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Friday, November 07, 2008

Obama won... because conservative Christians prostituted their principles

I originally had much more to say about this, but I'm going to dispense with the flowery rhetoric and cut to the heart of the matter...

The so-called "evangelical conservative Christians" had damned well better look in a mirror if they want to see who is most responsible for Barack Obama winning the race for President on Tuesday.

And now there is no reason to be angry, and no rationale for "blaming God" for Obama's victory, as I have seen too many Christians seriously doing. God had nothing to do with Obama winning. If anything, He let the people of America have what they wanted... and He absolutely played fair with many of those who profess Him as Lord.

"Christian conservatives" paved the way to Obama's historic win because they sold out their values for sake of worldly power.

People like James Dobson and the Focus on the Family crowd: they are the some of the ones most at fault. So too are many of the "preachers" that I have read and found myself listening to on the radio (like WPIP and Ron Baity of Berean Baptist Church out of Winston-Salem). They decided long ago that reaching the lost of this world wasn't their biggest priority. Instead they wanted to "sit at the king's table". Websites like Free Republic (yeah I'm looking at you Jim Robinson, ya first-order hypocrite) became too fixated on obtaining power. They lusted for the power they thought they could have so much, that they didn't bother to ask themselves if they should have had it to begin with. And still others, like Presidential Prayer Team, turned the office of President into a high priesthood of material might: something that would have horrified the Founding Fathers. So it is that in the past eight years George W. Bush - a man of weak character and no sincere Christ-like qualities - became such a paragon of virtue that it became on par with blasphemy to object to his "wisdom".

These and many others became so obsessed with destroying the enemy (like "liberals") that they became the enemy.

They rejected the God of Heaven and instead chose to worship a god of fortresses. They, quite honestly, chose the god of this world and what he was offering them.

They chose against putting their faith in the God of Jesus Christ.

That's not to make a judgment against Obama's spiritual condition at all. But because of the spiritual condition of many of his enemies, Barack Obama is now going to be their President.

They brought this on themselves. And if they have any shred of conscience, the self-proclaimed "Christian leaders" like James Dobson and Pat Roberton and their ilk will stop looking for excuses and already trying to regain power in 2012, and turn their own hearts toward repentance instead. Not for sake of temporal advantage, but purely because they desire God's will... without trying to bend Him to their wishes.

Pastor Chuck Baldwin also has similar sentiments about his fellow Christians...

Across the country, rather than stand on principle, hundreds of thousands of pastors, Christians, and pro-life conservatives capitulated and groveled before John McCain's neocon agenda. In doing so, they forfeited any claim to truth, and they abandoned any and all fidelity to constitutional government. They should rip the stories of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego out of their Bibles. They should never again tell their children, parishioners, and radio audiences the importance of standing for truth and principle. They have made a mockery of Christian virtue. No wonder a majority of the voting electorate laughs at us Christians. No wonder the GOP crashed and burned last Tuesday.

Again, it wasn't Barack Obama who destroyed conservatism; it was George W. Bush, John McCain, and the millions of evangelical Christians who supported them. And until conservatives find their backbone and their convictions, they deserve to remain a burnt-out, has-been political force. They have no one to blame but themselves.

Click here for more of Baldwin's thoughts.

I have said it many times over the past several months: there is no faith to be had in politics. The Christians of this land would do well to understand that, if they want there to be anything of America at all to bestow to their children.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Interesting interview with former Republican Congressman Mickey Edwards on Fresh Air yesterday, combined with other news recently that the GOP is fracturing (fractured) into the social conservatives and fiscal conservatives. One of the main topics for discussion in the interview was "pandering to the Joe the Plumber's", in other words transforming the GOP to try to appeal to the less educated in our society.

