In an unusual piece published in the Irish Times today, which I look at every now and then because I'm half Irish, evangelical voters in Colorado Springs expressed their belief that the increasingly likely election of Barack Obama "brings to mind the prophecies that the Bible tells us about." Here's a link to the article:
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/world/2008/1028/1225061111621.html?via=mr
Daniel Lopez told the Times says "it is exciting for us as conservatives because we can actually see what God prophesied coming about; but on the other hand it is frustrating to see somebody become president who is a blatant liar."
Lopez made no mention of the Bush presidential lies on record at countless outlets around the world on weapons of mass destruction, Valerie Plame, or waterboarding, just to name a few.
Mark Hennessy, writing for the Irish Times, however, did remark upon American evangelicals' distrust of the media. After requesting an interview with leaders of Focus on the Family, he was told by an employee:
"No sir, I'm afraid there is no one you can talk to. They are attending a meeting on homosexuality and I cannot disturb them. It's quite a sensitive subject, you know."
Hmm... so sensitive, in fact -- so gay, really -- that discussion of it even must be restricted to the closet.
Commenting on the Irish Times website, Irelander Sudhakar Rao said, "This election will go a long way to improving the rest of the world's opinion of the U.S. The Democrats have long been a party of progress and real ideals. FDR, JFK to Clinton and now Obama. It's not an easy task, but look at who he's replacing. A lot of fences need mending thanks to W."
Hennessy's reporting on Colorado evangelicals and the comments of the paper's readers are especially significant as they underscore the kind of comic disbelief that has distinguished foreign coverage and reception of the American presidential campaign this year. Obama, already extraordinarily popular in Europe, gained support abroad particularly as Sarah Palin hit the trail, with international readers expressing shock at her incompetence and joy at Tina Fey's uncanny impersonations.
In recent weeks, European opinion of John McCain appears to have sunken to new depths as the Arizona senator's tactics clearly betrayed his early promise of running a clean campaign. Republicans' continued efforts to smear Obama as a friend of terrorists, as well as the more covert effort to inject race and incite Islamophobia into the campaign have tarnished McCain's image abroad. Also commenting on the wesbite was Irelander Dominic McGinley:
"It seems to me that Sen. McCain's campaign rests on arguments of little substance: that Sen. Obama's middle name (Hussein) automatically links him, in the minds of some, with the deposed and executed Saddam, and with radical Islamists. Perhaps a similarly absurd analogy could be drawn with Senator John's surname. In the Bible, Cain killed his brother Abel. Since McCain means 'son of Cain' Q.E.D. the senator must be related to the first known murderer!"
Hmm, it's tempting, but more than likely not enough to convince evangelicals to abandon McCain. 'Palling around with' the first known murderer isn't horrifying enough, I guess. With this crowd, I guess, you've just gotta be gay.
48 comments:
My husband is from Ireland where his family remains, and we were visiting there this summer. To say that Ireland (and Europe) are pro-Obama is really understating it. I saw more Obama signs in windows there than here (at that time). They are frustrated with the backlash our most stupid policies are having there and hope that Obama can set that right.
In our most recent phone call to Ireland, my brother-in-law said everyone he talks to continues to hope for an Obama win, especially since that would take the whole Sarah Palin possiblity off the table. To say that she is the laughingstock of the entire world is also understating it.
It is very disheartening when people who profess to be more religious/righteous (GOP) than others end up saying and doing the most hurtful things. How hypocritical! But one thing is for sure, there is no sin that goes unpunished. All we have to do is to persevere in our prayers and know that God will reveal Himself come Nov. 4th and we'll see who gets the last laugh.
They have reason to be afraid: the neocon ideology is on the brink of death. The world is awakening; a new dawn is coming.
I agree. It is their own demise that they are afraid of.
And the Irish must be saying "and they accuse us of being drunks?"
It is so heartening to see the American voters reject this kind of inanity. No matter your beliefs, the kind of people who would root for the destruction of the world for whatever reason are NOT the people you want in charge. And the president who is a "blatant liar" quote was priceless. You must truly escape reality to come to this conclusion, especially if you're insinuating the "other" candidate is absolved of such a crime.
