The Salty Peanut Gallery

Since starting this blog I’ve tried for the most part to steer clear of politics as much as I can. Not that there’s anything wrong with that mind you, it’s just not what I want to talk about. However, I am willing on occasion to make an exception, particularly when politicians are caught trying to use scripture in public, usually in an attempt to bolster their social agenda. Such was the case this past weekend with Barack Obama at the Saddleback Church presidential forum. When asked to identify America’s greatest moral failure, here’s what he had to say:

I think America’s greatest moral failure in my lifetime has been that we still don’t abide by that basic precept in Matthew that whatever you do for the least of my brothers, you do for me. And notion of — that basic principle applies to poverty. It applies to racism and sexism. It applies to, you know, not having — not thinking about providing ladders of opportunity for people to get into the middle class. I mean, there is a pervasive sense I think that this country is wealthy and powerful as we still don’t spend enough time thinking about the least of these.

First of all we should address the context of the passage Senator Obama is attempting to cite. Jesus is prophesying about his second coming. It is a day of judgment in which He will separate the sheep from the goats, rewarding those who have received Him and judging those who have rejected Him. The evidence of their acceptance or rejection will be in their willingness to serve the followers of Jesus Christ. It’s not that Christ is rewarding service and condemning those who don’t serve. Jesus explains that serving Christ’s followers is the same as serving Christ himself, the point being that failure to serve Him proves one does not really belong to Him.

La Shawn Barber is a Washington, DC-based freelance writer, blogger, and blog consultant, a political conservative and an outspoken born again believer. Her recent post at La Shawn Barber’s Corner on Barack Obama and Matthew 25 touches on Obama’s misrepresentation of scripture that results in what I think is a very interesting contradiction. She explains, “I think what’s clearly in view here is not charity for all the less fortunate. It’s about Christians attending to the legitimate needs of other Christians.” She then goes on to challenge Obama’s inconsistency in citing this passage:

With a straight face, Obama chastised others for not abiding by the precepts of Matthew 25, when he had a chance to do the same and failed. For example, instead of choosing to protect and care for the least of his brothers, the unborn, by supporting a bill that would protect those born alive after failed abortion attempts, he voted against the bill.

Who among us is more vulnerable and needy than an infant, unborn or otherwise? Obama the “Christian” said he would not yield when it comes to a woman’s right to have her baby slaughtered.

Excellent point! It’s unimaginable that Obama can presume to preach to us about not doing enough “for the least of these” (i.e. not paying enough taxes) in the face of his own voting record on the abortion issue. It’s not enough that he has little understanding of the scripture he’s trying to use. He isn’t even consistent in the way he uses it.

And by the way, did you happen to catch his wishy-washy response to the question of when life begins? “Whether you’re looking at it from a theological perspective or a scientific perspective, answering that question with specificity … is above my pay grade.” Above your pay grade? Are you kidding me? Dude! You’re not running for dog catcher. It’s the presidency of the United States for crying out loud. Whose pay grade DOES it involve?

Look, there’s no question where Obama stands on abortion rights. He’s made that perfectly clear. No doubt he was uncomfortable voicing his position in front of a crowd of religious conservatives. I just find it remarkable how Senator Obama’s distorted understanding of scripture is not only incorrect, it’s inconsistent.

Rick Warren will be hosting a joint appearance by presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain August 16 at Saddleback Church in a two-hour forum described by the church as a “non-debate.” Warren himself will be posing questions to each of the candidates. Rather than addressing their political positions, his purpose will be to focus on how the candidates make their leadership decisions.

Coinciding with this presidential forum, Warren will be assembling an interfaith leadership council made up of approximately 30 Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders to discuss cooperation in projects for the common good of all Americans. The P.E.A.C.E. Coalition is part of “a 50-year strategy to mobilize millions of local churches around the world” to address what Warren calls five Global Giants: spiritual emptiness, corrupt leadership, poverty, disease and illiteracy. Through venues like the presidential forum and the P.E.A.C.E. Coalition, Warren hopes to foster interfaith cooperation “on things that involve all humans regardless of what we believe.” Quoting from Matthew 10 Warren explains:

“When Jesus sent his disciples out he said, ‘When you go into a village, you find the man of peace,’ and he said, ‘If he accepts, and he’s open, and he’s receptive and he’s willing to work with you, you start your ministry there. If you don’t find the man of peace, you dust the dust off your shoes and you go to the next village cause you can always find someone that’s willing to work with you.’”

But Christian broadcaster and author Tom McMahon takes issue with this theology. He contends Warren’s belief that the church must take the lead in solving the world’s “Giant” problems cannot be reconciled with the scripture. McMahon explains:

“You see, it’s true the world has all kinds of problems, but he’s working on the symptoms and avoiding the root cause, which is the sin nature of humanity. So how can you work with all kinds of people called ‘people of faith,’ but it’s not biblical faith?” McMahon’s point is that the message of the gospel is what changes hearts and that Warren is compromising that message by working with people who clearly reject the gospel.

One of the things that has always concerned me about Rick Warren is his tendency to come up with a concept and then go find scripture to back it up. This usually involves finding a text or translation that best says what he wants it to say and then jerking it out of context. A great example of this is his Matthew 10 proof text.

