Culture War . . .
and Peace
In 2006, President-elect Barack
Obama (then the Junior Senator from Illinois) spoke
to "Call to Renewal," a group of
"progressive Christians" formed in 1995
as an alternative to
fundamentalist groups. His speech has been highly praised
and highly criticized. He wasn't just speaking to
the people in front of him, but
to political liberals in general, and the Democratic party in particular.
He wanted to convince them that they could
embrace religious people and ideas.
It's no accident that this call came from a man whose
own faith experience is rooted in the black church. An
amazing number of the leaders of the civil rights
movement in America were Christian ministers, most
notably Martin Luther King. It is at least ironic that
so many present-day liberals have come to see
Christianity as the enemy of truth and enlightenment
while embracing the teachings of a Baptist preacher
(King).
Politically, the advantages of embracing believers
seems obvious. Most surveys show over 90% of Americans
believe in God. George W. Bush successfully targeted
Evangelical and Catholic voters in his two presidential
bids.
But I think then-Senator Obama wanted more than
another political tool. I think he felt genuine concern
at the open hostility he saw brewing between believers
and unbelievers. He spoke of the need to "tackle head-on
the mutual suspicion that sometimes exists between
religious America and secular America."
His speech revealed
fundamental misunderstandings of evangelical Christianity, the Bible, and biblical
inerrancy. He set up strawman versions of our views,
then mowed them down as if it were an accomplishment.
But he was trying to see and express our side.
Pray For
Him
We Christians — not just evangelicals, but everyone
who names the name of Christ — are getting hit these
days. In only a few years, we've gone from being seen as
respectable, to funny, to obstructionist, to dangerous.
And make no mistake, to be seen as dangerous
is dangerous.
If you are a Bible-believing Christian,
pray for President-elect Obama. He holds many
misconceptions about us, but I believe he stands against those who
want to wipe us from the face of the earth. (Outside of a
few radical Muslims, does anyone want to wipe us out?
Yes. Absolutely, without a doubt, yes. They're gathering
their forces, and ramping up their massive propaganda
machines. On this website in coming weeks, I hope to
show you some of it.)
I take President-elect Obama at his word when he says
he is a Christian, that he has accepted Christ into His
life, reads the Bible often, and prays constantly. Might
he be a Muslim in disguise? While it's not proof, on
January 20, 2009, it might be telling to look at the
book beneath his hand as he takes the oath of office. I
don't think you'll find a Koran there, but a Bible.
On the other hand, you may disagree. In fact, you may
think of him as evil incarnate. Even so, the Bible's
instruction remains the same:
Pray
for him . . . Pray
for him . . . Pray
for him.
Posted: 11-14-2008
Note: At original posting, all links were active.
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