What do you think of this ad that is now being run on some Christian radio stations?
This advertisement has been paid for by the Matthew 25 Network (HT: David Brody). This is the network’s purpose taken their own website:
Catholic, Protestant, Pentecostal and Evangelical—inspired by the Gospel mandate to put our faith into action to care for our neighbor. We believe that people of faith should actively participate in the political process as an important avenue for social change.
We come together as individual believers to support candidates for public office who share the values of the Matthew 25 Network: promoting life with dignity, caring for the least of these, strengthening and supporting families, stewardship of God’s Creation, working for peace and justice at home and abroad and promoting the common good.
They are a political action committee who has endorsed Senator Barack Obama. I agree with them in principle to care for our neighbors, and that people of faith should actively participate in the political process. I look at some of their other desires, and I’m concerned as I know we are looking at these issues differently.
Promoting life with dignity? How has Barack Obama done that? By being in favor of abortion? By voting against the Illinois Born Alive Act that would have forced abortionists to assist babies who survive abortion? That’s dignity? How does he view euthanasia and assisted suicide? I’m not sure, I’m asking so if anybody knows his views on that please tell me. Anyone who reads Psalm 139 and then compares it to Barack Obama’s record can see inconsistencies.
Caring for the least of these – ok, I’m in favor of that as well. We see in Matthew 25 a mandate to take care of the hungry, the homeless, the sick, the imprisoned, the naked and the poor. What I have a problem with that is when this passage is ripped from its context and applied to nation-states. Jesus is clearly speaking to individuals, and to the Church, his body. I guess if the Church kept doing what it was called to do, the government wouldn’t have had to get involved. You see a decline in church sponsored welfare and social programs at the onset of the New Deal during the Great Depression.
Strengthening and supporting families – ok, how’s he going to do that? By promoting gay marriage and adoption? By increasing taxes? Even if you just increase taxes on companies – how will that affect jobs? Will he support the right of parents to choose what education their child receives – whether it is public, private or home education? Something tells me he won’t. How do I know this? His record!
Stewardship of God’s creation… I’m in favor of that. I believe that we are to be stewards in that we have dominion over creation.
And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth, (Genesis 1:28, ESV).
Because of this I don’t elevate the life of an animal to a human. I believe God provided resources here on earth for us to use, but to do so in a way that isn’t hazardous to the environment or people who live near. I’m still not convinced about global warming. I would submit that evangelicals, who think we are going to destroy ourselves, don’t have grasp on what the Bible says about this world. It is broken. It won’t go on forever. God will establish a new heaven and a new earth. Also, I think that there is a misunderstanding of God’s sovereignty over creation. Our world is being sustained by Jesus,(Colossians 1:17) it is not going to end until God’s appointed time, (Matthew 24:26).
So while I’m in favor of common sense environmental policies, as I think many of them address public health issues. I think recycling is great. I think trying to restore landfills and strip mines to useful land once again is wonderful. I’m even for the protection of endangered species, why? So we can enjoy them and enjoy the creation that God has given us dominion over! What I’m not in favor of is the “sky is falling” rhetoric heard by many environmentalists. I am also against environmental policies that violate an individual’s rights on land that they own. I can guarantee you that isn’t where Senator Obama stands though.
Working for peace and justice… I hate war. I was in the Army, and I hated war. Who likes it? What if war is the just thing to do? What if no peaceful resolution can be found? We have again seen scripture misapplied as Matthew 5:38-48 have been ripped from its context to also include nations. Jesus is talking to His disciples, and this teaching is for individual application. Romans 13:1-7 shows us that God instituted government to be His agent of justice on this earth. Certainly that applies to police, but I think it can be applied to the military as well.
People also confuse the issue when they say the Bible says, “You shall not kill.” If you look at Deuteronomy 5:18 it says, “You shall not murder.” All killing is not murder. It doesn’t mean it is good. It doesn’t mean it is ideal. It doesn’t mean we should desire it, but sometimes it is necessary. Also sometimes nations don’t act justly and fulfill what God institutes them to do (Saddam Hussein, Iran, Nazi Germany). Peace is a worthy goal, but it shouldn’t be approached in a naive way sought at the expense of justice.
Back to my original point. This commercial attacks Christians who speak out against Barack Obama saying they are trying to “get headlines”. Christians who do speak out desire our brothers and sisters in Christ not to be duped. Speech is good, action is better, and action speaks louder than words. Senator Obama’s rhetoric doesn’t match up with his record.
I’m afraid that some of my younger, less experienced (and some older too) brothers and sisters in Christ are going to buy into the pandering. I’m afraid that if they do, and Senator Obama is elected, they are going to end up with buyer’s remorse.
