Liberty and Sustainability

It took thousands of years for the world’s population to reach one billion in around 1800. It took another 130 years for the population to reach two billion (1930) and just 30 years to reach three billion (1960). In the 50 years since then, the world’s population has more than doubled, to an estimated 6.8 billion at the end of 2010. To most thinking people, this does not appear to be sustainable. Even with the best management practices, the earth cannot sustain an infinitely expanding population with finite resources. This raises for me the specter of sustainability being achieved at the expense of liberty.

Consider this: When Europeans first arrived in the Americas they were greeted by an estimated total of between 50 and 100 million native people. The vastness of the two continents understandably seemed to them to be an inexhaustible bounty. Settlers in North America were encouraged to claim land and do as they wished, farming and hunting and exploiting the resources without the government giving any thought to what they were consuming or bothering to check in at all. Indeed, the government would not have been able to, and really had no mind to even if it could. In a big world with few people, consumption wasn’t much of a problem. But now, with rain forests disappearing and fossil fuels being consumed and land being gobbled up and other species being threatened, it becomes clear that multiple billions of people cannot continue to chop away or develop or exploit as they wish. Neither can they procreate unlimited numbers of children, because population growth is exponential.

I can only imagine a solution coming down from the powers that be that involves complete control over what we consume, how we use land and other resources, whether or not and how much we procreate, and even what we teach about these things in our religious institutions. In other words, I am imagining an inverse relationship between liberty and sustainability. The logic will be something like this: Freedom and lack of regulation have produced this catastrophe, and only control can deliver us from it.

State of Corruption

What I daydream about is creating a paradigm that does not encourage corruption as much as ours in Illinois does, and I'd argue based on a biblical notion of fallen human nature that the people in the Green Party are equally subject to sinful human nature as any Republican, Democrat or Libertarian. I think this is what Christians need to recognize.

Since we're all subject to our fallen natures, the only lasting solution is redemption through the Gospel. However, since we know that full redemption is yet future, the next best thing is a "best case scenario" paradigm - one which may not be able to eliminate corruption (only the Cross can do that), but at least does not openly promote it like the current paradigm does.

My simple suggestion is this: Remove the massive incentive of the current system to concentration of power and consequently corruption. Do this by 1) Term Limits: Limiting political careers to 8 years in any given office and 16 years total public service. Then they have to go back to the private sector. Then 2) Take away pensions.

If "public servants" actually have to make a sacrifice to serve the public, it might just be less attractive to those who lust after the power of office. It might actually attract those who want to make a difference.

Meanwhile, though certain aspects of various party platforms resonate with me, I am increasingly unwilling to give my loyalty to any one Party. I am a citizen of another Kingdom, so there will always be some level of incongruence.

I am appalled by politicians in general - most of them are egomaniacs in the first place, including third party - and I am appalled by the Republicans' lack of social conscience and consciousness, the Democrats pathetic belief that government is the answer for everything, the Libertarians idea that individual liberty trumps everything else, and the Greens utopianism and paranoia.

But back to my first complaint, though... the electorate for the most part can only parrot what it is fed by the media. It does not care much beyond who has the most enticing image and who can promise the most goodies for the lowest price. Is there really a political solution for that? We have undone the American Revolution and gone back to selling our bodies and souls to the king.

My How Things Have Changed!

On this occasion of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, I thought I'd post Abraham Lincoln's 1863 proclamation of a National Day of Prayer and Humiliation due to the sins of our country that resulted in the Civil War. Try to imagine something like this coming out of Washington today! Here is the text:

By the President of the United States of America.

A Proclamation.

Whereas, the Senate of the United States, devoutly recognizing the Supreme Authority and just Government of Almighty God, in all the affairs of men and of nations, has, by a resolution, requested the President to designate and set apart a day for National prayer and humiliation.

And whereas it is the duty of nations as well as of men, to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and transgressions, in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon; and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord.

And, insomuch as we know that, by His divine law, nations like individuals are subjected to punishments and chastisements in this world, may we not justly fear that the awful calamity of civil war, which now desolates the land, may be but a punishment, inflicted upon us, for our presumptuous sins, to the needful end of our national reformation as a whole People? We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved, these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power, as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us!

