Filed under: Life, Politics, abortion
When biblical immorality starts to turn into state or federal law, it is past time to get involved in politics. Thus, I am here to be a voice for the life of the unborn. My voice is here for any and all who will listen, and today’s revealing news is quite shocking.
For 4 years Senator Barack Obama has put forth efforts to cover up his full role in killing legislation to protect born-alive survivors of abortions. However after an interview with CBN where he said three times that National Right to Life was “lying” in asserting that he had voted against a state bill virtually identical to the federal Born-Alive Infants Protection Act, his campaign has admitted Obama “misstated his position.”
In an article on the New York Sun website on the evening of August 17th: “Mr. Obama appeared to misstate his position in the CBN interview on Saturday… [Obama's] campaign yesterday acknowledged that he had voted against an identical bill in the state senate…”
In the New York Sun article it also makes mention of a 5-minute video on YouTube (Caution: Video is hard to watch) that highlights Mr. Obama’s opposition to the legislation. This clip has been viewed more than 280,000 times and features a testimonial from Jill Stanek, a former nurse who spearheaded the push for the bill in Illinois after witnessing a live infant discarded and left to die at a hospital where she worked. In the Sun article it also mentions the McCain Campain’s criticism of Mr. Obama:
The McCain campaign yesterday added its voice to the criticism of Mr. Obama. “Americans can differ on the issue of abortion, but Senator Obama’s extreme record on this issue and his willingness to misrepresent that record should concern any American who believes that we should be working towards a society where there are fewer abortions, not more,” a spokesman for Senator McCain, Brian Rogers, said.
As controversial as this topic is this issue must have light shed on it. We must be informed on issues such as these, especially when someone’s life is at stake.
Tags: abortion, born-alive, CBN interview, Jill Stanek, legislation, lying, obama, Politics
Permalink Comments (0) Adam Parker Aug 19, 2008
Filed under: Blogging, Christianity, Jesus, Knowledge of God, Politics
I saw this article in the USA Today and the author was commenting on a quote from Obama in an interview when asked the question “What is sin?” I found his answer to be very revealing, not only of his personal beliefs but in how many in the world today are coming up with their own definitions of sin and what it really means to “sin.”
Sin (as defined by Obama):
“Being out of alignment with my values”
Sin (as defined by the Bible):
1 John 3:4 - “Whosoever commits sin transgresses also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.” (sin is lawlessness)
Romans 4:15 - “…for where there is no law there is no transgression”
Romans 4:23 - “Whatever is not from faith is sin.”
Sin = Transgression of the Law; Sin = Whatever is not from faith
so that would mean:
Whatever is not from faith = Transgression of the Law = Sin
So in Obama’s case, he is saying that if he is out of alignment with his values, then he is sinning. This type of thinking is very normal in postmodern America. Especially among young people and it has unfortunately also entered parts of the Church. We tend to personalize our faith, and rightly so. Our faith is very personal, but our faith in God, and in Jesus Christ isn’t based on a set of values that each of us determines on our own. The values that we as Christians should have SHOULD be determined by the values that God has.
Here is how Wayne Grudem defines sin in his book (which I highly recommend) Systematic Theology:
“Sin is any failure to conform to the moral law of God in act, attitude, or nature.”
Sin is here defined in relation to God and his moral law.
3 Biblical Aspects of Sin
- Action (Ex. 20:17)
- Attitude (Mt. 5:22,28)
- Nature (Rom. 5:8; Eph. 2:3)
Sin in our Actions
This is an easy one to see and the one most people will agree with as being morally wrong. These include individual acts such as stealing or lying or committing murder.
Sin in our Attitudes
Now on this one it starts to encroach on most people’s comfort zones. When someone starts to tell you that things you are thinking are wrong, or desires that you may have are not desires that you SHOULD have, then attitudes start to flare and walls go up right away. However, this type of sin is something Jesus spoke about in the Sermon on the Mount (basic foundational Christianity at its core). (Matthew 5:22,28; Gal. 5:20; Mark 12:30)
Sin in our Nature
This refers to our humanity and our inherited sin. We are counted guilty because of Adam’s sin. Paul explained the effects of Adam’s sin in this way:
“Therefore… sin came into the world through one man and death through sin, and so death spread to all mean because all men sinned” (Rom. 5:12)
“while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.” (Rom. 5:8)
“we were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind” (Eph. 2:3)
When we are first introduced to this concept, the tendency is to think it is not fair that we should be counted guilty because of Adam’s sin. We didn’t actually sin. How can we be counted guilty?
But we must remember a few things:
- We will be judged for our own sins on the day of judgment. Everyone who is of the mind that this is not fair has committed some type of sin to which we will be judged. (for God “will render to every man according to his works” (Rom. 2:6).
- Our sin today also likely demonstrates that if we were in the same boat as Adam, we would have sinned to and wrecked it for the human race.
- However the best answer lies in the 3rd one. If we think that it is unfair that Adam represented us and thus we bear the guilt and inherited sin of what he did, then we must also concluded that it is unfair that Jesus represented us and our sin on the cross and so we get to reap the benefits of His righteousness being imputed to us. (”As by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by one man’s obedience many will be made righteous” Rom. 5:19).
Our View of God (and who Jesus really is)
Our values determine our actions, how we walk out our faith. But if our values are faulty, or based off of wrong information, to begin with, then our actions will suffer the consequences of faulty values. It is our view of God, what He is like, and what we as moral beings must do about Him that will shape our values.
As Tozer puts it:
“The essence of idolatry is the entertainment of thoughts about God that are unworthy of Him. It begins in the mind and may be present where no overt act of worship has taken place.
The idolater simply imagines things about God and acts as if they were true.”
Our View of Jesus Christ
This brings me back to another statement made by Obama in the interview. When asked who Jesus was to him, first he laughed nervously. Then he went on to say that:
“Jesus is an historical figure for me, and he’s also a bridge between God and man, in the Christian faith… and he’s also a wonderful teacher.”
While those things are all true it is missing one crucial element of the Christian faith. Jesus was and is God in the flesh. Jesus even said “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father but by Me.”
Having a right view of who Jesus Christ is (which really means who God is), will dramatically shape the way you think about everything, and it will specifically shape your values. Jesus is 100% God and 100% Man, He was and is both Fully God and Fully Man. Not half and half. He was not only a great teacher (though He was that), and not only a historical person. Jesus is the ONLY true God.
Obama’s Christian Faith of Many Paths
Which brings me to the other comment made by Obama. When you begin with a wrong view of who God is and who Jesus is, then you too may find yourself saying this statement:
“So, I’m rooted in the Christian tradition. I believe there are many paths to the same place…”
Tags: Christianity, God, law, obama, Politics, sin, values
Permalink Comments (2) Adam Parker Aug 6, 2008
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