My question is IF you consider yourself a Christian, how do you justify voting for (pro-choice) Obama?
Let me start of by saying that I am willing to possibly lose respect from some or get flamed by some who may be offended by my question. I voted for McCain instead of Obama bcs of this analogy: If someone were to approach me and say, "I will kill your baby but, you can have the best health insurance, tax savings, better economy, better gas prices....and so on and so on". I would have stopped him at the 1st 5 words and demanded him to get out of my face. Why? because I consider myself a Christian that follows the word of God (Bible). I am not perfect and I am sure I fall short but before I became saved 7 yrs ago I called myself a Christian but did not walk the walk. Now I am about pleasing God and depending on God as my source and not a president as my source to the things I want in life. God will protect and take care of my desires because of my faith. I do not expect either candidate to be perfect but if one blatantly want to allow known sins then I can not support that. I admit that I am thrilled that the country is changing and color barriers are being broken but again as a Christian that does not precede God's word and commandments. I do not want to judge anyone and I certainly do not want to appear haughty but I want some honest replies. I really want to know if you feel that you just voted on either candidate bcs of race? Do you feel that the only way you can have your best life is based on who's president? Do you feel you pick and choose which parts of the bible have significance? Do you just believe in God/Jesus but are not interested in living it by his word? Click on comments below and help me to understand another perspective please. I will tell you in advance it will not change my mind but at least I will know.
p.s. I will surely pray for President Elect Obama and never express anger or bitterness about him being president. Everything is about love so my motto is always: love the person but not the sin.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
LinkWithin
Posts
Joy,
ReplyDeleteHi! I just stopped by the say that I do like Obama on so many different levels, but I chose not to vote for him because of his stand on abortion. I can deal with so many other topics, but not that. I feel that if someone is truly a Christian there would be no way they could vote for someone that can go against God (the thing he despises the most - hurting innocent children) and vote for someone to run our country and take more innocent lives. Just my 2 cents:)
J,
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you asked this question. I not only voted for Obama, I gave money and campaigned on his behalf. And I'm proud that I was a part of the process to elect the next president of the United States! But let me address your question before I get off topic.
Christianity is a multi-faceted religion that encompasses many factions and beliefs. Yes, Christians, from various groups, study the same Bible. But those Christians are people. And people have different ways of interpreting the same information. I know you will argue that there is only one Bible, but you can visit a different church everyday in America, listen to the same passage from the Bible being preached, and walk away with a completely different message from each sermon.
I consider myself a Christian. I also consider myself pro-choice. And while that may be a contradiction to you, to me, it captures the complexity that comes with being a human being. For you and many others, choosing a politician based on one issue (abortion) may seem like THE issue to base your choice on. In my opinion, it’s only one data point in the decision making process. If your interpretation of the Bible doesn’t allow for a pro-choice stance or supporting a candidate who does, I respect your choice. But I believe in religious freedom, which can be applied to other religions as well as within Christianity.
Choosing Barack Obama isn’t about selecting the first black president. And it’s also not about expecting a president to give me what I need. The universe provides that to me and when I pray, my thoughts are projected to God and not the person who happens to reside in the White House. I choose Obama because I value his perspective, his ability to motivate the masses, and his intelligence. And he’s also my choice because like him, I’m a Democrat.
I’m curious about something. So here’s my question for you. How can people be committed to fighting for the right for unborn children to be born, while simultaneously neglecting to ensure that those kids are healthy and properly educated? There are approximately 1.3 million abortions performed in the US each year. And while that is too high (the Democratic party is actively trying to reduce this number), there are almost 13 million children living in poverty (a family of four making less than $20,650/year). If you consider children from low-income families, the number would grow by 28 million. Now I won’t pontificate on the systemic reasons why these families are poor, the point here is this: these kids didn’t ask to be born into unfavorable sometimes downright deplorable situations. Shouldn’t we provide the best resources (i.e. a quality education) so they too will have a chance for success? This data point is one of the reasons why I could never side with John McCain or the Republican Party.
Overall, I try to live my life as a good person, being good to others. And yes, I fall short almost daily. So I doubt that you would believe that I’m “living by the word”. But I’m committed to doing what I believe is right, for me and the people I may impact along the way.
And don’t worry; I know I won’t change your mind. We haven’t talked about politics at all this year but I already knew your position. You are my sister after all. :o)
With love and respect,
deshana
You know everyone is saying that, but if you really call yourself a Christian, you would know that God is not going to hold him responsible for women killing their kids. They know right from wrong. The man was trying to become president and needed votes, he was honestly trying not to offend anyone so that they would vote for him. I'm so sick of people in this country always looking for somebody to take blame for the things they do. Like one lady I met was WHINING about how they should pass some bill where it is mandatory to teach abstinence and the use of contraception to children. I was thinking "what a sorry mother you are, those are your kids, you can't teach them, that's what you are here for." However, the new aged moms don't have time to fit their kids in their BUSY lives. Too inconvient, I guess. I was disgusted.
ReplyDeleteJoy,
ReplyDeleteSadly people only want to rely on the Bible when it is convenient or suites their purpose or goal. I think many were blinded to the truth in this election. I was very encouraged by your wisdom and trust that God is in control and is sovereign over all issues including our leaders. We must now move forward but never be shy about defending truth. The Bible teaches us not to stand by and allow others to sin. We should always speak the truth in love and that would not include saying things to get votes and hoping we would not offend. You are either for Jesus or against Jesus. The Bible says (revelation) you cannot be luke warm.
Becky and I wrote this together, miss you and wish you were here.
Melenie and Becky
Thanks everyone for your honesty. Here are a few of my thoughts in relation to yours:
ReplyDeleteTerri: I agree that he has some wonderful attributes.
Deshana:1.as it relates to "getting different meanings to the same message"= confusion and as a parent if I tell my child to sweep the floor, I only have 1 thing in mind and they can find out exactly what I mean if they desire to do it my way. 2.Q:"How can people be committed to fighting for the right for unborn children to be born, while simultaneously neglecting to ensure that those kids are healthy and properly educated?" A: God's word (BIBLE) is a book of promises and protection. Once people make a choice to live by it, they will find his promises of health, wealth, love and purpose. I can look at EVERY mistake I made in life and can find a correlating scripture that would have prevented me from falling.
Portia: I know he was trying not to offend anyone. Every adult should know that it is impossible to please everyone, so stand for something or fall for anything.
Melenie and Becky: I like your word blinded, but I look at it like this: People start to question their own values/beliefs when majority feels a different way. (miss you guys too!)
Final comments: I've been studying many aspects of the brain lately. One thing I have noticed is that when people choose to do something (right or wrong), we HAVE to justify it. In order for us to have peace about it we have to believe we are right.
I am a Christian and I voted for Obama. Obama is pro-"CHOICE" and I believe that God is the same. The Lord gives us guidelines, rules and commandments to follow and still He gives us the CHOICE to to follow His word or not.
ReplyDeleteI do not believe that abortion is the right thing to do, I think it's horrible and wrong, I think that women should consider adoption more often--but I cannot make decisions for others because they have choices to make for themselves.
That's just my two cents.