So I thought I made it clear to my family members at the start of the Presidential race that I am not interested in forwarded emails about candidates not pledging allegiance or Muslim accusations. I guess the message did not stick, but I'm sure my reply to the latest crazy email will stick.
This time I decided to present some facts and try to raise the level of discourse by debating within a fundamentalist Christian context. Yes, I do think it's dangerous to try to get into their heads, but as a former evangelical pastor I have some inside knowledge that may help them....maybe..maybe not.
So here is my first diary....there's more....
Here is the email I received from a relative (and former parishioner!) who is so very very concerned about how I will vote.
Warning it's lengthy...probably because part of it is borrowed from a sermon.
I don't usually send this type of message to those who might be offended by it, however, I believe this is so important and so well written that I must send it on. In fact, I believe that God is holding us responsible in these last days for the votes we cast, and I do not want you to not be informed. With great concern I forward this to you...
S
This article is from Huntley Brown - he is a fabulous concert pianist, man of God and is a black man. I appreciate so much his reasoning for not voting for Obama. I would like to see this article published or spread out via Email to as many as possible. It's good stuff!
Why I Can't Vote For Obama
By Huntley Brown
Dear Friends,
A few months ago I was asked for my perspective on Obama, I sent out an email with a few points. With the election just around the corner I decided to complete my perspective. Those of you on my e-list have seen some of this before but it's worth repeating...
First I must say whoever wins the election will have my prayer support. Obama needs to be commended for his accomplishments but I need to explain why I will not be voting for him.
Many of my friends process their identity through their blackness. I process my identity through Christ. Being a Christian (a Christ follower) means He leads, I follow. I can't dictate the terms, He does because He is the leader.
I can't vote black because I am black; I have to vote Christian because that's who I am. Christian first, black second. Neither should anyone from other ethnic groups vote because of ethnicity. 2 00 years from now I won't be asked if I was black or white. I will be asked if I knew Jesus and accepted Him as Lord and Savior.
In an election there are many issues to consider but when a society gets abortion, same-sex marriage, embryonic stem-cell research, human cloning - to name a few, then wrong economic concerns will soon not matter.
We need to follow Martin Luther King's words, 'don't judge someone by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.' I don't know Obama, so all I can go on is his voting record. His voting record earned him the title of the most liberal senator in the US Senate in 2007.
<http://nj.nationaljournal.com/voteratings> NATIONAL JOURNAL: Obama: Most Liberal Senator in 2007 (01/31/2008)
To beat Ted Kennedy and Hilary Clin ton as the most liberal senator, takes some doing. Obama accomplished this feat in 2 short years. I wonder what would happen to America if he had four years to work with.
There is a reason Planned Parenthood gives him a 100 % rating. There is a reason the homosexual community supports him. There is a reason Ahmadinejad, Chavez, Castro, Hamas etc. love him. There is a reason he said he would nominate liberal judges to the Supreme Court. There is a reason he voted against the infanticide bill. There is a reason he voted 'No' on the constitutional ban of same-sex marriage.
There is a reason he voted 'No' on banning partial birth abortion. There is a reason he voted 'No' on confirming Justices Roberts and Alito. These two judges are conservatives and they have since overturned partial birth abortion. The same practice Obama wanted to continue.
Let's take a look at the practice he wanted to continue. The 5 Step Partial Birth Abortion procedures:
A. Guided by ultrasound, the abortionist grabs the baby's leg with forceps.
(Remember this is a live baby)
B. The baby's leg is pulled out into the birth canal.
C. The abortionist delivers the baby's entire body, except for the head.
D. The abortionist jams scissors into the baby's skull. The scissors are
then opened to enlarge the hole.
E. The scissors are removed and a suction catheter is inserted. The child's
brains are sucked out, causing the skull to collapse. The dead baby is then
removed.
God help him.
There is a reason Obama opposed the parental notification law.
Think about this: You can' not give a child an aspirin without parental notification but that same child can have an abortion without parental notification. This is insane.
There is a reason Obama went to Jeremiah Wright's church for 20 years.
Obama tells us he has good judgment, but he sat under Jeremiah Wright's teaching for 20 years. Now he is condemning Wright's sermons. I wonder why now?
Obama said Jeremiah Wright led him to the Lord and discipled him. A disciple is one in training. Jesus told us in Matthew 28:19 - 20 'Go and make disciples of all nations.' This means reproduce yourself. Teach people to think like you, walk like you; talk like you believe what you believe etc.
The question I have is what did Jeremiah Wright teach him?
Would you support a White President who went to a church which has tenets that said they have a
- Commitment to the White Community
- Commitment to the White Family
- Adherence to the White Work Ethic
- Pledge to make the fruits of all developing and acquired skills available
to the White Community.