How does this relate to your post? Seems to me that many (particularly tv and radio) evangelists preach obedience to the church's teachings (even when they have little/no relation to the teachings of Jesus) and abhorrence of the "educated class" as being elite atheists looking to disprove God's existence. The Christian church before protestantism was a tool for keeping the flock in line, to the level of insisting on the sermons being given in Latin, many would argue so that the congregation wouldn't know that Jesus taught that the greed and abuse of their landlords was a sin.

But then I'm no religious scholar...

Years ago, a friend gave me the English translation of the Teachings of Buddha (as translated from the Japanese. He nicked the book from a hotel in SoCal when he was on a business trip.) While the teachings are interesting (summary: life sucks, live with it, enlightenment through suffering and sacrifice) it also falls prey to the "why get yourself an education and pull yourself up by your bootstraps?" Feh.

Anonymous said...

Oh, and one other thing...How does this quest for power relate to the "End of Days" oft. talked about? I have heard rumor, particularly from Hagee and his ilk, that the end is nigh and that he and perhaps others are seeking the helm so they can help things along?

Chris Knight said...

Hey folks, the above comments were made by ANOTHER Chris Knight, not me (the guy who runs THIS blog). But my counterpart is indeed a cool cat (even though his URL is hotcat.org :-)

And Chris, I think you're probably more right than you know. The "evangelicals" have tended to be a, well, "dumbed-down" bunch over the past 30 years or so. Almost as if they've been ENCOURAGED not to engage the minds that God gave them. I lost some votes when I ran for school board 2 years ago because some people that I knew simply voted straight Republican, which cost me and no doubt some others 'cuz school board is a non-partisan election.

The Founders NEVER intended this country to be turned over to mind-numbed robots who do whatever their pastors tell them to do (and that's not necessarily a swipe at ALL pastors either, mind ya). John Adams said it best: the Constitution is for a virtuous people. But how can there be any virtue at all when it is not virtue arrived at by personal conscience. When in fact, many people AVOID confronting their conscience in life by striving for blind "obedience"?

Maybe this country is dying because the people who are considered the most "virtuous" have refused to die unto themselves.

And so far as Hagee and the other "pre-trib rapture" fanatics go: they've ALWAYS been trying to "help along" the Second Coming. I won't deny that I used to belong to that mindset too, but only because I hadn't taken a good HARD look at what it really entailed.

It is the worst kind of vanity to assume that God requires our earthly assistance to do anything. If that kind of pride is not enough reason for God to have "abandoned His conservative following", then I don't know what might be.

Now I hold to this: I do believe that Jesus Christ will come again, EXACTLY as it is written in the Bible. But at the same time, His return will be UNLIKE ANYTHING that we have ever imagined.

Anonymous said...

Posted by Jim Robinson on Free Republic

Notice: Free Republic IS and will remain a pro-Life & Liberty Web site

They dont call him RimJob for nothing. The man is full of $h*t. He will never own up, to the damage he did to Conservatism.

Anonymous said...

I have to disagree with you for once Chris. The christians are mose definately not to blame for Osama .. I mean Obama won due to the black vote and the vote of single liberal women (aka Hilary supporters) and I'm sure due in part to Acorn registering people to vote illegally. Most of the evangelical vote went to McCain, thank the Lord. Most of the people in my age bracket voted Obama as well, so that's how he got elected.

Anonymous said...

Good Lord !! What a bunch of mumbo jumbo you people spout. Obama won because people are loosing their jobs. Very few voters are involved in this religious minutiae you agonize over.

Anonymous said...

I hate to tell you anonymous but you meant "losing" and I lost my job this year and am currently collecting unemployment and looking for another job. I voted McCain/Palin, so no that's not why people voted for Obama. The people that voted for Barack Obama have to be the most ignorant people because the man's a practical terrorist and is just plain un-American in every way. George Bush is not the greatest president, but he's not the idiot people make him out to be. Would any of you have preferred John Kerry or Al Gore to be handling the war or the 9/11 tragedy? I know I would still pick Bush.

Anonymous said...

How are you trying to reach the lost of the world and for what?

