Whew! The rhetoric gets pretty loud these days. Politics and faith. Politics and faith ... faith and politics. It is a subject most of us, at least those of us who are smart, try to stay away from. It can get heated. Brothers and sisters in Christ can really start behaving as if Christ did not exist at all. Especially once they figure out that who they are talking to either does not subscribe to the same party line as they do or doesn't go for all that "extremist" stuff.
It can get really nasty.
And, honestly the whole thing fascinates me and repulses me all at the same time.
It fascinates me because it is like this big brain-washing beam came down and attached itself on our Christian heads and began to pour things into our brains like all Democrats are evil, all Democrats are far-left liberals, only true Christians are Republicans, and any person or thing that is not Republican is evil.
It repulses me because I think politics divides the brethren far more than theology does and theology matters far more than politics.
It is something I am getting used to though. Sad, but true.
I have tried to not discuss politics. I know where the conversations can get you. I know how people can act. But, try as I might, I end up responding to some political statement or another on some blog or on Facebook. I usually beat myself up for it later. I know what is going to happen. I will say that I support a healthy welfare system and why it benefits our society and then next thing you know ... other "Christians" will join in and sound beyond ugly with their "let the poor starve and die" commentary that just sounds so Christ-like and leaves all the non-believers talking about how "un-Christian" they sound because Jesus said to care for the poor and they obviously don't.
Today, it was over Obama's speech. All I heard all day long was how Obama is Hitler reincarnated and how we shouldn't let him brainwash our kids and so on and so on and so on. Then John Piper posts about the speech and talks about how good it was, common grace and I am like, "Whew! I am glad I didn't fall for the Hitler stuff." Then I go read the comments to that post and I think, "Wow! Even John Piper gets it when he goes against the status quo of the 'Democrats are Evil' party line." I am not alone!
Makes me feel a little better. :)
Though, really ... I am fine with it. There have been times when I have considered going under the Independent umbrella, but you know ... there is no use. I am who I am who I am and that is a Pro-Life Democrat. I believe in caring for the poor, the disabled, the child, and the elderly. And, I believe in taking care of God's creation. I don't agree with every aspect of the party line, but that is okay too. I disagree with the other side far more it seems and on some serious issues that I just won't give on. Number One being that only Republicans are the real Christians and everyone else is just faking it.
Anywho ... I will give President Obama credit where credit is due. That was a good speech today and there are many children out there that needed to hear it. Good for him! Too bad there aren't more parents out there encouraging their children to be responsible for their own behaviors and choices. If there were, the president probably wouldn't have needed to address our children in the first place.
Addendum: I got an email reminding me that Ronald Reagan addressed the children of his day and he did! I remember that. So did George H.W. Bush. Hmmm. I don't remember everyone calling them "Hitler" for doing it though.
Can we spell H Y P O C R I S Y?
It can get really nasty.
And, honestly the whole thing fascinates me and repulses me all at the same time.
It fascinates me because it is like this big brain-washing beam came down and attached itself on our Christian heads and began to pour things into our brains like all Democrats are evil, all Democrats are far-left liberals, only true Christians are Republicans, and any person or thing that is not Republican is evil.
It repulses me because I think politics divides the brethren far more than theology does and theology matters far more than politics.
It is something I am getting used to though. Sad, but true.
I have tried to not discuss politics. I know where the conversations can get you. I know how people can act. But, try as I might, I end up responding to some political statement or another on some blog or on Facebook. I usually beat myself up for it later. I know what is going to happen. I will say that I support a healthy welfare system and why it benefits our society and then next thing you know ... other "Christians" will join in and sound beyond ugly with their "let the poor starve and die" commentary that just sounds so Christ-like and leaves all the non-believers talking about how "un-Christian" they sound because Jesus said to care for the poor and they obviously don't.
Today, it was over Obama's speech. All I heard all day long was how Obama is Hitler reincarnated and how we shouldn't let him brainwash our kids and so on and so on and so on. Then John Piper posts about the speech and talks about how good it was, common grace and I am like, "Whew! I am glad I didn't fall for the Hitler stuff." Then I go read the comments to that post and I think, "Wow! Even John Piper gets it when he goes against the status quo of the 'Democrats are Evil' party line." I am not alone!
Makes me feel a little better. :)
Though, really ... I am fine with it. There have been times when I have considered going under the Independent umbrella, but you know ... there is no use. I am who I am who I am and that is a Pro-Life Democrat. I believe in caring for the poor, the disabled, the child, and the elderly. And, I believe in taking care of God's creation. I don't agree with every aspect of the party line, but that is okay too. I disagree with the other side far more it seems and on some serious issues that I just won't give on. Number One being that only Republicans are the real Christians and everyone else is just faking it.
Anywho ... I will give President Obama credit where credit is due. That was a good speech today and there are many children out there that needed to hear it. Good for him! Too bad there aren't more parents out there encouraging their children to be responsible for their own behaviors and choices. If there were, the president probably wouldn't have needed to address our children in the first place.
Addendum: I got an email reminding me that Ronald Reagan addressed the children of his day and he did! I remember that. So did George H.W. Bush. Hmmm. I don't remember everyone calling them "Hitler" for doing it though.
Can we spell H Y P O C R I S Y?
I'm just getting caught up with blog reading and it's funny the things I agree or disagree with you on. (Unexpected. :-) )
I actually didn't have a problem with President Obama's speech as delivered. But remember that much of the outrage was generated by early reports of what it *would* contain, a refusal to release it in advance so parents could decide if they wanted their children to participate, and a really political accompanying lesson plan (later retracted in the face of the uproar) where children were required to write themselves a letter explaining how they were going to help President Obama. Not help their country. Help the President.
As to hypocrisy, yes, I see your point of course, but that cuts both ways. Democrats staged a Congressional investigation into Bush's speech. http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/When-Bush-spoke-to-students-Democrats-investigated-held-hearings-57694347.html
What I really tire of these days is same-old-politics from both parties. I wish we had a viable third party to shake things up.
I am sorry ... I didn't realize that I had skipped this comment. I didn't mean to. :)
Okay ... I totally agree with you about the stuff that was going on before the speech. I would have liked to have see the speech so I could know what exactly got changed, because there does seem to be a lot of "speculation" and not a lot of "confirmed fact" ... but I understood it.
What prompted most of this post was what was going on in a thread on Facebook that our local TV station had started over whether locals were concerned about the speech with all the controversy and if they were going to let their kids watch it. Within the first three comments, I believe it was, the commentary on President Obama being Hitler started. I am not kidding and it got worse from there.
And, honestly I am so with you regarding the same-old-politics from both parties. It seems to me whatever one party does is fine ... then the other party does it and it is wrong. And, both sides do that. The Right had a fit about those in the Left that referred to President Bush as Hitler and now that Barrack Obama is the president, they have no problem calling him that. If one side has a fit over something then the other side just waits for their turn to do it. And, it is always fine when they do it, just not when the other side does.
Same old crap, just a different administration and it goes waaaaaayyyyyy back.