The first thing we have to understand about this passage is that Jesus was not sending the disciples out to preach a social gospel. He was sending them out to preach the gospel of the Kingdom. “And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand (v.7).’” There is no mention here of any Global Giants. There is no social agenda whatsoever. Furthermore, the “man of peace,” which is actually found in a parallel passage (Luke 10:6) refers to one who is “worthy”, describing someone who would be willing to provide accommodations for the disciples, one whose moral character is such that it would not harm their testimony. This is a very different meaning then the one Warren asserts.

I would agree with McMahon’s point that the root cause of the world’s problems is the sin nature of man. Treating the symptoms may make you feel better, but it doesn’t address the heart of thre problem. Only the message of salvation has the power to transform lives and effectively impact the problems of the world.

Christian Newswire has announced the debut of a new children’s book at the International Christian Retail Show that according to them “proved to be an instant favorite” titled The Secret of Yahweh! The book is touted as The Christian Parent’s Answer to the Harry Potter Phenomenon. (I’m wondering, did we really need a Christian parent’s answer to the Harry Potter phenomenon? And if so can we also expect a Christian parent’s answer to The Wizard of Oz, Peter Pan, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Shrek, and let’s not forget the Chronicles of Narnia? But I digress.) Surprisingly the book seemed to be attracting adult readers as well as children and apparently even college students were getting into the act picking up on the slogan; “Do you know the secret yet?”

Amazon.com describes it as “a Christian look at believing in what you can’t always see.” J.C. Lamb is a cute, cuddly, sometimes invisible little lamb that wears the sign of the fish right over his heart. His purpose is to represent and remind everyone of the Savior. As the story unfolds, a little girl named Mary takes J.C. to school one day where he learns that the words “under God” have been left out of The Pledge of Allegiance. This is where J.C. (a.k.a. Un-Secret Agent 777) learns that his first mission for God is to help children understand the truth about God in school and discover the great secret of Yahweh!

Not having read the book, I won’t attempt to comment on its content; suffice to say I’m sure it’s a lovely story, although from the description I’m guessing JK Rowling has nothing to worry about. What I find particularly interesting, though, is the personal testimony of the book’s author. LeFerna Arnold-Walch shares how God used a serious tragedy to get her attention. She had not been a church goer for much of her life, but when her oldest son was in a near fatal car accident she made a promise to God. She explains, “If He gave me back my son, I would make sure more people knew about HIS!”

On its face this seems fairly compelling. I would certainly agree God uses tragedy to draw us closer to Him. However, it’s the next part of LeFerna’s testimony that gets a little out there for me. LeFerna points to many signs from God that lead up to what she considers her “calling.” For example she states, “Everything happened in nines and sevens.” The song that inspired the J.C. character was the ninth song on her CD; the deadline for the rough draft of her book was 07-07-07; things like that. She explains:

How do you “hear” God? You might ask. You learn to listen with your heart and see with your mind. I had been through so much in my life, that I learned to just close my eyes and communicate with Him by clearing my mind and taking the first thing that came to me. Then ask for signs or look for signs to know it was Him. I seemed to start waking at exactly 4:44 am. At that time I would get ideas. The lamb’s name came to me this way, as did the entire storyline for the book.

She also believes that because she came from an unchurched family, she was obviously chosen to reach other unchurched families.

I’ll be honest; I’m not a huge fan of mysticism when it comes to the will of God. I don’t believe that finding God’s will for our lives was ever intended to be some kind of Magical Mystery Tour. Now I don’t deny God sometimes uses people and circumstances to help us find clarity, but it is so important for believers to understand that God’s written word is our primary source of truth. The problem with relying on so-called signs to reveal God’s will is that they are often unreliable. When is a sign rely a sign? Or in the words of Ebenezer Scrooge, when is it only “an underdone bit of beef, or an undigested bit of potato?” The problem with signs is they are difficult to quantify and are often subjective. Not so with God’s Word. It is “a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” That’s a promise we can count on.

The other issue I have is with the idea that someone from an unchurched family is best suited to reach other unchurched families. While no one can deny the obvious sensitivity that LeFerna’s unique testimony affords, I think the notion that she was “obviously chosen” to reach the unchurched misinterprets the role that believers play in God’s Kingdom plan. In the first place, in case you haven’t noticed, the great commission is for all believers regardless of whether they grew up churched or unchurched. ALL believers have been chosen to share Christ with the unchurched. But let’s take this one step further, because I think we are sometimes under the false impression that unless we do something to reach the world for Christ, God’s Kingdom will be lost. If we don’t tell the world about Jesus then who will go to heaven?

Now don’t misunderstand. I’m not suggesting that we shouldn’t share our faith. Clearly Christ commanded it. But do you seriously think that the all powerful, infallible, sovereign Lord of all the universe is going to place sole responsibility for the outcome of His Kingdom on the shoulders of someone as imperfect, frail and fallible as you and me. I don’t think so. Rest assured, God is already at work in the world around us relentlessly pursuing a relationship with the unchurched in ways you and I can’t even possibly imagine. The question then isn’t about who is best suited to help Him out. The question then is whether or not you and I are willing to humble ourselves and join Him in the Kingdom work He is already doing.

“Do you know the secret yet?”