We all know who won the presidential election and if you read my previous post you know how I feel about it. Over the past few days, I've had time to think about it.
- Although I have strong feelings about Obama being president of our nation, God's word tells us to pray for our national leaders, so that is what I am doing and going to continue to do.
- I also believe that God's word tells us that He puts our national leaders into place for a reason. So, I am trusting God, not man. I just pray that Obama's heart is open to receive from God and then act.
- I'm really sad how our state (Michigan) and country are voting for ungodly values and morals like embryonic stem cell research and legalized marijuana for medicinal purposes. The second one I'm sort of torn about because I think if marijuana can help ease pain and such, then why not. But, when I look at the statistics from other states that have already legalized it, I don't think it's a good idea. There have been increases in robberies and thefts, murders and so on.
- It also concerns me that the road this nation is heading down with its ungodliness and immorality that we will no longer be able to say "God bless America". I truly believe the reason God has blessed America is because we built this nation "under God". He's been our covering, our protection. If we take God out of our nation like we have our schools and other public places, He will no longer bless us or protect us. Look at Sodom and Gomorrah in the bible. Those cities became so immoral and Godless that God destroyed them. Think about it people.
- If people don't like what I'm saying or how I feel, well I'm sorry. I'm not sorry for saying it or feeling it, but I'm sorry for you and our nation. I will be praying. This nation needs to turn back to God and our leader needs to be led by God.
Good post. I'll bite. :-) I'll just run down your bulletpoints in order.
ReplyDelete1. No quarrel on this one.
2. No quarrel on this one either. I believe all the Presidents in my lifetime have turned to God in prayer. I don't see any evidence to the contrary w/Obama.
3. Stem cell research is a hot button for sure. What about unused in vitro embryos? A great many would be destroyed anyway. Is that destruction as abhorrent to you as stem cell research? I'm kind of agnostic on the stem cell issue, so I'm not baiting you here, just curious (this goes for you, too, Jeff). Also, you reference statistics that indicate increases in violent crime being linked to medicinal marijuana legalization. This doesn't jive with my experiences living in one of the states that passed medicinal marijuana laws. I'd love to read your source, if you've got it handy.
4. (deep breath) Okay, I'm going to break this point into a few subpoints and take them one at a time.
4.1 First of all, under what circumstances exactly would we "no longer be able to say, "God Bless America""? I'm not following you here at all. Would we be unable to form the words with our mouths? I honestly don't understand what you're saying here.
4.2 When you envision the blessing that God has bestowed upon America, what exactly do you see? Is it our ability to consume more of the worlds resources than could reasonably be expected of our population? But that leaves other Christians, our brothers and sisters in Christ, lacking basic necessities. Is that right? Could God love some Christians more than others? (I suspect He can, but that's another theological discussion) Maybe you've got another kind of blessing in mind. I'd love to know what it is. (as much as it sounds like I'm being cynical here, I'm not...I REALLY want to know)
4.3 How exactly has God been "our covering, our protection"? What didn't/doesn't happen because of God's protection? Does God protect other nations? Only some? How does He choose? And now the U.S. is in danger of losing this protection from God unless we....what? Start doing something? Stop doing something? This makes God sound like a Divine Gangster running a protection racket. Doesn't sound anything like the God I know. In fact, it sounds suspiciously like the wrathful God of the Old Testament, except we're lacking an Abraham/Moses figure (please don't say "President Bush!"). And what about Jesus? Where's He fit into this whole discussion?
4.4 Sodom and Gomorrah. Really? I thought God couldn't find 10 righteous people in those cities, and that was their downfall. Sometimes folks (I'm not suggesting you) like to take some parts of the Bible literally, and some parts not so literally. I always get confused which parts are which. Anyway this seems like one of 'em. (Was that confusing? Welcome aboard.)
5. No quarrel. Though I obviously disagree, I absolutely respect your point of view, and your right to articulate it on your blog and elsewhere (one of the great things about the USA...maybe that's one of the blessings you hinted at).
Jesus didn't die for the sins of a particular nation. You know that. The love of Christ stands wholly apart from nationalities, creeds, and orientations. You know that, too. Having a pledge of allegience that talks about "one nation under God" doesn't somehow make God sit up and take notice of the U.S. There's no magic involved--we can't simply pull God's strings and expect Him to behave as we wish. It's just people caring for one another, in Christ's name. As Christians, we're all called to serve as the hands and feet of Christ. To care for one another as we'd wish ourselves to be cared for. Maybe some nations have greater populations of Christians than other nations. I'm not convinced that God will favor one nation over another, when they've all got His people in them. The "us vs. them" mentality has got to stop otherwise it'll always be blocking our ability to care for others.
That last sentence is the #2 reason why I voted for Obama, actually. I know that his statement about he'd be willing to sit down with our national enemies and have talks without preconditions totally freaks some people out. I hope he can pull it off, but I know that along the way he'll screw it up. He's human and things change, and that's how it goes. Obama's no savior any more than our system of democracy is the Ultimate Answer to political systems. But like democracy, he's the best available option.
Mary, thanks for allowing the damn left coast liberal brother-in-law to harangue you on your own blog. I hope you're having as much fun as I am!
I'll have to print this out and respond as a post on my blog. There are some things that I disagree about with Mary and with you. Although, I think that my post will link back to other posts.
ReplyDeleteThanks Mary & Brendon both for getting the wheels turning over here. :)
ReplyDeleteHmmmm . . . a lot to think about here. Nothing below should be construed as a personal attack, everyone is entitled to their own opinion and I am far from perfect myself and I don't claim to have answers to any questions I pose, but I'll toss in a few things in response.
ReplyDelete"God Bless America" is an interesting statement that always irks me. Why must God only bless America? Shouldn't we say, "God Bless the World?" It may seem like a minor point, but I always see this as a bit self righteous and self centered.
In regard to this, was God smiling and lauding his blessings upon America as the leaders of our country pretty much wiped out an entire race of people (native Americans), enslaved African Americans, withheld the right to vote to those who did not own land, and practically enslaved an entire generation of people for the age of industrialization to take place? If you have not read "A People's History of the U.S." by Howard Zinn I would highly recommend it.
History is too often told from the perspective of those in power and I am afraid most Americans have an extremely naive view of how this "great" country came to be. We may be great in resources, but we have little claim to "great moral superiority." It seems that we are who we are today because of great injustices that were conveniently overlooked by our forefathers.
Our current history is no different in many ways and as Brendon points out, America seems pretty good at consuming a huge portion of the world's resources at the expense of other populations. Economic growth and continued consumption is how most economists believe prosperity will continue to ensue, but whose view of prosperity are we talking about?
Is it good for a Christian nation to try to spend it's way out of recession? Isn't this selfish and doesn't it show a complete lack of regard for those in the world who struggle to live on less than one dollar a day? Does God not care about the child that is born in a country where disease is rampant and life expectancy is short? Does God just bless countries that have the industrial capability to ensure a generally healthy population?
And if America is so blessed, why are a large majority of our citizens depressed or on prescription medications to seek meaning in life?
Regarding medications and such, does God bless some drugs and not others? Nicotine and alcohol are blessed by our government and yet both cause innumerable health and social problems. One would have to smoke about 36 times their body weight in marijuana to overdose and yet many people each year die of alcohol poisoning. If you have not read “Reefer Madness” by Eric Schlosser I would highly recommend it as he does a thorough job examining social and economic issues in our country.
Okay, I’m done. I have no answers, but I can tell you one thing, I am 100% excited to see January 20th come around.