The diverse Christian body has, as expected, responded to news of Barack Obama’s victory in the presidential election with mixed reaction – some congratulating, others wanting to put aside differences to work together, and still others insisting on challenging him when he takes office.
-
(Photo: AP Images / Morry Gash)President-elect Barack Obama smiles during his acceptance speech at Grant Park in Chicago Tuesday night, Nov. 4, 2008. -
(Photo: AP Images / Morry Gash)President-elect Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, left, and Vice President-elect Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, wave to the crowd after Obama's acceptance speech at his election night party at Grant Park in Chicago, Tuesday night, Nov. 4, 2008. -
(Photo: AP Images / Jae C. Hong)President-elect Barack Obama waves after speaking at the election night rally in Chicago, Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2008.
National Council of Churches USA, a left-leaning network of 100,000 local congregations, congratulated president-elect Obama and pledged to support him in the tough times ahead as he navigates the country out of the dangerous waters it is currently in.
“Mr. President-Elect, the 45-million Christians represented by the member communions of the National Council of Churches stand ready to work with you to respond to the realities that a loving God places before us each day,” stated Michael Kinnamon, general secretary of NCCUSA, in a statement issued early Wednesday.
In particular, he pointed to social concerns such as poverty, education, and health care.
“All of us are dependent on God's loving mercy, and we will regularly pray for you and others elected to high leadership,” the NCCUSA head wrote. “May your wisdom and discernment serve you well, and may your health never wane.”
But the religious right had a much different tone in response to Obama’s election victory.
Focus on the Family, the most prominent religious right organization, rejoiced that Obama will not have a 60-seat Democratic Senate that would have allowed him to push forth legislation without serious contention.
While the Democratic Party has a solid majority in both the House and Senate, they do not have the 60-seat majority needed that would give Majority Leader Harry Reid the power to invoke “cloture,” a procedure by which the Senate can vote to place a time limit on consideration of a bill or other matter, and end a Republican filibuster.
The Senate results combined with the approval of three state amendments banning gay marriage “give values voters reason to stay tuned to development on Capitol Hill,” FOTF Action wrote in its Election home page.
“God can use any president for his own purposes,” encouraged Focus Action’s Tom Minnery during an election special broadcast.
Meanwhile, Tony Perkins of Family Research Council, another prominent conservative group, encouraged values voters to keep praying for America and not lose heart.
Former FRC staff Dr. Charmaine Yoest, who is now president and CEO of Americans United for Life, congratulated Sen. Obama on his win, but pointed out his contradictory actions on abortion rights.
While Obama has called for “common ground” on abortion rights during his campaign, Yoest said, he promised Planned Parenthood that his first act as president will be to sign the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA), which would eliminate every state and federal law regulating abortion.
"We will continue working in the days ahead to educate Americans about the threat to common sense that FOCA poses,” the AUL president vowed. “And we will make common cause with defenders of life in both the Democrat and Republican parties, fully committed to the ultimate goal of seeing both parties dedicated to the defense of life.”
Exit polls show that 74 percent of white evangelicals or born-again Christians voted for Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain and 24 percent voted for Sen. Barack Obama, according to CNN. Twenty-six percent of American voters described themselves as evangelical or born-again Christians.
Obama won 338 electoral votes, far more than the 270 needed, to win the 2008 presidential election. Sen. John McCain won 163 electoral votes.
RSS
Obama deserves respect, despite if one disagrees with him or not. We live in a country today that is full of division. America is about unity, what happened to our mind set. We should readily lay aside religious beliefs, and political differences, so that we can love one another. I am not in anyway saying to abandon the faith, or forget what one stands for but merely to look past that, and focus on what is important. We should support Obama, not necessarily agree with him, but not openly be a critic towards him. It may be a challenge, but a worthy cause. A divided spirit cannot function as well as one that is whole. As fellow Americans we should stand be side each other, and fight for what our founding fathers fought for not polar opposite economic difference. So stand out, make a difference! Love your country, and the people in it.
DP, good to hear he is safe and as a former military guy I can appreciate his dislike for MREs, give me C-Rations anytime over them.
We heard from my son...he's somewhere in the Middle East but not in Kuwait.... He did say he was going to add 2 years to his hitch! Something about an additional bonus....
He said he wanted ham when he gets home. Something about enough poultry and Army food. He also said he's had enough MRE's....
steveh20, our official Veterans Day is this Tuesday the 11th, but many churches as well as communities will have observances of some kind today. I was gone most of yesterday so I don't know why you were flagged either. But I totally understood your post back to me and of course it brought back memories of my several visits to London, have a blessed day, believer.