It behooves us then, to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness. Now, therefore, in compliance with the request, and fully concurring in the views of the Senate, I do, by this my proclamation, designate and set apart Thursday, the 30th. day of April, 1863, as a day of national humiliation, fasting and prayer.

And I do hereby request all the People to abstain, on that day, from their ordinary secular pursuits, and to unite, at their several places of public worship and their respective homes, in keeping the day holy to the Lord, and devoted to the humble discharge of the religious duties proper to that solemn occasion.

All this being done, in sincerity and truth, let us then rest humbly in the hope authorized by the Divine teachings, that the united cry of the Nation will be heard on high, and answered with blessings, no less than the pardon of our national sins, and the restoration of our now divided and suffering Country, to its former happy condition of unity and peace.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. Done at the City of Washington, this thirtieth day of March, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the United States the eighty seventh.

By the President: Abraham Lincoln

Americans Are Funny People, Part 1

I was just thinking today, Americans are funny people!

We are increasingly developing a taste for a government that caters to our every need: We would like the powers that be to be completely responsible for our education, our healthcare, our employment, our personal safety and heck, even our happiness.

But we HATE PAYING TAXES!

In fact, complaining about taxes has become a national pastime. Here in Chicago, it seems to be in the news every day. But all that nannying comes with a price. Somebody has to pay all those government employees and fund all those programs.

So in other words, we want a Cadillac government at a Yugo price.

Anyone care to explain this?

Republicans and Health Care

WHY are the Republicans suddenly so concerned about health care?

What I find interesting is that in light of the Democrats' effort to extend health care to all Americans, the Republicans are suddenly paying attention. It seems they're concerned about how we can get insurance to the significant percentage of Americans who have none without bankrupting the country, destroying the insurance industry, and careening towards 'soft' socialism and ever more governmental intrusion into everyday life.

And, mind you, it seems like they have some good ideas. Surely there must be a way to help the uninsured. Surely, in a society like ours, where health care is sophisticated and expensive, there must be a way for that society to care for those without means. And even more surely, the plans that the Democrats are forwarding are about as creative as the Great Society. (Read: 'Every problem is a Crisis, and the solution to every Crisis involves the Federal Government and your tax dollars.')

I would argue that, as is frequently the case, the Republicans have more practical and workable ideas than the Democrats do.

My beef is this: If Republicans cared so much about health care and the uninsured, why didn't they do something about it when they had the White House and both houses of Congress? (For YEARS!) Why are they waiting until the Democrats are in power and in a position to impose ever more government on the American people?

Here's my theory: The big problem with conservatives in general and Republicans in particular is that they are blind to the plight of those genuinely in need. They lump them in with the freeloaders who prey on peoples' compassion and pull the 'personal responsibility' card. This creates a vacuum that liberals eagerly fill. Liberals who tend to really care about the poor, but have ridiculous, abysmal, ideologically driven "solutions" for the problems.

Memo to the Republican Party:

Start caring.

Use your practical, workable market-based solutions to solve problems for people in need instead of reacting to what the Democrats do. Stop being blind to the plight of the poor and who knows? You might win some elections. And maybe even save us from the government in the process.

Violence: A Parable (Part 2)

A parable is a story that teaches a deeper truth by way of analogy. In this particular analogy, the yard is the city, the weed is violence, the grass is people and families, and the soil is the spiritual matrix those families and people grow in. Or don’t.

Now as with all parables, one cannot press the analogy too hard. The point is to illustrate the point.

So what’s my point? The spiritual soil many people in Chicago grow in is toxic. It’s poor at best and dead and barren at worst. This “soil” includes the way people relate to other people, the cumulative effect of both the sins committed against them and the consequences of the sins they commit, their emotional and social health, and especially the way they relate to God.

Violence comes from all kinds of people – rich and poor, white and minority, educated and uneducated. But it seems especially prevalent among the poor and minorities in blighted neighborhoods in the city. The soil these people grow in has been made toxic by everything from systemic disenfranchisement to generations of bad choices to corporate greed to exploitation by the record industry to open rebellion against God. It’s complex. Neither the liberals nor the conservatives have a corner on explaining the actual nature of the problem, which is often what happens when an issue becomes politicized and polarized.

