How Would Jesus Vote? Don Miller at DNC 08

Author and Emerging Church leader Don Miller gives the benediction during the first day of the Democratic National Convention. Added some Democratic Party platforms into his prayer, which I think he shouldn't have done. Now, he's entitled to his political leanings, but I don't think they have a place in a prayer, even if you do think universal health care and minimum wage are moral issues.

I'm disappointed he didn't get any television time...I suppose if he'd not used the name Jesus and instead prayed to some relativistic, wimpy god who answers to any name you want to call him then maybe television wouldn't have cut him out. But you start praying to "Your son Jesus, who gave His own life," then we suddenly get nervous. Pray to god, it's fine. Pray to God, well, that's just not PC, is it?  

Of course, here's one criticism I had of the prayer, and I hope I'm not being too nit-picky. When Miller says "who gave His own life against the forces of injustice," I wonder at Miller's meaning here. What he prayed was technically true, but is Miller saying that Christ's death was merely to expose injustice? If so, that makes Jesus no better than Martin Luther King Jr. or Gandhi. Yes, Jesus died because of man's injustice. But let's not forget that He was not murdered. No one took Jesus' life. He gave it willingly to redeem man's sin.

His death was to redeem injustice, not expose it.




What are your thoughts on Miller's prayer? Do you mind that he read it from a Teleprompter? Should he have bowed his head? Do you think television should have showed the prayer? Why or why not?

How Would Jesus Vote? Joe Biden

So, just who is Joe Biden, and what are his Evangelical credentials?

Senator Joe Biden-Senator for Delaware

(Official site)

"What has happened in the Democratic Party, there's been this reluctance, in the face of the evangelical, judgmental movement on the far right in the past, of even invoking religion, for fear of being put in the same category. But we're a spiritual nation. We're a nation of faith."

Biden's Faith Shaped by Catholic Upbringing
(News feature)

Biden on the Separation of Church and State
(Video)

Biden's Positions on Abortion, the Environment, Families/Children, Principles/Values and Welfare/Poverty
(OnTheIssues.org)

Note: Biden lost a daughter and his first wife in a tragic car accident back in 1972. In an interview with CNN's Paula Zahn, Biden spoke about the tragedy and how it shaped his relationship with God. Read the transcript here (you'll have to scroll down about 1/2 of the way through to get to Biden's Q&A.)

Belief-O-Matic, an Emergent for Obama and Mormon Mitt

Ah, if only spirituality was as simple as answering a bunch of questions on a quiz to find out who you should worship.

Apparently, it is that easy. At least if you use Beliefnet's Belief-O-Matic. I'm not a big fan of Beliefnet; it's a little too Deepak Chopra-esque to me. But the Belief-O-Matic is mindless fun. Some of the questions need more varied answers--I found that for many of them I had to pick answers that were as close to my Evangelical Christian convictions as I could get; the "right" answer wasn't there--but if you want to spend five minutes taking an online quiz (and who doesn't?), try the amazing, 100% guaranteed Belief-O-Matic today for only three easy payments of $19.99!

But wait! That's not all! If you act right now, you'll get 10 free bonus questions, such as "Do you believe in Oprah?" "How much money did you make after reading Joel Osteen's book 'Your Best Life Now?'" and "How many aliens did it take to make Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes look so much alike?"

Don't delay! Buy Belief-O-Matic today!


In one of the least surprising evangelical news items of the 2008 election cycle, outspoken Emergent guru Brian McLaren has thrown his support for presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama.



In other Emergent news, there are rumors that Rob Bell is leaving Mars Hill Bible Church (Michigan). Has anyone else heard this rumor? Is there anything to it?


It seems Evangelicals are starting to embrace presumptive Republican nominee John McCain following Rick Warren's Saddleback Civil Forum last weekend.

The honeymoon, however, might be short-lived. There's talk that former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney is on McCain's vice presidential shortlist. Romney, however, is a Mormon. That fact, some theorize, could jeopardize McCain's new-found stature among Evangelicals.

Questions for discussion:

* What were your Belief-O-Matic results? (I was quite relieved to discover I am, in fact, a born-again Christian. Glad the Belief-O-Matic cleared that up.)

* Should pastors and other Evangelical leaders publically support a presidential candidate? Why or why not? What role should Christian leaders take in presidential politics?

* What do you like about Rob Bell's theology? What don't you like?

* Would having a Mormon on a presidential ticket influence your vote? What about a Muslim? A Hindu? An atheist?

Christians and Muslims Unite?

Just dying to get your opinion on this little piece of information.