- Pledge to Allocate Regularly, a Portion of Personal Resources for
Strengthening and Supporting White Institutions
- Pledge allegiance to all White leadership who espouse and embrace the
White Value System
- Personal commitment to embracement of the White Value System.
Would you support a President who went to a church like that?
Just change the word from white to black and you have the tenets of Obama's former church. If President Bush was a member of a church like this, he would be called a racist. Jessie Jackson and Al Sharpton would have been marching outside.
This kind of church is a racist church. Obama did not wake up after 20 years and just discover he'd been going to a racist church. The TRUE church can't be about race. Jesus did not come for any particular race. He came for the whole world.
A church can't have a value system based on race. The churches value system has to be based on biblical mandates. It does not matter if it's a white church or a black church based on racial values, it's still wrong. Anyone from either race that attends a church like this would never get my vote.
Obama's former Pastor Jeremiah Wright is a disciple of liberal theologian James Cone, author of the 1970 book 'the goals of the black community'. If God is not for us and against white people, then he is a murderer, and we had better kill him.
Cone is the man Obama's mentor looks up to. Does Obama believe this?
So what does all this mean for the nation?
In the past when the Lord brought someone with the beliefs of Obama to lead a nation it meant one thing - judgment.
Read 1 Samuel 8 when Israel asked for a king. First God says in 1 Samuel 1:9 'Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will do.'
Then God says
1 Samuel 1:18 ' When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the LORD will not answer you in that day.' 19 But the people refused to listen to Samuel. 'No!' they said. 'We want a king over us. 20 Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.' 21 When Samuel heard all that the people said , he repeated it before the LORD. 22 The LORD answered, 'Listen to them and give them a king.'
Here is what we know for sure.
God is not schizophrenic
He would not tell one person to vote for Obama and one to vote for McCain. As the scripture says, a city divided against itself cannot stand, so obviously many people are not hearing from God. Maybe I am the one not hearing but I know God does not change and Obama contradicts many things I read in scripture so I doubt it.
For all my friends who are voting for Obama can you really look God in the face and say; Father ,based on your word, I am voting for Obama even though I know he will continue the genocidal practice of partial birth abortion. He might have to nominate three or four Supreme Court justices, and I am sure he will be nominating liberal judges who will be making laws that are against you. I also know he will continue to push for homosexual rights, even though you destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah for this. I know I can look the other way because of the economy.
I could not see Jesus agreeing with many of Obama's positions. Finally I have two questions for all my liberal friends.
Since we know someone's value system has to be placed on the nation,
- Whose value system should be placed on the nation.
- Who should determine that this is the right value system for the nation?
Blessings,
Huntley Brown
This is real food for thought! I want to be sure to let you know that Obama's blackness doesn't bother me at all. His Muslim tendencies and his liberal thinking do bother me terribly
God may not be schizophrenic but some of her followers obviously are!
This is the most heavy handed nonsense I've ever read. Considering the tone of the sermon, I think my reply is fairly calm.
REPLY ALL:
Hi, We’re just going to have to agree to disagree on this one, but some facts need to be straightened out. Plus, it's good to consider alternative views within our own Christian context.
- No one is in favor of abortion, but the view of Gov. Palin, in particular, is beyond the pale, that is, to not even allow for termination of pregnancy in the event of rape or rape and incest. This is especially crucial in her own state which statistically has a very high rate of rape. This is not a position I would force someone I love to into. I would not put this in the Law of the land...no way. BUT that does not mean I favor abortion.
Even if one wants to make this a single issue vote (based on abortion): After 8 years of a Republican run White House and a Republican Congress (for 6 years), they have done very little to make a difference in terms of the abortion issue. From a legislative standpoint it has been all lip service to conservative Christians. In other words, he is pandering.
Senator McCain has been worse on this issue. Up until the very last minute in the primaries conservative leaders were opposed to McCain because he had not taken a clear enough stand on the issue. While he has promised to appoint conservative justices, we see from Republican history that it just hasn't worked out that way. Maybe the best solution is a personal approach--one on one with folks as one does in presenting the Gospel. Could we demand salvation via the Supreme Court? Probably not.
- The statement re: Obama as the most liberal Senator is wrong according to conservative sources. According to the Conservative Interest Groups which included ACU - American Conservative Union; ATR - Americans for Tax Reform; CWA - Concern Women for America; Club4 - Club for Growth; Eagle - Eagle Forum; FRC - Family Research Council; RTL - Right to Life; TVC - Traditional Values Coalition Obama was the 31st most liberal senator.
Since (as you know) we have 100 senators that would make Obama closer to the middle, that is, a moderate by the classic, political definition.
