defame another person's name. In I Timothy 2, we are instructed by Paul to pray for a government that leaves Christians alone so that we can live out our faith without government intrusion which included spreading the gospel message that we are sinners in need of a Savior.
That message, in particular the sinner part, would be considered a hate crime and subject to fines and imprisonment if homosexuality is listed as a sin to repent and turn from. Obama voted to create the hate crimes prevention act which included sexual orientation. McCain has sought to protect American citizens to express their conscience and convictions without interference from the government. Since this issue so directly affects the gospel itself, it may be the issue that affects America more than any other.
Now, if you find my reporting of the candidates positions/ record suspect, feel free to check it for yourself. Google it or go to this website that has done the work for you. Barack Obama here... and John McCain here.
There are other issues out there: the war, poverty, the economy, but I picked 3 that I feel Jesus and the Scriptures provide a clear lens by which we can examine the fruit of one's life by. Life, Family, and Freedom. Can we conclude by this that Obama is not a Christian and McCain is. I wouldn't go that far. But it does clearly indicate, that McCain's fruit is in line with the teachings of Jesus, while Obama's fruit is not in keeping with the teachings of Jesus and will yield a harvest of unrighteousness in our land. And the Scriptures are clear...
"When the righteous triumph, there is great elation;
but when the wicked rise to power, men go into hiding." Proverbs 28:12
Comments
Here's something I've been pondering. It's not related to your blog...but what the heck...
As Christians, how political ought we to be? The only political thing Jesus ever said, that I can remember, was "render to Caesar what is Caesars, and render to God what is God's". I don't remember him expounding on the atrocities that the Roman's were committing. No doubt there were many. Nor did he push for laws to be made or overturned. Seems he had more important things to do. Maybe he would have gotten around to it eventually. (That last sentence is tongue in check.)
I guess the thing at the forefront of my mind is gay union. (For the sake of definitions, I'll call marriage a spiritual joining of two people. A union is how the government legally defines the relationship of those two people.) That's not how we traditionally define it, but isn't that accurate?
To avoid any confusion with what I'm about to write, I believe that homosexuality is a sin and that you can't make a rational Biblical case otherwise. As Christians, we must believe that gay marriage is wrong. Gay marriage is not righteous. There really is no possible occurrence of gay marriage, because a marriage is a spiritual phenomenon. Gay union is a possible occurrence.
I am also pro family. I have a terrific family and love it.
As Christians, should we push for gay unions to be illegal? Or should we be okay with it? Or, should we even support gay unions.
I'm leading towards saying that Christians should support the legalization of gay unions, though I'm definitely open to discussing it. Note that I said the "legalization of gay unions", not that we would promote the gay union as a good idea. But that they would at least have that option. Here's why:
I think we should be for the legalization of gay unions because I don't think Christians should push to make it illegal to sin. God gives us the freedom to sin, so shouldn't we extend that same freedom to other people? We can be against sin, but we shouldn't push to make it illegal. Give people the option. God's patience is meant to lead us to repentance. We might be trampling on that patience if we criminalize sin.
We really get worked up (publicly and politically) about gay marriage, but not about more damaging sins. We rarely campaign for only 1 God to be recognized by the government, but that's Ten Commandment Number Uno. We don't push for many commandments to be legally enforced. Why single out gay union?
Do we do it for the kids? For the kids that will be "harmed" by gay unions being legal? So many kids are in harmful households now, heterosexual households. Yet for the most part we don't seek to protect them. If we're attempting to make the biggest affect, to do the most good, get the most bang for out buck, there are better avenues to go down that will affect more people.
It seems to me that homosexuals would be much more open to the gospel if Christians didn't campaign so much against them politically.
For many homosexuals the only contact they have with Christians (where the Christians identify themselves as Christians) is when the Christian is telling them they're terrible and miserable and that we hate their lifestyle. And that they should never be able to have a union within their chosen lifestyle. We probably don't actually come out and say that in person, but on TV or in the news we do.
They don't hear that homosexuality is a sin that's on the same level as all my sins. That it has different consequences, but that God views all sin as sin. Not on different tiers. That we're no better than them. And that Christians don't view themselves as superior beings. Or at least that's what Jesus taught.
After all, Jesus cares more about our love for him then our obedience. If there is no love for God, our obedience is completely worthless. Useless. Vile even. In God's New Testament economy, obedience comes after a love for God, not first.
I'm not trying to slam anyone or past comments that have been made. It's just a topic that's been on my mind as of late and I thought I would introduce it for discussion. These are my "thoughts in progress" and I'd appreciate any comments you've got.
Posted by: Dan at October 13, 2008 04:11 PMI think it is also pertinent to look at their place of fellowship. This is currently the place they are being fed spiritually, and it can be where most of their convictions are built or fed. I've checked them out... but everyone reading this can do their own analysis:
McCain's Church: http://www.npbc.org
Obama's Church: http://www.tucc.org
Don't just look at the surface of the websites, but read their beliefs and what they put first. I think their actions are clearly reflective of their church's main belief systems.
Posted by: Holly at October 13, 2008 07:24 PM