But the problem at hand is that kids are dying, and all the awareness campaigns, candlelight vigils, prayer marches, gun legislation, prison sentences and educational initiatives have failed so far to make a lasting dent. Interestingly, this was not happening 40 or 50 years ago, even among the poor and disenfranchised. One would think people would ask themselves what has changed between then and now. Of course, people were killing each other back in the day. In fact, that has been happening since Cain killed Abel. But one did not see the devastated families and kids killing kids. I believe the increasing rejection of God is at the heart of this issue. Rejection by every level of society in Western culture. Humans have always been guilty of gross sin, and it always brings death, but the Western phenomenon of seeing God as quaint, even among professing Christians, surely causes us to forfeit His peace and order.

Nothing short of a spiritual revolution can change this problem. Even if the shooting stopped, the toxicity would simply manifest itself in another way. The bad soil has to be stripped away, rich, living soil has to be put down, and the grass needs to be able to grow healthy and strong. Families and people have to be healed. We must deal with the problem at its root. There is no solution that does not include the spiritual healing of families and people, and I just don’t see this happening unless the church rises up.

Has God Abandoned America as a Nation?

I know some of you can't stand John MacArthur, but he asks some piercing questions here.

Al Mohler on the Future of Evangelicalism

http://www.albertmohler.com/blog_read.php?id=3255

What do you think?

Emerging Urban Conservative

Part 1 of an occasional series...

This morning I was reminded why I am a conflicted voter.

We got up at 6:45 to get our kids off to school. Now, school is 2 miles away and starts at 8:00, so some of you may be asking why we get up so early to start the process, but for those of you who have kids, you understand.

So every day we have breakfast with our four kids at 7 am. Our kids have never known anything else - it's normal for them.

But for many, many kids in the city (and increasingly in other places) having breakfast with your parents is anything but normal.

This is the source of my conflicted politics. Let me explain, using the Breakfast example.

Many people assert, and I would agree, that school is the place you go for education. Not for parenting, not for essential life skills, not for self-esteem or counseling, and not for breakfast. Back in the day, schools taught kids math and history and science and reading, and many kids brought their own lunches in cool metal lunch boxes with pictures of Speed Racer or some other hero (remember them?). Other kids got hot lunch that their parents paid for - because after all, that is what parents do right? They provide for their kids. So breakfast happened at home, courtesy of mom and dad.

But the reality for lots of kids is parents who do not or cannot provide. There are many reasons for this:

In some cases, both parents have to work in order to stay afloat, and leave home very early. Breakfast is nearly impossible to pull off.

Too many kids grow up with single moms, for a variety of reasons. Breakfast at home becomes a luxury.

Many more kids, like in my wife's old school, have parents who are still kids themselves, or absent, or drug-addicted, or completely broken in some way. The caregivers range from babysitters to Grandma or some other relative to friends of the family to nobody. Really.

Most of this mess is the result of someone's sin. From greedy corporate executives to generations of sinful choices regarding sex, drugs and alcohol, other people's sinful choices cave in on these children and rob them of normality.

Some of the mess is simply a result of difficult circumstances. Either way, it's the kids who pay.

So back to my politics...

My conservative, Republican side says that to saddle the schools with the responsibility to play a parental role is bad for a million reasons. It distracts from the mission of the school to educate, it absolves the irresponsible parent of responsibility, and it turns the government into something of a Big Brother... a Nanny. Those are all valid points, and one of the reasons I'm a Republican (albeit an uncomfortable one).

But the urban side of me recognizes that if the government, by means of the schools, does not feed these kids breakfast, they will not be fed.

We can pontificate all we want about how the church should be doing this and that, but at the moment it is not doing it, and kids need to eat today.

And I believe passionately that the Gospel breaks the chains of sin and irresponsibility and turns losers (like me) into functional people and great parents. I have seen it happen over and over again as people in the 'hood and elsewhere in the city get saved and experience the awesome sanctification of the Holy Spirit, and over time become highly functional people who give back to their communities and raise strong families. This is why I do what I do.

