How Can Christians Support Obama?

Of course this question is never asked by African American Christians, and I think Eric Redmond in this piece does a good job in explaining to white evangelicals how easily Black Christians can support Obama's candidacy, recognizing that white believers tend to see Christian political concerns centered mainly on the issues of abortion, homosexual marriage, and a nationalistic foreign policy dressed in the cloak of patriotism.

There certainly needs to be a far-reaching and honest discussion among Christians of all cultures as to what constitutes a biblically motivated policy agenda, and personally I think we can simply review the ethical, economic, moral, and judicial charges brought against ancient Israel by the Lord to understand what are his expectations of government leadership.

It's not too far of a stretch to say that the sum of Christian policy concerns should not stop at homosexual marriage and abortion. Indeed, even on these issues, there needs to be a strategic discussion of policy that goes beyond simply declaring these items as wrong or arguing for the proposed negative residual psychological effects of these actions. For example, if we want to see abortion become an antiquated relic of American history, will overturing Roe v. Wade deliver the societal transformation that the Christian community desires? Perhaps, if the church were able to connect anti-abortion concerns to a larger child-advocacy agenda, the social and cultural pressure can be applied against abortion that would lack the inflammatory tones that it has today, and actually make it a thing of the past.

With that said, let me underscore that I believe abortion is a grievous blight on our society, and conservatives and liberals of all ilks should agree that abortion, especially given the number of abortions performed annually in this country, is an indictment against our society.

Anyhow, check out Redmond's piece which does a good job of speaking to the underlying cultural and identity themes that really drive Black American's hope and expectations for Obama's candidacy.

Dobson's Attack on Obama

James Dobson leveled his guns on Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama this week accusing the Illinois senator of "deliberately distorting the traditional understanding of the Bible to support his own worldview and confused theology." Now there are a number of evangelical Christians who have given themselves over to the notion that Mr. Obama is a sinister figure with a secret agenda to set back American democracy and dilute our public understanding of the Christian faith. Dobson's comments are cut from that cloth.

I don't want to bias anyone, but I would encourage you to read Senator Obama's 2006 speech to the Call to Renewal conference for yourself and then listen to Mr. Dobson's...uh...reaction. Here are the links, then I'll make a few simple, indirect remarks...but you decide for yourself...

Link to Obama's Call to Renewal speech here...

Link to Dobson's response on his radio show, from OnePlace.com here...you'll have to first listen to a brief tribute to the late Tim Russert, the sterling NBC News political commentator and former host of Meet the Press.

Brief Comments

• First of all, the Call to Renewal is not a liberal church organization as implied by some. Jim Wallis, it's founder, is a social activist but also an evangelical. Moreover, though there are several liberal minded "Christians" who have signed on to the Call, there is a strong evangelical presence led by none other then J.I. Packer [do you think he knows his Bible?] and Steve Haynes of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship.


• The biggest concern I have with Dobson's comments is that it reveals that bias and prejudice can really distort our ability to follow common and plain reason. This is not only a threat to the American democratic experiment, but also serves as a major obstacle to reform efforts in the Church by raising the standard of biblical authority with clarity. If we can't read the bible (or a speech) and see the same thing...though we might disagree with the value of what is read...the hope for a sense of community among diversity is hopeless...


• Since, I don't think Dobson is a slow thinker, I can only believe that his politics has caused him to miss what is a fair and honest statement on the realities of cultural and religious plurality in the context of American democracy.

Enough from me...you read, listen, then decide...