This pretty much says it all. Our country is falling apart economically and the Evangelicals were all "attending a meeting on homosexuality."
They seem rather preoccupied with the subject.
If McPalin wins I just might move to Ireland.
Can we share a flat?!
I have many friends in Sweden. If you want to hear firsthand about the dimunition of America in the eyes of others, talk to them. It's depressing.
I have friends in Norway, and they express the same feelings. The thing is, Europeans WANT to love America, the WANT us to regain our standing in the world. They've taken no pleasure in watching our precipitous decline over the last eight years. They are rooting for Obama because they know he's our best hope to resume our respected position in the global community.
Every time I get the chance to say this to my evangelical friends, I do:
Jesus was a community organizer.
Pilate was a governor.
It makes about as much sense as the cr@p they spew...
Hopefully when we have President Obama they will all leave Colorado Springs and go to Wasilla to prepare for their next great journey. That would certainly improve the stench in Colorado Springs that comes from the Focus on the Family bunch.
The best thing we can do to dispel the incredible ignorance of the "end timers" is to elect Barack Obama, work hard to correct America's many problems, and show the world that real relationship between cause and effect. Let all their rants and fears be destroyed by simple truth. Let them sit on the mountainside waiting for a calamity that never comes. Some people are capable of learning, some are not.
Their faith and beliefs are impervious to facts. They'll first have to summon the courage to turn their back on Heaven, if only for a moment, and squarely face the gates of Hell.
The archetypal scene from American literature comes from Huckleberry Finn: the episode on the raft where slavers come hunting for Jim. Huck faces the dilemma we all face right now.
Will Huck do what his upbringing tells him is the proper thing to do: turn Jim in? Or will he brave the condemnation of society and eternity in Hell by remaining loyal to his friend?
Huck Finn is a true American hero because he listened to his heart. He willingly braved condemnation and eternity in Hell for his friend. Now THAT'S America!
Will America reject the slavish devotion of McCain/Palin to fear-mongering? Or will we listen to our hearts and finally Do the Right Thing?
Even if we do reject fear-mongering, will Republican machinations steal our democracy for the third time in a row?
end of days, rapture, blah blah blah.
still longing for the days of the separation of church and state. Perhaps, 5 more days???
America has represented so much in Irish history, we are heavily invested in the success of the American Dream and frustrated by the last few years violations. We have had more than our share of religious divisionism and madness and are staggered to see it exported and intensified in the New World. Those clouds you see on the horizon on November 4 will be just the physical weight of the mass of prayer coming at you from Europe.
I find it so unfortunate that the United States has become such a laughing stock because of these religious right zealots.
It would be depressing if there weren't a figure like Obama to give trust that Americans aren't as dumb as they're portrayed in instances like this.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, these religious lug nuts have been waiting for the rapture like forever - if Obama is to be the catalyst then you would think they would be supporting him, so they can kick off their "End of Days" ....er...festival.
These groups label themselves as "Christian", yet they 1) either choose to totally ignore, or actively dispute, approximately 2000 years of Church history (both written and oral); 2) take select verses from the canonical New Testament writings (while adhering to 1, above) out of context, and fabricate some "end times" scenario that is, in fact, baseless, and in many ways opposite to the teachings of Jesus, as recorded in the canonical Gospels; and 3) position themselves as THE representatives of the Christian faith, while at the same time considering adherents to other Christian denominations (such as Catholic, Orthodox, Episcopal, etc) as non-Christians.
I'm voting for that Irish candidate, Senator Barry O'bama!
My father was a Evangelical pastor (now reformed thanks!) and so I had a lot of exposure to the all off that ridiculous "End Times" nonsense. The Evangelical/Pentacostal church is obsessed with it, and has made the same proclamation every 10 years or so. Some of the names on the "sign of the end times" list are:
JFK-supposed to be the anti-christ but didn't recover miraculously from a head shot FAIL
Anwar Sadat - Yep, Anti-christ........FAIL
Ronald Reagan-supposed to be the anti-christ but didn't recover miraculously from being shot(just normally) and develop magical powers.FAIL
BUSH 1 - supposed to be the anti-christ because of the whole tri-lateral commission/new world order thing.FAIL
Bill Clinton - Ok, to the Evangelicals he was the anti-christ, but didn't lead Babylons armies to Armageddon. FAIL
Now it's Obama. I wonder what they'll label him? Anyone?