So I wish for a smaller, simpler government but recognize that current reality demands government intrusion in an ostensibly parental responsibility.

I wish for greater individual responsibility for sure, but recognize the reality that there is a corporate responsibility of a society for its needier members. I don't think there is a political party for those realities.

So I am an Emerging Urban Conservative

Conservative because I resonate with the essential tenets of political, social and fiscal conservatism: Small, effecient government with a limited role and great accountability to an educated electorate; taxation that allows essential governmental function without hindering businesses or placing an undue burden on taxpayers; and morality that places value on human life at all its stages and on the responsibility of the individual. I have a real theological problem with people trusting in government for everything. I do not believe it is biblically justifiable, especially for Christians who claim we must trust God.

Urban because the realities of the city cut to the heart of the human condition and cut through the political crap. You see the best and worst here, where the artificial glaze of suburbia is removed. It is in an urban environment that flawed ideology, whether left or right, gets exposed for what it is (even if it still clings to life, as Democratic nonsense does here in Chicago). Despite all my Republican convictions, the reality of the city shows me that life is too complicated for bootstrap ideology. There's a reason there are hardly any Republicans in Chicago!

Emerging because more and more people, especially Christians, are beginning to see that no political system solves all the problems or is substantially in line with biblical thought. There is a political ideology emerging among us that abandons old ideological and political loyalties and instead lives in a messy tension.

You should think about joining me!

Another Election Thought... Sorry

This is from John Ortberg. I saw it on Jeremy Del Rio's site (a blog ironically entitled “no more words”) and thought it was worth putting up.

I am truly dismayed at some of the small-mindedness of my fellow conservatives and Evangelicals. We are earning (or perhaps reinforcing) a bad reputation for ourselves. I have a long list of issues with Obama. As long as anyone else's. But there is so much more to this complex story, and Ortberg does a nice job of admonishing us. I am going to post at some point on my new term, "Emerging Urban Conservative". Maybe it's the bright future of our species!

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Ortberg's Piece:

Lessons from the Election: Seven Deadly Sins of Evangelicals in Politics:

I want to propose the “Seven Deadly Sins of Evangelicals and Politics.” You may have a few of your own to add. But the spirit of such lists in the past was not to add to our store of information but to contrition. So feel free to confess while you read.

Messianism. The sin of believing that a merely human person or system can usher in the eschaton. This is often tipped off by phrases like: “The most important election of our lifetime” (which one wasn’t?); or “God’s man for the hour.”

Selective Scripturization. The sin of using Scripture to reinforce whatever attitude toward the president you feel like holding, while shellacking it with a thin spiritual veneer. If the candidate you like holds office, you consistently point people toward Romans 13: “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established.” If your candidate lost, you consistently point people to Acts 4:10 where Peter and John say to the Sanhedrin: “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God.” It’s just lucky for us the Bible is such a big book.

Easy Believism. This is the sin of believing the worst about a candidate you disagree with, because when you want them to lose you actually want to believe bad things about them. “Love is patient, love is kind,” Paul said. “Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices in the truth.” But in Paul’s day nobody ran for Caesar. There was no talk radio.

Episodism. The sin of being engaged in civic life only on a random basis. The real issues never go away, but we’re tempted to give them our attention only when the news about them is controversial, or simplistic, or emotionally charged. Sustained attention to vital but unsexy issues is not our strong suit.

Alarmism. A friend of mine used to work for an organization that claimed both Christian identity and a particular political orientation. They actually liked it when a president was elected of the opposite persuasion, because it meant they could raise a lot more money. It is in their financial interests to convince their constituents that the president is less sane than Jack Nicholson in The Shining. Alarmists on both sides of the spectrum make it sound like we’re electing a Bogeyman-in-Chief every four years. I sometimes think we should move the election up a few days to October 31.

One Issue-ism. Justifying our intolerance of complexity and nuance by collapsing a decision into a simplistic and superficial framework. [Though you know my thoughts on this one... SL]

Pride. I couldn’t think of a snappy title for this one. But politics, after all, is largely about power. And power goes to the core of our issues of control and narcissism and need to be right and tendency to divide the human race into ‘us’ vs. ‘them.’

