{"id":339,"date":"2008-02-15T08:31:30","date_gmt":"2008-02-15T12:31:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.geneveith.com\/barack-obama-messiah\/_339\/"},"modified":"2008-02-15T08:31:30","modified_gmt":"2008-02-15T12:31:30","slug":"barack-obama-messiah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2008\/02\/barack-obama-messiah\/","title":{"rendered":"Barack Obama, Messiah?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Several observers have noted that in both his rhetoric and in the zeal he inspires in his supporters, Barack Obama is being presented as a \u00a0Messiah.<\/a>\u00a0Consider these lines from his speeches:<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are the hope of the future.\u201d We can \u201cremake this world as it should be.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

We can become \u201ca hymn that will heal this nation, repair this world, and make this time different than all the rest.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWe are the ones we\u2019ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Similarly, people are putting their \u201chope\u201d in him. \u00a0They are \u201cinspired\u201d by him. \u00a0He is \u201ccharismatic.\u201d \u00a0Notice the religious terminology.I like Obama and far prefer him to Hillary Clinton. \u00a0But in a secularist culture\u2013something rare and unnatural in the history of humanity\u2013religious impulses, long suppressed, can lie just under the surface and, with the right catalyst can come roaring back into the void. The old pagan model\u2013revived under Fascism\u2013 of a divinized ruler in a divinized state may be the default position in human governments.I guess people who think all religions are essentially the same and equally valid \u00a0might see this messianic outbreak as a good thing, but Christians cannot. \u00a0(Contemplate again the skull of Valentine, who refused to accept the Roman pantheon and Caesar as god at the cost of his life.)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

UPDATE: \u00a0And now people at Obama rallies are getting \u00a0slain in the spirit<\/a>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Several observers have noted that in both his rhetoric and in the zeal he inspires in his supporters, Barack Obama is being presented as a \u00a0Messiah.\u00a0Consider these lines from his speeches: \u201cWe are the hope of the future.\u201d We can \u201cremake this world as it should be.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 We can become \u201ca hymn that will heal […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1281,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36,39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-339","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","category-religions"],"yoast_head":"\nBarack Obama, Messiah?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Several observers have noted that in both his rhetoric and in the zeal he inspires in his supporters, Barack Obama is being presented as a\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2008\/02\/barack-obama-messiah\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Barack Obama, Messiah?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Several observers have noted that in both his rhetoric and in the zeal he inspires in his supporters, Barack Obama is being presented as a\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2008\/02\/barack-obama-messiah\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Cranach\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/cranachblog\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2008-02-15T12:31:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Gene Veith\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Gene Veith\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2008\/02\/barack-obama-messiah\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2008\/02\/barack-obama-messiah\/\",\"name\":\"Barack Obama, Messiah?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2008-02-15T12:31:30+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2008-02-15T12:31:30+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/f9ca8670bcc51908a78994c0484dbfa1\"},\"description\":\"Several observers have noted that in both his rhetoric and in the zeal he inspires in his supporters, Barack Obama is being presented as a\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2008\/02\/barack-obama-messiah\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2008\/02\/barack-obama-messiah\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2008\/02\/barack-obama-messiah\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Barack Obama, Messiah?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/\",\"name\":\"Cranach\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/f9ca8670bcc51908a78994c0484dbfa1\",\"name\":\"Gene Veith\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/054d79faea5d476edd8f99e5f14fb17f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/054d79faea5d476edd8f99e5f14fb17f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Gene Veith\"},\"description\":\"Gene Edward Veith, Jr. is a writer and retired literature professor, serving as Provost Emeritus at Patrick Henry College. He has authored over 25 books on Christianity and culture, literature, classical education, and theology. Dr. Veith previously held academic and editorial roles at Concordia University Wisconsin and WORLD Magazine. A respected voice in Lutheran and classical education circles, he holds a Ph.D. in English and several honorary doctorates. He and his wife, Jackquelyn, live in St. Louis and have three children and twelve grandchildren.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/cranachblog\/\",\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Gene_Edward_Veith\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/author\/geneveith\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Barack Obama, Messiah?","description":"Several observers have noted that in both his rhetoric and in the zeal he inspires in his supporters, Barack Obama is being presented as a","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2008\/02\/barack-obama-messiah\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Barack Obama, Messiah?","og_description":"Several observers have noted that in both his rhetoric and in the zeal he inspires in his supporters, Barack Obama is being presented as a","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2008\/02\/barack-obama-messiah\/","og_site_name":"Cranach","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/cranachblog\/","article_published_time":"2008-02-15T12:31:30+00:00","author":"Gene Veith","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Gene Veith","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2008\/02\/barack-obama-messiah\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2008\/02\/barack-obama-messiah\/","name":"Barack Obama, Messiah?","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#website"},"datePublished":"2008-02-15T12:31:30+00:00","dateModified":"2008-02-15T12:31:30+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/f9ca8670bcc51908a78994c0484dbfa1"},"description":"Several observers have noted that in both his rhetoric and in the zeal he inspires in his supporters, Barack Obama is being presented as a","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2008\/02\/barack-obama-messiah\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2008\/02\/barack-obama-messiah\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2008\/02\/barack-obama-messiah\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Barack Obama, Messiah?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/","name":"Cranach","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/f9ca8670bcc51908a78994c0484dbfa1","name":"Gene Veith","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/054d79faea5d476edd8f99e5f14fb17f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/054d79faea5d476edd8f99e5f14fb17f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Gene Veith"},"description":"Gene Edward Veith, Jr. is a writer and retired literature professor, serving as Provost Emeritus at Patrick Henry College. He has authored over 25 books on Christianity and culture, literature, classical education, and theology. Dr. Veith previously held academic and editorial roles at Concordia University Wisconsin and WORLD Magazine. A respected voice in Lutheran and classical education circles, he holds a Ph.D. in English and several honorary doctorates. He and his wife, Jackquelyn, live in St. Louis and have three children and twelve grandchildren.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/cranachblog\/","https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Gene_Edward_Veith"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/author\/geneveith\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/339","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1281"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=339"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/339\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=339"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=339"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=339"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}