- Another email that was sent along with this one raises the radical Muslim meme. Who could seriously think that with a Republican controlled Presidency, Department of Justice, CIA, FBI, and so many Republicans in the Congress that a Muslim RADICAL could go undetected for this long? Especially, given the unprecedented power of our government to spy on citizens without warrants (FISA), and the Patriot ACT.
Even if Obama had some mysterious plot, I do not think for one minute that General Petraus or the Joint Chiefs would just drop all their authority...what would they do? What is it folks are afraid of? That he will launch a nuclear attack on NY or St. Louis or Canal Point? REALLY? I doubt it.
Which brings us to point 4. He's a Christian who had a wacky pastor with some over-the-top sermons. All of these notions have been outright refuted, denounced, dejected and declared by Obama for what they are....sheer nonsense....nonsense that is not unlike some of the things I hear all the time from white preachers who preach that God's going to judge America. If God judges America that means "being damned." It's the same thing. If we sin, we pay. Right? What's the difference?
Rev. Hagee and Rev. Parsley endored McCain, but Senator McCain didn't even have the moral courage to stand up and say "I will not renounce their endoresments." Instead, McCain renounced/rejected their endorsements while saying also that Jeremiah Wright's views are not the same as Obama's. Good point. My Pastor's views are not the same as mine. Do I always tell him? No. But I will when I feel strongly enough about the issue.
McCain flip/flopped on his support of Christians which he will likely do if he gets elected (granted that's speculation on my part based on his history/record...to be fair).
Finally, some moral issues that trouble me about McCain/Palin:
- This is the 1st Presidential/VP ticket in the history of the United States of America in which both candidates have been found guilty of ethical violations...one which connects directly to the current financial problem in our country. Bipartisan commissions and legislatures (with a majority of Republicans!!) reprimanded Sen. McCain for his unethical use of power with Charles Keating. This led directly to the Savings and Loan crisis from years ago...a pattern of deregulatory and unethical influence continuing all the way up until his involvement with the convicted lobbyist Abramhoff. This type of corruption and undue influence with a bent toward deregulation of Wall Street has resulted in quite a mess financially for many people and it will certainly get worse.
We need someone with a clear plan.
- Gov Palin: The investigation into her ethics violations began well before she was selected as VP candidate and it has been spearheaded by Republicans and Democratic members of the Alaskan Legislature. The report released Friday clearly states that "I find Gov. Palin to have violated Alaska's ethics statute by abusing her power..." Abuse of power is a serious concern. Then she lied about it to the press, claiming she was exonerated. NO. she was not.
This is not Christian behavior.
- Hypocrisy: McCain blasts Obama over ACORN when today it was revealed that indeed McCain gave full support to them in a meeting in 2006. This is on video.
Other issues;
- It is clear the "trickle down" economic theory has failed terribly. We need a new plan. Not tax cuts for the rich.
- Barack Obama is not a black panther/activist in the mold of Jessie Jackson...far from it. His mother was white.
- He is the most qualified person to run for office in a long time: Top of the class at Harvard (He did not put his race on the application so no one could claim he got in based on Affirmative Action). He held the highest position as President of the Harvard Review. We need someone in office who understands the constitution and how to propose legislation that will benefit our citizens and set us on a course for energy plans that will break our addiction to oil; promote educational programs that work and repair our infrastructure.
Being well-educated is a good thing. Personally, I've had enough of Presidents who claim to be very Christian and pray, but then they show up at the Olympics completely drunk (oh yea, there are pics of that too!)...that's a real drag on the presidency. I want a President who can articulate where we need to go from here.
Just some thoughts!
Love ya no matter what...but I know I can't vote for McCain...and Obama is an inspiring leader for a change.
Thanks for reading!
Reading the racist portion of this email I realize that I must have done a piss poor job as pastor since I had sitting in the pews for 5 years! someone who would hold to such racist views. WOW. Could thing I change my line of work....maybe now as former minister I can be more direct!
UPDATE: Special thanks to many of the thoughts which I learned and/or borrowed from members here. I'm looking for the name of the specific diarist who posted the info on Obama not being the most liberal Senator. I will add the name once I find it. Thank you.
UPDATE 2: Just received my 1st response to my reply. The email was from my favorite aunt who also happens to be on the initial list. She stated "I don't want to discuss politics and I had nothing to do with that email. So don't come back at me cause I'm innocent."
That's rather odd...didn't think I "came back" at anyone. Oh well, may have lost my fav aunt. Hopefully not. I tried to reassure her that I had replied to everyone on the list. I am not sure she understands how that part of THE email works!
PS: thanks for all your comments. Made my first diary a great experience. So now I'm off to phonebank for the team.
UPDATE 3: Much to my surprise I received a positive response from one of the folks on the original email list. I am shocked! Her reply? "Thank you. I have read all of it with an open mind!"
That's exciting. It's a start. Fired up! Ready to go!