What might happen if the world were to see those of us who claim to be the church vote, and speak, and campaign, and respond to the results in a humble and repentant spirit?

Indeed, John. What if?

An Election Parable

Jesus used parables to make a point. As I was driving into work today, I thought of one too. It may seem like a fairy tale, but I dreamed awhile and wondered what might be if we could get the point of a parable like this…

“Once there was a great nation that chose its leader every four years by popular vote. Election cycle after election cycle, various candidates would campaign across the vast nation, trying to convince the people to vote for him or her and stirring up and even revealing a great deal of division in the process. One particular year, the nation was especially divided over who should lead it and how such a leader should go about governing.

Even the Believers of that nation were divided, with some feeling very strongly that the candidate that ran on a “pro-life” platform should be the choice, since life was important to Believers; and others feeling just as strongly that the candidate who ran on a platform stressing unity and the inclusion of those traditionally disenfranchised should be the choice, since those things were important to Believers as well.

In fact, many Believers were themselves among the disenfranchised. They saw the importance of bringing justice to a historically unjust situation, and the candidate they favored, who was himself among the historically disenfranchised, seemed to be just the man to do it. He even identified himself as a Believer! The problem was that the other Believers, their brothers and sisters, had never experienced such injustice and had difficulty understanding how the Believers who had experienced injustice could overlook something as fundamentally important as life.

Lo, the election came, and indeed the man who stood up for the disenfranchised won. This was cause for great celebration, and even the historically disenfranchised Believers who did not vote for the winner felt a certain sense of progress. The problem, however, was that the Believers who had not ever experienced injustice, who were indeed part of the majority culture, simply could not understand how their brothers and sisters could vote the way they did. They felt bitter and betrayed.

In time, disunity began to tear at the Believers, with their political passions overcoming their bonds of brotherhood and faith. Indeed, this disunity revealed significant cracks in the body of Believers that had been overlooked or ignored before, especially by those who had never experienced disenfranchisement. Believers began to despair.

But then The Miracle happened. The Believers began to come together and pray for the candidate who won. All over the Great Nation, believers overcame their differences and prayed and fasted night and day that God would work in the heart of the new leader, to make him the kind of man that would care about all the things that are important to God, not just one limited set of ideals. There was repentance on both sides for voting political passion or expedience or raw emotion over Kingdom values, and there was much weeping and joy.

And then it happened. The new leader began to see the importance of life! In fact, he began to see the beauty of God’s design for every facet of human experience. The new leader began to see the importance of all of the values of the Kingdom of God, as God opened his eyes in gracious response to the prayers of His people. He repented of his blindness and sin and began to lead justly in all things. And lo, there was an even greater celebration, as believers were able to overlook their political passions and instead focus solely on the things that are valued by God. And the new leader became increasingly wise, and skillful, and balanced and compassionate, as God’s people, the Believers, continued to pray day and night for their elected leader.

In fact, they prayed so much, and God worked so profoundly, that the new leader became one of the greatest presidents in history, and was re-elected by a bipartisan landslide four years later, even though many in his own party and in the larger political establishment were dismayed at his radical change in values.”

A fable? A hopeless fantasy?

You decide.

So Much for Change…

Okay… I have given myself a couple days to truly bask in the progress America has made in electing an African American president. We all have had 72 hours to celebrate something really worth celebrating.

So now it’s time to take the gloves off and treat Obama like any other public official entrusted with the stewardship of office: He’s accountable.

It was announced today that Obama has named Rahm Emmanuel as his White House Chief of Staff. If there was ever a ruthless, partisan political hack on either side of the aisle, this is the man. He makes Karl Rove look like a schoolboy. He is the ultimate Chicago insider and a big player in the Chicago political machine and the Chicago-Washington power axis.

Is this the change you voted for?

Check out these compelling Chicago Tribune articles (the same Chicago Tribune that endorsed Obama):

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-transition_web_7nov07,0,4784287.story

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/chi-kass-07-nov07,0,4323182.column

This is a reminder once again why it is important to vote as close to Kingdom values as possible, and if not possible, then to not vote. I am with my brother and fellow Blogger Aaron on this one – I wonder if Christians should have just sat this one out.

