Obama and the Kingdom
Obama speaking at an evangelical church this past Sunday (from the Evangelical Outpost):
I just want all of you to pray that I can be an instrument of God in the same way that Pastor Ron and all of you are instruments of God….We’re going to keep on praising together. I am confident that we can create a Kingdom right here on Earth.
If you really want to be an instrument of God, Obama, then you have a higher chance if you get out of Federal politics. Getting into bed with an idol usually limits your options when dealing with the Judeo-Christian God.
And did he really just say that about a Kingdom? Isn’t that precisely what Jesus rejected when he went to the cross?
A Kingdom based on earthly politics is simply a Kingdom brought about and sustained by forceful coercion and violence. One of the main criticism Jesus himself had of the Jewish leaders and revolutionaries of his time was that they were missing the whole point of what it mean to be the chosen “people of God”. It’s really what the whole Sermon on the Mount hints at.
So Obama is just making the same mistake that the people of God have made over and over again throughout history. Or, if not, he’s just really good at saying what those evangelicals wanted to hear and, like a typical politician, just wants to hit the right chord with the current crowd in front of him.
Either way you look at it, Obama takes a step down in credibility.
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I definitely agree that the Kingdom of God cannot be forced upon people through political power..however, I do not believe that Christians are excluded from SERVING in the political structure of our country. The question is HOW they participate? Are they serving their country’s people? Creating policies that benefit the poor and oppressed? Are they a voice for those with no voice? Or are they seeking their own agendas to impose their own version of morality on others? Christians shouldn’t retreat from the world to their own corners of seclusion, but should go out into the world, even the political world, and transform it through sacrificial love and service. Now, I don’t know what Obama’s heart is or enough about his policies to judge, but I don’t think we should count our believers from serving in politics on a whole.
Tia,
I see where you are coming from. It’s just my personal conviction that being involved in the structure implicitly gives credibility to the structure and helps foster the idolatry. And since it’s my blog, I’ll expound that view
But I will concede that it does depend on motivation. For instance, I highly respect Ron Paul and he is seriously challenging my pledge to not vote. He could actually do some good while at the same time shaking faith in government.
If you had left out “even the political world”, I would agree with you wholeheartedly. You sum up quite well the mission of the church. I just think that getting involved in what we call the “political world” is completely contrary to that sacrificial love and service, and that there are more efficient, more effective ways to accomplish the mission.
A few dedicated, creative Christians in Hollywood would do so much more good than a Senate full of Christians. We supposedly have a Senate full of Christians right now, and look where that’s gotten us.