DP
Meant to say that its remeberance Sunday in the UK today, at 11 the whole country goes into silence (with the start of the chimes of Big Ben)as we remember those who have served in the armes forces and also given their lives in defence of the country. For the past few weeks people have been wearing poppies, these symbolise the flowers that grew in the country side of France where the trenches were. Very moving.
DP
I also mentioned the Brown Derby, maybe thats what they where upset about? Makes one wonder whats goes on in their mind
Thats an interesting thought about the name...yuk, yuk, yuk,yuk
ifeelfine, I never did find your posts to me on another site, I'm probably not going to the right one, so I hope my response on this site speaks to what you posted, but if not please let me know, thanks.
ifeelfine, because of the closeness I had to some of the men in the 10th who served there Somalia is still a sensitive matter to me and I probably was speaking out of my emotions when I said it, plus I probably am in some ways a neo-con. So I'll change it to say that the whole fiasco happened while Bill Clinton was our President.
ifeelfine, been away all day and just saw your post here. As for polygamy, I did not say God did not put His favor on those who were in a polygamous relationship, what I said was that no where in the Bible, either the Old or New Testament, does God ever ordain anything other than one man and one woman united as one in the sight of God for life as His original and only design for marriage. Using the logic you used then lying, murder, stealing, and just about any other sin is endorsed by God since He showed His favor to men and women alike who committed those sins. If polygamy were ordained by God we would find it spelled out somewhere in the Scriptures and we would see the benefits of polygamy, but we read no where in the Bible where God specifically ordains it and rather than read about its' benefits we read about all the negative consequences that occurred as a result of it.
I suppose that if Somalia were to gain WMD's, it might get our attention a little more.
But it is true that it may have had something to do with oil. Kuwait is a good oil supplier. Saddam knew that. That's why he invaded Kuwait to begin with back in Bush Senior's Presidency. And that is why we retaliated (anybody recall our compromise with Hitler in regards to Czechoslavakia?). Since then Saddams kept thumbing his nose at the International Coalitian (anyone remember that the invasion of Iraq was a multi-national involvement?). And yet, America is one of the few (if not the only one) who hung around after the overthrow of Iraq's dictatorship to try and secure peace in the area. In essence, a number of countries helped win the war, but America is left holding the bag, being blamed for everything.
"joshing with believer about Wimpeys"
Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain...he may have a wally for a brain.... :D
First, fish and chips...now a bender... you can be so cruel!
Just FYI, it is believed that the character 'Wimpey' on Popeye (the sailor man) who always wanted a burger may have been named after the chain or visa-versa.
believer: Almost forgot, you asked for verses where God seemed to favor people in non-traditional, polygamous marriages, I provided them in one of the two posts on Prop 8. Have a great Saturday.
believer: Its still going on in Somalia and other parts of the world over there and it's gotten worse, not better. Our reaction certainly wasn't proportionate given the circumstances. We all but ignored them compared with our reaction to what is going on in Iraq.
Also, when you say stuff like "Plus don't forget who was in office when all that went down, Billary!" you sound less like a Christian and more like a neo-con. It's not becoming.
A brief note to the person who flagged me and I was joshing with believer about Wimpeys which is a chain of burger joints in UK. A bender in a bun is a sausage whirl within a bun and has been on sale for decades, I don't know what you where thinking but you obviously have a filthy mind...and God sees it...LOL
ifeelfine, what site are you referring to because I can't find your post, but I will respond if I can find it, thanks believer.
ifeelfine, the 10th Mountain Division, Delta Force, and Rangers paid a high price in Somalia for us not doing anything about it. A good friend and brother of mine shared a lot of what went down over there as he was in the 10th Mountain Division as was there. You might want to watch "Blackhawk Down" to learn about the price we didn't pay over there. Plus don't forget who was in office when all that went down, Billary!
"Friday night in England is fish 'n' chip night,"
That's like...just so cruel on so many levels. Mainly the level of my tastebuds and my stomach.... Enjoy an extra wally for me....
"Saddam was contained in his own country"
contained??? You must have missed that whole Kuwait thing and all the genocide to the north of Iraq by Saddam.
As for the comparison between Saddam and Hitler...just how many people does a person have to kill before he's really bad news? Saddam killed an entire town just to test a chemical weapon. Isn't that bad enough? Evil is evil. It's just a question of how far we allow evil to spread and how we 'contain' it.
believer: Saddam wasn't even the worst guy in that part of the world. Somalia? Hello? Again, no oil there. What's it going to take for the US to invade that country? Oil, right, I get it.
BTW: I cited the verses you asked about on a different post and am waiting for your response.