For all my brothers and sisters who voted Obama because he for once offered real participation for minorities or because he is Black or because he promised change or because he somehow stirred “hope”, I hope this is not the shape of things to come…

On Abortion

Nov. 5, 2008

By now, I have heard a number of Christians justify their support for Obama despite his strong stand for abortion rights.

Their support falls along two lines of thought:

1) The supposedly pro-life Republicans have done nothing to stem the tide of abortions anyway, and their policies may even increase the number of abortions
2) Obama has a heart for social justice, and being pro-life has to involve more than just pre-birth and end-of-life issues; it has to encompass all of life. A social justice stand is really pro-life for those who are already born. Besides, it is not reasonable to be a single-issue voter.

While there are some legitimate ideas expressed in those lines of thought, I believe both are fatally flawed, and while all this was on my mind, I thought it would be good to engage these ideas and sort of unpack some of the problems they present for Christians.

Before I do that, let me say four things:

First, I celebrate with all my heart the election of an African-American president! There is so much unqualified good in that. It fulfills the dreams and hopes of so many Americans and needs to be celebrated for what it is. Last night was truly historical, and regardless of Obama’s current ideology or future performance, it must be remembered as a great night in American history.

Second, I do not owe my allegiance nor put my faith in any political party or platform. My politics are increasingly informed by my theology, based in Scripture, which puts me at odds with various aspects of all parties and in agreement with aspects of most parties.

Third, I believe with my whole heart that there were no great choices for president this election. Nobody who ran really is facing the deepest problems of our country, which are materialism, greed, and humanism. I don’t know how much any man could even adequately address those issues. We have such a poverty of spirit in America that goes back first to our inherent depravity, but more recently to our prosperity after WWII. It ignores social, political and economic differences and pervades every level of our culture, and indeed has taken root in the church. If I did not trust a sovereign God, I would be in despair.

Fourth, I love you no matter who you voted for! I am certain God’s people almost always vote their consciences, and God knows our hearts. I am a little concerned about our heads, however.

But Christians supporting Obama specifically grieves me. I mean, I think we must all support him in his office as president, as far as Scripture commands us to be honoring our leaders. I respect the man to an extent, and I respect the office. My earnest prayer is that Obama will be a wise and discerning leader in a volatile world. Nonetheless, it is the starry-eyed infatuation with this man and the implicit sanctioning of his policies by voting for him on the part of people who believe the Bible that has me so very saddened. So let me answer the issues I posted above.


Regarding the charge that Republicans have accomplished nothing anyway:

I would argue that there has been progress in the effort against abortion under certain sincere conservative politicians (not all of them Republican) who have taken up the fight. South Dakota’s attempt at a ban would be a real-time example. But this is not even the central issue for me. To merely look at the body count and be dissatisfied with the lack of progress seems a bit pragmatic. I think the real issue is the moral viability of a society that tolerates killing babies in the womb at all. Voting for someone who tolerates abortion is bad enough, since it perpetuates the status quo at best. It makes peace with an abomination. However, voting for someone who is an outspoken advocate of abortion amounts to complicity. I know, that sounds harsh. I also know that there are many other issues relating to justice and life that are profoundly important, and I want to unpack that in my next point, but if one cannot get this one right, does he or she even have a legitimate voice in the rest? Killing babies is huge.

So, yes, I think that voting for people who oppose abortion, even if there is NEVER an impact on the actual number of abortions, remains a prophetic statement – a pebble in the shoe, so to speak – to a culture that blithely ignores the most fundamental expression of human life and dignity. I believe Christians should continue to vote pro-life no matter the outcome.

As for Republican policies actually increasing abortions… the last thing I want to do here is get into a messy partisan argument, so let me just say this: This is an illegitimate charge. It assumes that: a) Republican policies cause poverty and b) poverty causes abortion. In order for that to be true, the person considering an abortion has to have a thought process something like this: “My goodness, I’m pregnant! If only I could afford to raise this baby and give it a decent life, then I would keep it, but because of oppressive economic policies I’m stuck in poverty, so I must abort.” This of course reduces the most weighty decision most women will ever make to simple economic calculus. Do you really think that is what happens? What about WIC? What about Welfare, Medicare, Kid Care, and adoption? Women most often choose to abort because of the overwhelming thought of responsibility, shame, selfishness or pressure from the father, family, etc. I have no doubt that out of the tens of thousands of abortions, some are driven by economics, but I’m not sure that Republican fiscal policy is driving up poverty, and even if it is, I’m not sure that poverty is the driving force behind abortions.

