Jesus will not be President of the United States.

I’ve tried several times to begin a blog about the Presidential race between Barack Obama and John McCain. I’ve failed each time because I’m not really a political guy. I’m way to moderate. I see some good in each candidate, and I see some things I don’t like. So it’s hard for me to have any real commentary that I feel anybody will care about. I have NO clue how to fix the economy and hate the fact that money even exists. I have NO clue about how to fix the health care system and don’t understand why people need money to help other people stay healthy. I also believe that neither the democrat nor republican party have a monopoly on honesty. I don’t know who to believe anymore. I believe John McCain was probably very courageous in that POW prison. I don’t believe Obama is Muslim or a terrorist. I believe they both love the United States and want better for the country. It’s difficult for this moderate to articulate how I feel about the race because I feel that they are both lacking in many ways, but neither are the epitome of evil that so many make them out to be.

It seems that every 4 years each Presidential race polarizes the United States of America than the last. There doesn’t seem to be much united about the process at all. There is invariably only 2 real candidates, and if we want to vote in the election, we need to either choose one of the two candidates or vote third party; the latter being frowned upon as throwing away your vote. I don’t really see this as throwing away your vote and seriously considered doing it for this election. I guess it’s the only way I can send any sort of message to say that I’m displeased with my choices. I have to be honest, there isn’t really a third candidate that I have any knowledge about, so I couldn’t say that I was voting for the person I thought would make a good President. Then there is the option of not voting. A friend of mine named Dave said that’s what he was going to do. I pretty much agree with all of what he said, except for me, I believe that as an American citizen that is enjoying the freedom that comes with my citizenship, I have a responsibility to show up at the polling station. I have considered submitting a blank ballot to fulfill my duty but also express my disdain with my options.

I don’t feel that a blank ballot is necessary for me this year. I believe both of the candidates have some good things to offer, and they both have some positions with which I disagree strongly. But I do believe both candidates mean well and want to see this country do well- albeit in different ways. While in the past I have made my decision based on who I thought was the least of two evils, I have decided not to continue to label anyone as evil and look at who offered me more. I need someone to believe in.

On a church-related website, my brother recently posted a link to a youtube video of some minority youths expressing hope in their future with Barack Obama as President. Essentially the video was saying “Hey, if Barack Obama can attain the Presidency, then I can [you fill in the blank]. My brother and I are a lot alike in that he is not really all that political, but shares some values with Obama. There are also some things on which he really disagrees. In no way does he believe that Obama is the savior of the United States, let alone the world. He has never made such a statement (I don’t believe) nor will he. He understands that Obama is a man with political aspirations, that he is very fallible, and he will make mistakes even if he is elected to serve this country as President. He simply posted a video expressing his appreciation for the possibility that there will be a President that inspires children to set lofty goals for themselves and work to attain them. It was apparent from some of the comments that followed his posting that not all felt this way. One of the follow-up posts said that the video reminded them of the Hitler youth movement and that they couldn’t believe how the spirit of antichrist has infiltrated our country, church, and schools (specifically church-sponsored schools). Essentially, they accused my brother, and others like him, of acting in non-Christlike ways because they have appreciation for Barack Obama. Really?! “Antichrist?” How on earth did we come to this? Am I to believe that Obama is the antichrist and John McCain is somehow closer to resembling Christ than Barack? Am I really supposed to equate a vote for John McCain as the Christian thing to do?

I find it very troubling that anybody would make any attempt to equate Christlikeness with a politician- democrat, republican, or whatever. This idea that America is a Christian nation is hogwash, and frankly, the more I examine the Christ in the Gospels, the less faith I have in the American way. The American way is NOT the way, the truth, and the life. It is NOT the Kingdom of God. Again, I believe my friend Dave was right on in his defense of his decision to not vote. When it comes down to it, there isn’t a politician out there that can offer what Christ offered. How did we come to this?

I am conscious of the fact that this next paragraph may leave people wondering if I believe that the Bible has an equal in relaying the Word of God. Let me assure you (both of you), I don’t. However, in recent years I have come to have a whole new appreciation for the it. I once saw it as God’s Word. I was supposed to read it and obey what it said, simply because it said it. It was there to help me avoid sinning and to tell me how to deal with sin should I fall into it. I have come to believe that this may be a functional way of looking at the Bible for some but I’m leery of viewing the Bible this way myself. In Jesus’ day, there were many people who looked at the scriptures this way and Jesus told them that they didn’t understand the scriptures. The Bible is still sacred to me. I believe it contains God’s Word, but it is not all of God’s Word. It is a book about part of human history and our relationship to God’s Word. It shows us what can happen when we choose to ignore God’s Word and it shows us our potential when we revere and stick with God’s Word. God’s Word existed before the Bible, and it will continue to exist should every Bible be burned somehow. The Bible does not usurp God’s Word. God’s Word is Truth, and the Bible helps me understand Truth. It showed me how one man- Jesus- lived Truth. The stories in the Bible of God’s interaction with man are critical to understanding Truth. They explain how God feels about various things that we do and how He dealt with our actions. Eventually, God felt it was necessary to give us written law because we had grown too self-centered and blind to follow God’s Word without Him spelling it out for us. And it also sheds some light upon how God feels about our capacity to govern for ourselves.

In the story about the Israel as told in the Bible, there came a time when the judges- a group of people who received direct communication from God- no longer satisfied the governing desires of the Israelites. The Israelites asked Samuel, the last of the good judges, to appoint a King to rule them. This upset Samuel since the judges received their instruction straight from God. God was displeased as well.

