I don’t usually do political stuff on my blog. But I’ve had several people ask my why it is that I’m drawn to Barack Obama. I wanted to give a few sources that might perhaps explain why it is that I support him.
The first is a video of a talk in which Obama tries to deal with the role of religion and politics. It’s a very good message and I would challenge all of my conservative Christian brothers and sisters to listen to this talk and recognize him as a brother in Christ; not that you should automatically embrace his politics, but hopefully that you would approach him with grace.
Another is an article sent to me by my friend Todd. It is a short article by author Brian McLaren that helps draw out the big picture difference between McCain and Obama. I invite you to try and read it with an open mind as well. There are obviously other reasons why I support Barack Obama, but I’m hopeful that these will answer some of the questions that people have about my point of view. (he’s posted another entry as of today – go to his regular blog for updates. I think he’s writing many entries on this).
Overriding all of this is a belief that as a Christian I should have no other political allegiance other than to the pursuit of the kingdom of God. I should have no competing agenda save that of pursuit of justice and mercy. I have no moral high-ground from which to pontificate about politics, I have only the promise to live a faithful life, including those parts of my life which intersect with the political. I am not a conservative, but I am not a liberal either. I am a Christian. Therefore I must work alongside the conservatives when their agenda swims in concert with the kingdom of God as I understand it. When their agenda does not swim in concert with the kingdom of God, then I don’t work with them. The same goes for liberals and progressives.
That being said, the Barack video explains why I think he swims more closely in concert with the kingdom of God. The article by McLaren explains at least a bit about why I think that McCain does not.
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