Regarding the idea that Obama is for social justice, so his compassion on other issues outweighs his support of abortion:

If I said I was passionate about social justice, except when it comes to racial issues, would you believe me? Would that have an impact on my credibility? Of course it would. Why, then does Obama get a pass from Christians when it comes to abortion? Is not abortion a social justice issue? Isn’t it the biggest social justice issue of all? I would argue it is. So here’s my thesis: If you are for social justice, but not justice for the most vulnerable of all, then you are NOT for social justice.

Now I do agree that being pro-life has to mean all of life. And I do believe that Evangelicals and other conservatives have egg on our faces, because it seems that many of us care about people only before they’re born and after they die. Many of us (but not all, thankfully) at least seem to be able to stand by and let kids grow up with no hope of a decent school, or decent healthcare, or decent neighborhoods. We tend to turn a blind eye to the issues of justice that are still alive and well, especially in the cities. As a result, we have lost credibility, and so the power of our words weighs considerably less than it ought to.

People who are pro-life and care about other justice issues often vote for candidates like Obama because they see them as more balanced… as more caring for the larger number of important issues. But I would say that failing at the point of abortion disqualifies a given candidate completely. This is not to say that we should not be passionate about all issues relating to justice, but it is to say that abortion is huge. Just huge.

I think we can all agree on this: It would be nice to be able to vote for someone who truly reflects Kingdom values. That day may come (I’m not holding my breath), but until it does, voting will always be a contradiction and a paradox and a tension for Christians who wish to be biblical. But personally, I will never knowingly vote for a supporter of abortion, and I am loathe to vote for anyone who is ambivalent. And if the political process never delivers any results favorable to the pro-life movement, it does not matter. I believe it is an outrage to even appear to cheer someone on who will actively perpetuate our culture of death.

A Reason to Celebrate

Before I post my next thought, which is a WHOPPER, I thought it would be good to simply celebrate the progress represented last night.

We have elected an African-American.

That deserves unqualified, unconditional celebration.

Ten Reasons I Did Not Vote For Obama

I could not vote for someone who constantly talks about “change”, yet refuses to stand up to rampant corruption in his own party

I could not vote for someone who expresses concern for justice yet condones the indiscriminate killing of the unborn, denying them any chance at justice

I could not vote for someone who disingenuously blamed “failed Republican policies” for our financial difficulties, when the crisis was spurred on by both parties, with the Democrats in the driver’s seat

I could not vote for someone who was a product to the Chicago Machine, and accountable to it

I could not vote for someone whose approach to foreign policy is appeasement

I could not vote for a champion of “gay rights”. I simply cannot understand how “gay rights” is substantively different from rights for polygamists, pedophiles, and the incestuous. While I am bound by Christ to love all people and all sinners, and while I am certainly guilty of sin myself, I cannot bow to pressure to call the perverse “normal”, and I cannot vote for someone who does

I could not vote for someone worshipped to the point of absurdity by the national and local media. One has to be a little leery of someone so adored by journalists

I could not vote for someone so popular in Europe

I could not vote for someone whose only real accomplishments are raising a family, community organizing and getting himself elected

I could not vote for someone who reinforced the American bent toward style over substance

There were some things that impressed me about Obama… his concern for the disenfranchised, his ability to articulate ideas, his potential to serve as a bridge builder… Unfortunately, these were vastly outweighed by his leftist ideology and his unwillingness to confront the real issues related to change in our country

Election Day Eve

For those of you who read my blog, please check out the important conversations happening on two dear brothers' blogs:

http://christopherbennett.blogspot.com/

http://markaaronroy.blogspot.com/

They're both also linked at the right of my page on my blog roll.

And comment, why don't you?

Before You Vote...

...Watch this



And this...