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War of the Word Redux

July 8, 2008 in BLOG with 0 Comments

I’m still holding to my guns regarding the selective hermeneutics of the Religious Right, but a deeper examination of Barack Obama’s statements on his personal faith should stimulate evangelicals to critical thought on the lowest common denominators of biblical faith. Please note that, by scrutinizing Obama’s statements of faith, I am not suggesting that McCain’s, Bush’s or any other political figure’s faith is authentic–or that biblical orthodoxy is a prerequisite for political office.

Authentic Christianity ultimately comes down to a debate about who Jesus is. Additional layers would include a basic understanding of sin, salvation, etc. After reading a 2004 interview with Obama, it is clear that, while he grasps many of the social implications of the Christian faith, he is apparently unaware of the basic biblical antecedents of that faith. After reading a few of his quotes below, the question I’m asking is not “Is Barack Obama a Christian?” but “What is a Christian?” The problem is not that the statements below are entirely false, but that they are incomplete–and miss key points of who Jesus is, what sin is and how salvation works.

“Jesus is an historical figure for me, and he’s also a bridge between God and man, in the Christian faith, and one that I think is powerful precisely because he serves as that means of us reaching something higher. And he’s also a wonderful teacher.”

“I find it hard to believe that my God would consign four-fifths of the world to hell. I can’t imagine that my God would allow some little Hindu kid in India who never interacts with the Christian faith to somehow burn for all eternity. That’s just not part of my religious makeup.”

“What I believe in is that if I live my life as well as I can, that I will be rewarded. I don’t presume to have knowledge of what happens after I die. But I feel very strongly that whether the reward is in the here and now or in the hereafter, the aligning myself to my faith and my values is a good thing.”

Sin: “Being out of alignment with my values.”

The beliefs above are probably not far from those of other political candidates with religious leanings–both conservatives and liberals. But it certainly reinforces the thought that biblical orthodoxy should probably not be a litmus test for getting my vote.

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What’s an Evangelical?

July 2, 2008 in BLOG with 0 Comments

“Most Americans agree with the statement that many religions–not just their own–can lead to eternal life.”

This is the unsurprising assessment of a recent Pew Forum study. What’s surprising, however, is that 57 percent of evangelicals agree with this statement. It would seem that universalism is the most widely tolerated heresy in the evangelical world.

If a Christian with a public platform were to suggest that only people who refrained from smoking and dancing would make it to heaven, that person would be mocked as a legalistic charlatan, and the authenticity of his or her faith would be called into question.

“You can’t get to heaven by good works,” a well-pedigreed evangelical would respond (rightfully).

However, if a Christian leader suggests that we shouldn’t judge the eternal destination of a person who loves Buddha, gives food to the homeless and tries to reduce his carbon footprint, that leader is considered a thoughtful innovator who understands the nuances of emerging global realities and the inclusivity of the biblical narrative.

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War of the Word

June 25, 2008 in BLOG with 1 Comment

And even if we did have only Christians in our midst, if we expelled every non-Christian from the United States of America, whose Christianity would we teach in the schools? Would we go with James Dobson’s, or Al Sharpton’s?

It was this rhetorical/hypothetical question from Barack Obama’s 2006 keynote at “Call to Renewal” that recently raised the ire of James Dobson, prompting the Focus on the Family founder to state, “I think he’s deliberately distorting the traditional understanding of the Bible to fit his own worldview, his own confused theology … He is dragging biblical understanding through the gutter.”

Now a Texas pastor has launched a site defending Obama, in what is simply one more skirmish in an escalating battle between the Christian Left and the Christian Right. The weapon of choice should not surprise us, because it’s been the most divisive and inflammatory document in history–burned, banned and bastardized for every purpose under the sun except that for which it was given.

… by televangelists to pimp their wares, by believers to bludgeon sin from unbelievers, by unbelievers to bludgeon good works from believers, by politicians to justify their self-serving positions, by skeptics to mock, by zealots to manipulate, by salesmen to advertise. … The list goes on.

In his 2006 speech, Obama was legitimately questioning the Christian Right’s virtually unchallenged alignment of political conservatism with biblical orthodoxy. This understandably stung those who have historically conflated weighty biblical issues such as the sanctity of life with political issues on which scripture is silent, such as lower taxes. Simultaneously, they have devalued other biblical issues such as stewardship of creation, dismissing such concerns as “liberal”.

As a result, the Christian Right is facing the reality of a president who does not share their values but shares their scriptures and is unafraid to wield them in a more sophisticated and convincing way than they have of late. They set up the battlefield and wrote the rules of engagement, and now they may lose the very thing that seems to have been a priority for them for so long–and that which they were willing to use scripture to attain: political power.

The result could be something rather poetic: They’ll get a president who believes in the protection of the disadvantaged, but will fail to protect life in the womb; who will leverage the power of government to help the poor, but who gave less than 1 percent of his substantial personal income to charity before his decision to run for president; who claims a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, but who thinks good Muslims and Buddhists will probably get into heaven too.

Simply put, they’ll get a president who applies scripture selectively, just as they have for the last 30 years.

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