Honest dialogue, or pre-cursor to wide-spread relativism and/or intra-faith ecumenism?

Your thoughts?

(BTW, working on a written version of the "talk" I gave in church Sunday morning. Text is Genesis 38.)

How Would Jesus Vote? The Iraq War debate...

"Just war" proponents will point to the Hebrew translation of "Thou Shalt Not Kill" and point out that "kill" is better translated as "murder." (The difference is highlighted between the King James Version translation and that of the English Standard Version). Fair enough. It adds to the debate, which is OK by me.

But there's still something to be said about rejecting war on moral grounds. So, how does the war in Iraq stand up to moral scrutiny? Would Christ, who so famously implored His followers to love their enemies and turn the other cheek, have supported the war? Would He support it now?

John McCain supports the Iraq war. How does that stance stack up against the debate on abortion rights, which Barack Obama wholeheartedly supports?

How much emphasis do you put on the war in Iraq as a moral issue in this year's campaign? Share your thoughts, and join the conversation.

I welcome all comments. Feel free to comment on-page, or e-mail feedback to CandidChristian@gmail.com.

How Would Jesus Vote? The abortion debate...

Since abortion is a big issue to most evangelical Christians, it's important to note the following blog post, "The Most Anti-Life Candidate Ever."

Of course, ours is a multi-faceted election, with diverse issues such as the Iraq War, the economy and health care all playing central roles. Each candidate, both Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain, will undoubtedly start revealing policy specifics now that we have presumptive nominees for both parties and with the general elections just months away.

(By the way, I'll be cleaning up the How Would Jesus Vote sidebar in the coming days to reflect the narrow race, and add some more posts on each candidate now that we have to. Also, as soon as we know who the running mates will be, I'll be posting special VP editions of How Would Jesus Vote. Stay tuned.)

The question, then, is this: how big a role does the abortion debate play in your decision this November? Is it important at all? Will the country's laws on abortion change under either administration? How and why? I look forward to your comments.

I welcome all comments. Feel free to comment on-page, or e-mail feedback to CandidChristian@gmail.com.

How Would Jesus Vote? Barack Obama and Jeremiah Wright

I couldn't care less where Barack Obama goes to church, or who is pastor is. I do care what Obama thinks and believes...but they aren't necessarily the same as what Jeremiah Wright thinks and believes. (Speaking of that, check out this video. I think I'll keep a running diary of it and post here and on Twitter either tonight or tomorrow. Great, great stuff in this video, and another side of a man many of us only know from soundbites.)

My question is this: Did Jeremiah Wright really refuse to affirm Christ as the only way to God at today's meeting with the National Press Club in Washington? If so, it means Wright's beliefs are part of a troubling trend in the 21st century, post-modern church.

Wright, Brian McLaren and others of their ilk apply a rigid standard to Jesus' actual words when it comes to His stance on social justice. I applaud that. Further, I wholeheartedly agree that we, as Christians, have put far too little emphasis on that aspect of our faith, focusing instead on our own spiritual development at the expense of those outside the often country club-like atmosphere of white, suburban, middle-class congregations. Might I, however, submit that those more philsophically on the left are just as guilty as narrowly defining what Christ said and meant as those on the philosophical right?

Why can't those emergent, post-modern "evangelical" leaders apply that same standard to everything Jesus said?

Well, guess what...Jesus also said "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. NO ONE comes to the Father EXCEPT through ME." (emphasis mine)

It works both ways, folks.

I welcome all comments. E-mail feedback to CandidChristian@gmail.com.

How Would Jesus Vote? Barack Obama (two)

National Public Radio.

How Would Jesus Vote: More John McCain

Interesting story over at Baptist Press. Check it out.

How Would Jesus Vote: NYU/NSF Survey

I've been asked by some students at New York University to help them with a political survey they are conducting. Here's their description:

"A research team from the psychology department at New York University, headed by Professor Yaacov Trope and supported by the National Science Foundation, is investigating the cognitive causes of voting behavior, political preferences, and candidate evaluations throughout the course of the 2008 election. This stage of the study focuses on the information people use to inform their decisions and evaluations during the course of the nationwide parties' nominating contests, whether or not the primary/caucus in their state has already taken place. They seek respondents of all political leanings from all over the country to complete a 15-minute questionnaire, the responses to which will be completely anonymous."

If you are interested in participating, click here to take part in the survey. (The actual link is http://www.psychsurveys.org/brietruesdell/2008primaries/)

This is all legit and on the up-and-up, I've been assured. So, if you have some spare time, let's help them out.

OK?

OK.