Chris Knight said...

The above comment came from the Winston-Salem area. Parse that as you will, y'all...

And to answer the question: I try to demonstrate Christ and His love in everything that I do. Admittedly, I fail... a LOT. But my motive is still for His sake. Instead of trying to use Him for my own.

And if you are who I think you are, you and your church worship your own IDEA of Christ. You don't sincerely seek Christ and what He REALLY is at all. You have made "Conservatism" your god. I hear it every time I listen to your radio station.

"Conservatism" does not save anyone. It is as impotent as "Liberalism" in demonstrating the love and grace of God.

There are "churches" in this world that exist only to wield power over others. I deduce that your own is one of them.

So how are YOU seriously reaching the lost of this world, and why?

Anonymous said...

A few quick thoughts:

1. Blacks voted for Obama only 7% more than they voted for Kerry in 2004. Obama made gains larger than that among many other groups, such as young voters and Latinos.

2. Obama leads McCain in the popular vote by 8,000,000. Trying to blame this on "fraudulent voter registrations" and ACORN is silly and ignorant.

3. I don't believe that the religious right cost McCain the election, or have even burned the Republican party as badly as many now say. (Although I agree wholeheartedly with the view that the most powerful way for Christians to transform the world is to follow Christ's example, and reject the notion of seeking temporal power.)

One of the major reasons McCain lost was all the namecalling and fearmongering. People are sick of it. They genuinely do want a change from the past 8 years. Who can blame them?

At any rate, Romans 13: 1-2 says:

13:1 Every person must be subject to the governing authorities, for no authority exists except by God's permission. The existing authorities have been established by God,

13:2 so that whoever resists the authorities opposes what God has established, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.

Something worth thinking about.

Chris Knight said...

JP,
I've got an answer for ya, that may or may not blow your mind (but as best I understand it, it's the truth)...

13:1 Every person must be subject to the governing authorities, for no authority exists except by God's permission. The existing authorities have been established by God,

13:2 so that whoever resists the authorities opposes what God has established, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.


Ask yourself this, JP: who exactly is "the authority" in America.

It's not the President. It's not Congress. It's not the Supreme Court.

In fact, it's no elected official at all.

The authority in America that is "over us", is We The People.

Go read the Constitution. It's right there, written in ink for all the ages to behold.

America might be unique among all the nations in history, because there was never supposed to have been a king or some other sovereign ruler over her. From the very beginning, the Founders intended for her people to govern themselves.

The President? As Theodore Roosevelt said, he (or she) is merely the most important public servant among a body of servants. In fact, Teddy Roosevelt outright condemned worshiping the President as some kind of absolute "ruler".

So it is that as much as I pray for those in elected office, I pray more for the people of this land, that they might earnestly seek that wisdom which is necessary to govern themselves, per the charter of our nation.

Without that, there is no America anymore at all.

Anonymous said...

Obama did recieve 89% of the black vote and I think ACORN only played a small part. Obama won because people are blaming all of today's problems on Bush and because McCain is Republican they associate him with Bush, therefor associating him with all the current problems with the economy, jobs, gas prices, war ect.
Obama has NO experience and Sarah Palin is more qualified than he is. He took thousands of dollars worth of campaign money from KNOWN terrorists. You know Obama's lying? WHEN HIS MOUTH OPENS AND HE SPEAKS. McCain and Obama ads were negative and a study done by CNN ( a liberal new channel) showed that Obama ads were 30% more negative than McCain ads.
And trying to question someones morals, beliefs, and how and when they witness to the lost is really none of your business "anonymous." I have known Chris to be an outstanding man that has done nothing but try to live his life for the Lord. We Christians need to focus on helping and building each other up, not tearing each other down.

Anonymous said...

"It is the worst kind of vanity to assume that God requires our earthly assistance to do anything. If that kind of pride is not enough reason for God to have 'abandoned His conservative following', then I don't know what might be."

Wise words.