One of the things that my wife and I argue over is politics. She’s very leftist and I considerate myself moderate. This presidential campaign has been a difficult one for me to decide. I have mixed emotions about both presumptive candidates. Here’s some thoughts about Barak Obama.
I love Barak for what he represents. He’ll be the first African-American president. He understands and can articulate the issues of race in American today. His initial speech in response to the Rev. Wright scandal was brilliant and nuanced. He also represents the power of a grass-roots movement. He came out of nowhere to dethrone one of the most powerful and recognizable names in politics. He’s brought countless thousands into the political process. Finally he represents the desire for political change in Washington. All of these things are positive.
But the question remains is this: Is it enough to vote for someone based on what he represents? The President is not just a representative but the Chief Executive and Commander in Chief. Obama can turn out to be a wonderful representative but a poor executive. He lacks any real executive experience unless you count running a campaign. He’s certainly worked on pieces of legislation but not in substantial number or weight. It seems like we would have a better measure of him if he ran for President for the following term.
From a Christian perspective he seems to be suspect for many. His church background comes from a church steeped in Black Liberation Theology. Not only is this church far from the Evangelical mainstream, I would argue that it’s pretty far from the black church at large in America. I’ve heard various interviews of him talking about faith. He was interviewed before his declaration for candidacy on the Charlie Rose Show. In that interview he proceeded to describe faith as a different sphere from reason. He didn’t say that faith was unreasonable. He said that it was essentially unprovable. This distinction certainly represents a postmodern contemporary opinion but squarely falls outside the boundaries of orthodox theology. From an evangelical perspective I would say he clearly falls outside the lines of what most would consider orthodox.
Having said that I don’t believe we should vote for a President based upon his orthodoxy. It can certainly be something to consider. But you can be a very solid Christian and make a very poor President. The converse can also be true. You can be a very strong atheist and make a wonderful President. Calvin reportedly said that he would rather have a competent non-Christian leader than an incompetent Christian. 1 Timothy tells us to pray for our leaders and those who are in authority without stipulating that they must be Christian. In fact the leaders at the time were unabashedly anti-Christian during Paul’s imprisonment.
I think many Christians tend to vote too easily among party lines. As the election draws near we need to be much more engaged in discussion as we seek choose a President that can lead the “city of man” as we seek to build a “city of God.”
Filed under: Politics