Saddam can definitely be compared to Hitlier; he gassed his own people.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2854019.stm
ifeelfine,
"Saddam was contained in his own country - the only time he wasn't, we smacked it back."
True. Because we learned our lesson in WWII. Yes, he was comparable to Hitler. Ruthless, no conscience, sneaky, underhanded, very intelligent....and extremely dangerous to the world.
steveh20, I'd prefer a Hawaiian Burger from Wimpy's myself!!
Ahhh....Dp,Friday night in England is fish 'n'chip night, what ever we disagree on(and agree!!) we all love one dish!!!!
I got flaged every time I posted the ungodly practices that Obama upholds. He has mesmerized the 18-30 yr. olds so much that they, all colors, christian and not christian voted him in power. Its time to pray for our new-pres. elect and all those who put him in office and for the church to develope and stregthen its spiritual muscle. I too am still grieved like the wonderful blessing of a man Dr. Dobson
Obama has said that the way to reduce abortions is to reduce the desire for abortions by reducing unwanted pregnancies through bc and abstinence education, providing resources for unwed mothers, etc. I support those ideas.
He has also said to planned parenthood that he would sign the freedom of choice act - this would be a terrible setback for the pro-life movement.
My prayer is that he will do the right thing. But, my hope is only in the Lord.
ifeelfine, how many people would Saddam have had to kill in mass for him to be considered to be similar to Hitler? What about the mass graves that have been uncovered that were a result of the autrocities of his regime? What about his use of chemical weapons against both the Kurds and Iranians?
It honestly and truly scares me how radical some Christians are. If not a secret race-based under tone that irks their viewpoints, then it is a sad nonacceptance of the reality of change. Get an education, get some social values, and get over it: the world was NOT created in 6 days, the bible is NOT to be followed literally, Obama is NOT the anti-christ, he will not purposely invade the homes of white women and slaughter the children in the womb, he will not make all things gay and fabulous, and he is not a muslim, nor an islamic supporter. He is a good man, and will be a good president; as would McCain if he was elected. Both hold values on key issues, only on opposite sides - but with the same passion. All these accusations that I have seen on CP comments represent an unfortunate epitome of the Christian intellect. I mean no harm, but most anti-Obama comments are so frivolous I can not help but shake my head.
To put all 'Christians' in one republican category and write as though they all believe Obama will end the world is absurd. No wonder the world continues its moral decay while people fight over such unnecessary things.
DP: So now you're comparing Saddam to Hitler? Hitler exterminated 6M Jews and was in the process of taking over all of Europe. Saddam was contained in his own country - the only time he wasn't, we smacked it back. To compare the two is ridiculous. But take a look at a few African countries (or as Sarah Palin would say, states within the country of Africa) - those leaders make Saddam look like a saint and yet we don't bother helping those people out. But I guess they don't have oil beneath their feet. So much for caring about the least of God's people.
The Bible states that No man shall seperate a child from the mothers womb, and man shall not lie with man as with woman. May God Bless You
"Saddam may have been an awful man but he kept his country under control."
So did Hitler....
Steve, just FYI, I ran into a fellow from Scotland that works at our local zoo. I mentioned about not being able to get good fish and chips here. You could see his mind going back to the ol' pubs and he said "now you've got me wanting!!!"
Maybe one day someone with a good recipe will move to our area from across the pond. I does seem to be a common thread that we don't have any good fish and chips here. :(
"DP, where these terrorists hiding the WMD? "
According to Fox News a former leader under Saddam told the US that the hightened commercial traffic just before we went in was NOT passangers. They removed the seats and moved their stockpile out of the country to Saddams alies.
There was chatter in the news about 'people fleeing Iraq' in all those commercial flights by the main stream media just before we went in. As usual they main stream media didn't reported without knowing what was on those planes.
As for our security, it was underminded by a bunch of extreamists who want all Americans dead just because we're Americans. Nothing has changed with that in 40 years.
Time to find common ground & end the scourge of abortions.
End the politics of division & stop the extreme leftist radical policies that are out of touch with mainstream America, Mr. Obama.
"Saddam may have been an awful man but he kept his country under control."
I have to laugh at that. How did he keep his country under control? Through fear. Yeah, there's a good way to keep people under control.
ifeelfine,
You said "Get your heads out of the sand. Al Qaeda was not in Iraq until we got there."