God answered Samuel, "Go ahead and do what they're asking. They are not rejecting you. They've rejected me as their King. From the day I brought them out of Egypt until this very day they've been behaving like this, leaving me for other gods. And now they're doing it to you. So let them have their own way. But warn them of what they're in for. Tell them the way kings operate, just what they're likely to get from a king"(The Message, 1 Samuel 8:7-9).

Samuel did tell them what was in store for them under the rule of a king. The king would take what he needed from the people by force. Essentially the people would then serve the king and not God. The loyalties would be split at best. The story which follows is one of corruption and lack of obedience to God.

Several years later (like hundreds of years) Jesus enters the picture claiming to be the King of the Jews, the Messiah, who was here to set things right. The problem was, the Jews were still looking for a king of political power. One who would conquer nations and put Israel back on the Imperial map. But Jesus would have none of it. He had no interest in earthly rule. This was Jesus' whole message. God wanted to rule men’s hearts. It was a different kingdom altogether. It was not of this world. If it was, Jesus would have set out on military conquests and his followers would have risen militarily. But again, Jesus would have none of that. It wasn’t how the Kingdom of God worked (and still works). This was evident in the Garden of Gethsemane when Jesus was arrested by both his words and his actions:

Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus and arrested him. 51With that, one of Jesus' companions reached for his sword, drew it out and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.

52"Put your sword back in its place," Jesus said to him, "for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. 53Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?

God’s Kingdom wasn’t one of military conquest; it was not going to conquer people militarily. God wants people’s hearts, not their territories. Jesus understood this and shunned political leadership. I think this is one of the things Jesus was saying when he told people they didn't understand the scriptures; that they didn't understand the Word of God.

Why do I say all this? We fall into danger of not understanding scripture when we equate American Nationalism with working for the Kingdom of God. I say it because I am very disturbed by what I see happen to the church every 4 years around the Presidential election. I’m just tired of the demonizing that happens. It’s not even like people try to sell “their” candidate based on their qualifications. Instead they ridicule the “other side’s” candidate and talk about how terrible of a President they would be. And in the church, people have the nerve to throw around the label “antichrist” in regards to a particular candidate and those that might find some good qualities in them. I’m at a loss for words as to how to describe how dumb it is to pretend that the United States is even close to the Kingdom of God. It’s not. I won’t even pretend that it is. But I still plan to vote, and my Christian worldview will affect my vote.

If the two of you are still reading this entry, thank you. I can’t imagine why you’ve stuck with it this far. AND, I can’t imagine why you would care who I’m voting for or why. But for some reason, I just feel like sharing it. I’ve recently decided to vote for Barack Obama, and likely not for the strongest of reasons. But I’ll list a few here:

1 I do not really consider abortion to be a real issue any more. It only seems to be an issue at election time or when a judge is nominated to the Supreme Court. There has been a conservative republican in office for 20 of the past 28 years and nothing has changed in Roe v. Wade. Apparently, voting for a candidate based on this issue is not a great decision. Even if it did, I’m not really convinced that a written law will end abortion. It’ll make it illegal, but it won’t end the problem. I would like abortion to be legal and non-existant because it is unnecessary. I believe Obama feels the same way. I believe abortion is wrong, but I don’t want people not having abortions because it’s illegal, I want them not having abortions because they don’t believe they need to have one.

2 Gun control. “Guns don’t kill people; People kill people.” Yes, and it’s easier for people to kill people if they have a machine gun.

3 Global warming. Don’t know if it’s man-made or not, but I don’t see the harm in changing our habits to protect the earth.

4 Economy. Like I said, I don’t have a whole lot of knowledge about the economy. What I do know is that rich people don’t get rich by giving away their money, so I’m a bit skeptical of a “trickle-down” approach.

5 The war. First of all, I believe we were lied to about WMDs. I don’t think it was an accident. This war with Iraq was about a lot more than WMDs and how much of a threat Saddam was to the US. Also, I really don’t think that most of the American people want to be at war with the Iraqi people or the Iranian people. I think some very rich people, some of whom are in the American government, benefited from going to war in Iraq and would like to go to war with the Iran government for similar reasons. I don’t want my government killing innocents and calling it “collateral damage”. I don’t understand how the deaths on 9-11 made it ok to kill several thousand more Americans and hundreds of thousands of Iraqi’s in the name of finding WMDs that didn’t exist. This wreaks of empire building and oil control. I won’t even argue about this. I just know how I feel about it. “Who would Jesus bomb?” isn’t just a smart-ass quip. Answer the question. Yes, I feel pretty strongly about this. And it’s NOT about the troops, it’s about those that created the war.

6 Finally, VISION. I describe my feelings about the two candidates this way: I’d like to have a cup of coffee with McCain and perhaps ask him for advice. That would be fun. I’d like to work for Obama. I believe he has the vision for not only a better America, but for a better world. He inspires me to do better and to be a better person. I believe he sees the potential for humanity. We, as a world, need to change and the US needs to lead the way. I struggle with McCain’s “Country First” slogan. My neighbors live beyond the borders of the USA and I care about them too. I think it is high time that our Presidents and citizens realize we're all in this world together so we should stop destroying each other.

I think I’ve rambled enough now, and this is beginning to sound a lot like gobble-de-gook. In summary, I’d only say this: Don’t compare these candidates to Jesus or this country to the Kingdom of God. It’s not even close.