I came across an article on msnbc.com about a recent letter distributed by Focus on the Family Action, the political arm of Focus on the Family. This is an imagined letter written by a Christian from 2012, lamenting all the changes that have taken place because of an Obama presidency. You can read the entire letter here. (Be warned: it is long) "How did this happen? The liberal agenda was all there. But too many people just didn’t want to see it.Christians didn’t take time to find out who Barack Obama was when they voted for him.Why did they risk our nation’s future on him? It was a mistake that changed the course of history." ”Margaret Feinberg, a Denver-area evangelical author, predicted failure. "Young evangelicals are tired — like most people at this point in the election — and rhetoric which is fear-based, strong-arms the listener,and states opinion as fact will only polarize rather than further the informed, balanced discussion that younger voters are hungry for," she said."
There are way too many negative things to say about this letter, so I'll start with something positive.
1. I did not find a reference to Obama being Muslim or the Antichrist
There is also this statement in the introduction to the letter:“Of course, there are many evangelical Christians supporting Senator Obama as well as many supporting Senator McCain. Christians on both sides should continue to respect and cherish one another’s friendship as well as the freedom people have in the United States to differ on these issues and to freely speak their opinions about them to one another.”
But since the actual content of the letter strongly chastises any Christian who supports Obama and is obviously an attempt to scare such Christians into not voting for him, the above reads as a typical legal disclaimer that you would find on a McDonald’s hot cup of coffee instead of a sentiment that is actually believed by the authors, therefore I have a hard time seeing it as positive.
Here is an excerpt from the end of the letter. This follows the main body of the letter, which is a point by point analysis of how America went to Hell in a hand basket because Obama and the democrats were elected.
When did this all start? Christians share a lot of the
blame. In 2008, many evangelicals thought Senator Obama was an opportunity for a “change,” and they voted for him. They did not realize Obama’s far-Left agenda would take away many of our freedoms, perhaps permanently (it is unlikely the Supreme Court can be changed for perhaps 30 years). Christians did not realize that by electing Barack Obama — rated the most liberal U.S. senator in 2007 — 39 they would allow the law, in the hands of a liberal Congress and Supreme Court, to become a great instrument of oppression.
Many people thought he sounded so thoughtful, so reasonable. And during the campaign, after he had won the Democratic nomination, he seemed to be moving to the center in his speeches, moving away from his far-Left record. No one thought he would enact such a far-Left, extreme liberal agenda.
But the record was all there for anyone to see. The agenda of the ACLU, the agenda of liberal activist judges in their dissenting opinions, the agenda of the homosexual activists, the agenda of the environmental activists, the agenda of the National Education Association, the agenda of the global-warming activists, the agenda of the abortion-rights activists, the agenda of the gun-control activists, the agenda of the euthanasia supporters, the agenda of the one-world government pacifists, the agenda of far-Left groups in Canada and Europe – all of these agendas were there in plain sight, and all of these groups provided huge support for Senator Obama.
Back to the msnbc.com article about the letter….
I certainly pray that this woman is correct. Frankly, I am tired of all this fear mongering nonsense coming from groups supposedly representing Christians. Commited Christians do disagree about many political issues, and they should do so respectfully. Tactics like this make that hard to do, and further the notion that there is only one way to vote if you are a Christian, implying that you are not a real Christian if you vote the other way, ie for a democrat.
Reaching for Momma!
12 years ago
2 comments:
While I don't believe that the way to winning people over to one side or the other is fear, I, personally DO beilieve that some of those things stated in the "letter" will happen. I would be very sad if some of them do - especially the Abortion act and the increased taxing of the "wealthy." I think it should be our jobs as Christians to help people who are in need. Not for the government to take half of our paycheck just because my husband happens to make a little more money than most since he went to school/training for 15 years and works his butt off. But, that's my personal opinion.
I agree with the idea that this "letter" probably won't sway anyone to vote a way other than they had decided already. I think Christian groups like Focus on the Family are shocked and scared that so many young Christians are voting Democrat. Especially because Obama is so far left. It's not typical for Christians to vote for someone with a lot of his view/policies. Not to say that you aren't a good or real Christian if you vote for him. It's just different than the standard of the past.
I absolutely agree that a letter like this comes out of fear and shock that so many young evangelicals are voting for Obama. The fact that there is such shock really shows me that Focus is out of touch. The movement of young evangelicals toward issues that tend to favor democrats (concerns about poverty, global stewardship, etc) has been going on strong for at least 4 years.
Obviously my main concern with this letter is the manner in which it was written. I HATE when people try to scare others into thinking a certain way. And like I said, I think stuff like this only divides Christians. How many Christians would read somehting like this and say to themselves "Wow! How can my friend Joe vote for Obama? He is supposed to be a Christian!"
Your post also reminded me of another positive in the letter that I forgot to mention. They sure have Obama "accomplishing" a lot in 4 short years! I mean my goodness no president has gotten that amount of stuff done in 8 years much less 4!
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