Can you please show me where I said that they were?
ifeelfine, Red Army should be Red Brigade.
ifeelfine, since you've never been in the military let me give you some info, in the mid-80s I served as an Intelligence Augmentee when we had wargames, as a result I attended Top Secret Intelligence Briefings. I remember attending one where we were presented with real data speaking to how the IRA, the Red Army, and Palestinian Terrorists were purchasing weapons from one another. The ideology of these three groups is totally different than the others in many ways and as a matter of fact there was much animosity between them, but for the sake of their causes and efforts they were willing to set those differences aside and deal with each other. Terrorism like politics makes for stange bedfellows. Sadam may have not agreed with Al Qaeda but he had one thing in common with them they both hate us and he could profit from trading with them and he did.
ifeelfine, since you seem to be a mind reader when did the Bush Administration know Saddam had no WMDs? Reality, is you don't know whether or not they knew you're just leaching on to the misinformation of the liberal media. I personally know several military members who were in Iraq both prior and early into the invasion and the intell they had led to them to believe that he did indeed possess WMDs. Are you saying that the Bush Administration willfully manipulated or gave them false intelligence, jeopardizing the lives of the hundreds if not thousands of men and women in our military who were part of the initial invasion?
believer & prophet: Get your heads out of the sand. Al Qaeda was not in Iraq until we got there. Now it is a breeding ground for terrorists. Saddam may have been an awful man but he kept his country under control. Remember, he hated AQ as much as we did. Anyway, if you're so concerned about policing the world, there are guys out there are are much worse than Saddam . . . but they don't have oil under their feet. Too bad for their people I guess.
panzerlehr - The Bush administration knew what we all know now, they never did have WMDs.
"again the intelligence said 'bin laden determined to attack US.' the president is the one who is stupid for not having the intelligence to understand what that means."
That one we can lay upon Clinton's shoulders. He was warned during his term that Bin Laden was an extreme threat to America, but yet decided to do nothing.
"bush & co. thinks they are fighting a conventional war in iraq using tanks, planes & ships. and further more after mr bush declared mission accomplished, 4000 us soldiers died bec. of insurgency not terrorism..."
As for the information I've heard about the situation in Iraq is that it started out not having anything to do with terrorism. And since then, we have been trying to secure the peace, and future of democracy in that area. Our battle has been against insurgents (a local form of terrorists). Don't forget the ties between the insurgents and al qaida.
prophet
again the intelligence said 'bin laden determined to attack US.' the president is the one who is stupid for not having the intelligence to understand what that means.
'Comparing a conventional war to a terrorist war is rather ignorant' if that is your statement, bush & co. thinks they are fighting a conventional war in iraq using tanks, planes & ships. and further more after mr bush declared mission accomplished, 4000 us soldiers died bec. of insurgency not terrorism.
Saddam snowed everyone around the world in believing he possessed WMDs and there are some who believe they were moved out to Iran or Syria prior to the invasion. Plus, it is totally foolish to compare the possible Bush family connections to rich Saudis in the oil business to Saddam funneling money to known terrorists. But those two issues are water over the dam issues and now we need to see if this conflict is winnable, if it is how can we do that most effectively with the least amount of casualties both military and civilian and if it is not how can we pullout with the least amount of casualties both military and civilian.
steve,
Although the Iraq war wasn't necessarily about terrorism, it was about a dictator who was involved in genocide and such. He was suspected of having WMD's, but the UN spent so much time bargaining with him, that we shot ourselves in the foot. Hussein knew that we would eventually take aggresive measures to seize his weapons. He was just buying time to destroy, or hide, any and all evidence to the fact. I don't think he counted on being convicted of war crimes and executed though.
mike,
"are there vietcong fighting in pennsylvania ave right now?"
Comparing a conventional war to a terrorist war is rather ignorant. What country do the muslim terrorists live in? Answer: All of them.
Have you forgotten that the terrorists of 9/11 lived here, and trained here?
So to answer your question...yes the terrorists have already brought the war to our backyard.
The security of America has been underminded by the invasion of Iraq, surge as much as you like, the genie is out of the bottle.
DP, where these terrorists hiding the WMD?
Saddam appeared to possess W.M.D.s President Bush could not and would not risk that Saddam would use them to promote terrorism. If you had the responsibility to protect the security of this nation you would do the same.
DP: Money trail? You want to talk about a money trail? Well, just take a look at Bush's connection to the Saudi's. Follow the money trail there . . . I don't think you'll be too pleased with what you see.
"could not admit that iraq HAD nothing to do with 911"
Money trail my friend. It was in the news or did you miss that? The money trail went back to Iraq. We vowed to go hunt down these terrorist no matter where they were and to hunt down those who supported them. We found terrorists in Iraq. Now just what were they doing there? Esp one of the leaders being taken care of in an Iraqie hospital?
I guess those without the facts think Iraq had nothing to do with 911.