It's really too bad that these people can't just enjoy their life here and are so eager to be swept off into the clouds.
It boggles the mind.
It's okay because we have Alaska. And Sarah Palin has told us that Alaska will be a safe place to be in the End-of-Days. I have to admit, it might be the End-of-Days if the RNC steals another election.
The "original" Maverick family of Texas (the very same family that the word is taken from) are a long line of Progressives and have thoroughly disavowed McCain's claim to the name.
As both a Christian and a Coloradan, I'm doubly embarrassed by these Focus on the Family fundamentalists--they ain't no fun, but they sure are mental! I wish that they would flee Colorado Springs for the holy land of Alaska, where they could join the terrorists that Sarah Palin pals around with in trying to secede from the Union. After all, they have already successfully seceded from reality.
See no evil in Obama.
On the other hand, the McCain-Palin ticket REALLY scary:
http://e-blogules.blogspot.com/2008/09/change-is-coming-and-mac-will-fight-but.html
As an Irishman and a man of conscience, I voted Obama.
In spite of the lies, deceptions, misinformation and the destructive nature of religions and egoists in this country using God as their batboy, I followed my conscience as I do every election, I voted Obama.
As a Human Being who believes I may have discovered not only a man of conscience among People of Conscience, but a Human Being aware of the Human Condition and willing to act upon that awareness, I voted Obama.
By the grace of God, I voted Obama.
For the good of my country, I voted Obama.
For my peace of mind, I voted Obama.
For the welfare of the world, I voted Obama.
I surround Barack Obama in the protection of the White Light of the Christ Consciousness and all his family, for the rest of their days.
Lord, hear my prayer.
Now, please join me one and all.
I love this prayer. Thank you..
I'm going to say that last part especially. Thank you, and may Christ's peace be with us all.
McPalin's end of time is coming up on Tuesday...
Johnny Kay-your prayer is my prayer too. Spot on. I have been praying for the health and safety of the Obama family for quite a while. So people don't just vote for the man pray for him too. Yes, I am a liberal democrat who believes in God and the power of prayer....Contrary to popular belief, the Republican party does not have exclusive rights to God's ear. My faith tells me to ASK God not tell him. Please Lord, let John McCain enjoy a long, and health retirement.And if you don't mind please keep Barack and his family strong,safe, and healthy for the journey they are about to undertake-- Barack to lead this country back to sanity and his family to support him Amen.
Amen
"Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?" And He said to him, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' "This is the great and foremost commandment. "The second is like it, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' "On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets."
Hence, "blessed are the peacemakers", "blessed are the merciful", "blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice"... people who do God's work on earth, loving each other like they love God... with all their heart, soul, and mind... loving them as they would themselves.
Change we can believe in.
Amen. It's about time real Christians rejected anti-Christian neocon ideology of warmongering and capitalism.
The true Christians will repent and someday the true conservatives will rise again to assert their real values. Christianity has little to do with conservatism and nothing to do with the neocon agenda. As Christians stop allowing others to motivate them through hate, they will rediscover that Christianity is about making disciples for Christ - people who care for one another and for God's creation. They will find much more in common with the current democratic party than they will with the currently corrupted Republican party.
I'm amazed to this day how effectively the far Right has hijacked Christianity in the name of division, no compassion, killing of others, intolerance, exclusion, greed, and vanity. I hope for these "Christians" that they are indeed thinking for themselves and coming around to the conclusion that all of the high principles Jesus taught are in no way reflected in the far Right's agenda--quite the opposite (or ANTI Christ's teachings). Let's also follow the leave-unto-God/Caesar example and keep religion out of politics (as the Constitution also mandates).
