Posted by
The Chebar on Saturday, June 28, 2008 12:25:03 AM
Senator Barack Obama recently gave a talk on fatherhood at the Apostolic church. He began with the words of Jesus: "At the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus closes by saying, "Whoever hears these words of mine, and does them, shall be likened to a wise man who built his house upon a rock: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock." [Matthew 7: 24-25]
I praise him for speaking the WORD, but then he praises the Pastor as another "rock" - "But it is also built on another rock" - and for the hard work he has done in building his flock. Is there a Christian out there who does not know that God builds the flock by using individuals? If something is founded on the rock of the revelation of Jesus, then why does Barack Obama praise the pastor? I would say that it is because of the humanism behind all of Barack Obama's words to the people of the United States. We can change, we can make change, we can do change. Now, there is nothing wrong in having faith in the American people. After all, God wants us to trust in Him and then allow him to use us through our hard work and effort to get things done. But by opening his speech with this statement that forcefully says that by doing the Word you can survive the storm, then what must follow should be in support, but no, Barack Obama continues by saying the Pastor is another rock and that "because of his leadership, [his church] has braved the fierce winds and heavy rains of violence and poverty; joblessness and hopelessness." Whose leadership? I remind my fellow Christian Barack Obama that the praise is to Jesus and not to the human that God uses. Yes, that person can be praised for allowing themselves to be a soldier for the Spirit, but I fear Barack praises the human for being a human. "He is the reason this house has stood tall for half a century." If the Pastor is "the reason," then ultimately that house is not built on the right rock and his opening statement becomes meaningless or merely a plot device.
"And we are called to recognize and honor how critical every father is to that foundation." No question, Barack wants to call the Black community to value fatherhood. He goes on by saying - "But we also need families to raise our children. We need fathers to realize that responsibility does not end at conception. We need them to realize that what makes you a man is not the ability to have a child --" it's the courage to raise one." Interesting comment from the leader of the Pro Choice Gay Marriage Democratic party - what does Brack Obama think about conception? Does he really believe what he says?
"We need to help all the mothers out there who are raising these kids by themselves. . . . .They need another parent. Their children need another parent. That's what keeps their foundation strong. It's what keeps the foundation of our country strong." Again, what does the leader of the Gay Marriage Democratic party really really believe about Fatherhood? And where does God come into all this? I'm afriad God can't be mentioned here as the apple cart would be smashed, because if Barack talks about fathers and God and Jesus he becomes involved in lots of religious talk and opens up those questions of how his Christianity actually fits with his liberal agenda. What we hear here are right things about parenting and fatherhood and the plight of the Black community, but we also hear his confused values and religious beliefs jumbled up and twisted in a committment to the Democratic party and their religion of Liberalism.
"And that is why the final lesson we must learn as fathers is also the greatest gift we can pass on to our children --" and that is the gift of hope. I'm not talking about an idle hope that's little more than blind optimism or willful ignorance of the problems we face. I'm talking about hope as that spirit inside us that insists, despite all evidence to the contrary, that something better is waiting for us if we're willing to work for it and fight for it. If we are willing to believe." But, that's where that ends -believe in what? Is he talking about running the race and fighting the good fight and winning the prize of Christ Jesus to paraphrase the Apostle Paul? I didn't hear that.
He says he was asked - "What does life mean to you?" And his answer was - "When I was a young man, I thought life was all about me"
Honest enough. And now -"...I think about is what kind of world I'm leaving them." Followed by comments about climate and all the rest. What happened to the Christian values - like spreading the Word? Well, it's not his fault. Unfortunately, a Presidential candidate can't go too far down that road.
And Barack finishes with - "we keep faith that our Father will be there to guide us, and watch over us, and protect us, and lead His children through the darkest of storms into light of a better day. That is my prayer for all of us on this Father's Day, and that is my hope for this country in the years ahead." - Very good. I believe that is his prayer. But . . . he had something more to say about fathers before he closed with that remark:
"Because if fathers are doing their part; if they're taking our responsibilities seriously to be there for their children, and set high expectations for them, and instill in them a sense of excellence and empathy, then our government should meet them halfway. We should reward fathers who pay that child support with job training and job opportunities and a larger Earned Income Tax Credit that can help them pay the bills. We should expand programs where registered nurses visit expectant and new mothers and help them learn how to care for themselves before the baby is born and what to do after - programs that have helped increase father involvement, women's employment, and children's readiness for school. We should help these new families care for their children by expanding maternity and paternity leave, and we should guarantee every worker more paid sick leave so they can stay home to take care of their child without losing their income."
I don't remember anything in The Sermon on the Mount about government coming to our aid. If I remember correctly, Jesus did talk about the government of the Kingdom of God. In that Kingdom, though, the government doesn't meet anyone halfway. That government leads people to the promised land flowing with milk and honey, that government parts the Sea, that government makes it so my cup overfloweths.
Maybe it would be better if Barack remembered that in The Sermon on the Mount (Matt 6) Jesus said "Therefore do not be anxious, saying, `What shall we eat?' or `What shall we drink?' or `What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek all these things; and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well.
Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day's own trouble be sufficient for the day."
Maybe I am wrong - but I think Jesus says to look to God for what we need and not to government. Jesus warns us about worrying too much about the future for God takes care of us day by day each and every day.
Though Barack Obama has a nice message and says some important things, especially about being personally responsible for our children, I think he also shows that his political and religious beliefs just don't live in harmony.