Too easy, my friend. The Evangelicals were not "hijacked" by the GOP. To the contrary, the Evangelicals saw the GOP as an easy vehicle to hijack and perpetuate their agenda. Two groups with a mission to control the world through through fear and hatred -- a match made in heaven.
if anyone watched the cnn religious town hall they had a few months back you will remember Obama was very warmly received and spoke with passion about his faith.
in fact Obama is rare in political life because unlike bush he ,Obama IS a man of God and faith.
and i mean that in its best sense,not in a political way like mccain who sought out nutty preachers for political gain.
Or even hillary who claims great faith but by all accounts is part of some weird right wing cult that passes for a church.
in any event i do not believe anyone can listen to Obama and not accept that his faith is real and guides him in his life to work for the good of people less fourtunate.
its only natural others would see that too.
I still can't believe Hillary's church "The Family" was never brought up more. Not only that, her minister is in prison for molesting a child. All we ever heard was Obama's Rev. Wright. I hope people wake up to the fact that Obama will bring people together. Obama seems to be the ony one in years to really be religious. He has helped a lot of poor people in Illinois. That shows me he is a caring man. He'll be getting my vote in only 5 days!
I am going to love this... the evangelicals supporting a man who hasn't been in a church in probably 20 years (McCain) as opposed to a man who has been going to church and been an involved Christian all his life.
If Evangelicals support McCain then that tells me it has less to do with their belief in God and more to do with their own self serving goals which by the way, selfishness is not the teaching of Christ. So this ought to be real good and interesting.
Whether you go to church or not has nothing to do with your faith. Your actions do. McCain supporting torture, war, tax cuts for the rich, no health care for the poor, etc. show he isn't a Christian a lot more than his church attendance record.
Christian Extremists is the correct term.
Christian extremists are EXACTLY the same as muslim extremists, except one wants to create a tyrannical dictatorship with the bible and the other uses the koran.
By the way, please distinguish between Evangelicals, who are protestants who believe in outreach within their community (evangelizing) and Fundamentalists, who are dicks.
How Would Jesus Vote?
Jesus was a Liberal.
Evangelicals for Obama 08
White Evangelical churches, which is the group we are talking about, were not instrumental in the Civil Rights movement. Black churches, predominantly, led the charge.
Having grown up in an Evangelical environment and been exposed to countless churches, I can assure you that social justice is far from the top of the list of their concerns, and sadly, yes they are somewhat monolithic. Any form of politics that would tend towards the concept of inclusion, would mean accepting and supporting the rights and concerns of individuals who are politically and socially marginalized -- LGBT's, feminists, people of varying ethnicities and political identifications -- which starkly contrast to the the core principals of the Evangelical dogma. Not faith mind you, but dogma. The Evangelical platform has nothing to do with true Christian faith, and everything to do with bigotry, judgment, coercion, fear-mongering, and control. In my view, it is a cult of epic proportions, that we have allowed to penetrate the highest ranks of government and US military and manipulate matters of the state.
I am not so eager to bring these terribly misguided sheep into my fold. To the contrary, I hope the next administration will pull the plug on all of the funding they've been receiving from the Bush administration for their "abstinence only programs and for proselytizing to the US military personnel...not to mention their twisted campaign to convert Iraqi's to their brand of Christianity.
You don't have to be religious to have strong values and ethics. Religion requires blind faith, and I'm tired of politicians' blindness (Bush is a huge example)
Most ethical, compassionate, caring people I know are not religious at all, but would describe themselves as spiritual. They do good because they feel they want to make the world a better place and it is within their power to do it, not because they're trying to earn a place in heaven.
As a Christian, I feel that my religion has been hijacked by zealots. I wonder if that is how moderate Muslims feel.
I have never felt burdened by helping my fellow man & woman, if they were truly in need but I've been made to feel like I was a fool for wanting to help them ('bleeding heart' liberal) by fellow 'Christians' (conservatives). Yet these 'Christians' support guns, support wars, support leaving the poor to fend for themselves, support giving welfare to BIG business, support out and out greed. Believe me, I am not against making money, but giving welfare to people who already have sooooo much is disgusting. Stealing from the poor to give to the rich isn't Christian, at all. Unfortunately, that is what has been happening in this country since Ronald Reagan's days. It is time for some balance, especially some MORAL balance.
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