Socialism: “A theory or system of social reform which contemplates a complete reconstruction of society, with a more just and equitable distribution of property and labor.”
Barack Obama keeps saying his economic policies are not socialistic. However, in this 2001 radio interview broadcast on Chicago’s WBEZ public radio station, it sure sounds like a duck, walks like a duck…
As a business owner and employer, I’d have to agree with “Joe the Plumber.”
Watch the video at ABC News.
Joe The Plumber
Steve Meyer Leading an Oak Park GOP Event
3 years ago today, I lost one of my best friends. His name was Steve Meyer and he was the Republican Committeeman for Oak Park Township. I was joking with Steve’s father this morning at church, that Steve probably has all the Republican’s in heaven fully engaged in the support of the McCain-Palin ticket!
Steve’s favorite political figure was Ronald Reagan. There are enough similarities between Ronald and John that it is not hard to claim Steve’s support of John McCain and Sarah Palin.
I will always remember Steve as a tireless worker in the political process. Steve loved the United States of America and the freedoms that we enjoy. He felt that we should all do our part and be involved in the process in order to preserve and protect those freedoms. Steve had lots of friends – both Republican and Democrat, Christian and non-Christian, yet Steve got along with everyone… even when there were political disagreements.
Steve was a big believer in yard signs! By this stage of a political campaign, there would be hundreds of homes and businesses in Oak Park showing support of the McCain-Palin ticket with blue yard and window signs. Some businesses would even have the big 4×8 signs! The fact there are very few signs in Oak Park lets me know Steve is no longer here. Perhaps he is carrying on the tradition in heaven! 
It’s tough losing a friend. It’s even harder for his parents, sister, wife and children. Our lives go on and we do the best we can, and remember our friend, husband, father, son, brother. We remember the good times, the positive memories, the things about Steve that inspired us, and we contemplate the weaknesses, failures and shortcomings, knowing that Steve was human like the rest of us.
Steve was not terribly complicated. What you saw was what you got – genuine and unpretentious. He let you know where he stood and where you stood. If you were straight with him, he would respect you and get along. If you happened to be one of the luckier ones who happened to strike him in a positive way, he would become your deep and lasting friend.
Steve had a battle with a form of cancer that could have killed him… it was an incurable type of lymphoma… yet he beat that disease for awhile and was cancer free when he died. He struggled more with deeper fears and issues of the heart and mind. Eventually, these issues got the best of him. Even though his choice of death was wrong, tragic and very painful to many people, I am confident that Steve is with the One he had committed his life to some years before.
Steve knew he had “issues.” He battled them and faced into them at different times, and he had some great times of success. Who can say what brought him to his end? None of us knew his mind at that instant, and we can only guess. He was in pain and he was mixed up, and he was confused. I’ve been there as well. There’s no way to “figure it all out.”
What I take away and learn from Steve and his life are valuable lessons to me: Be yourself and try to be better. Work and fight hard for the things you believe in. Treat others you disagree with politically with respect. Thank God for your freedom. Respect and honor those who have paid the price for that freedom. Love God. Love people. Serve and help others less fortunate. Do a good job. And, if I ever get cancer, fight hard and don’t give up!
Steve, you were a good man, and a good friend. Rest in the arms of your Savior. I miss you, but it’s not over. I’ll see you again!
Cover: The Faith of Barack Obama
I recently finished reading The Faith of Barack Obama by Stephen Mansfield [Thomas Nelson, publisher].
I agree with Mansfield’s introductory book premise that understanding a man’s religious vision and personal faith will illuminate how he will lead. To Mansfield, Barack’s faith uniquely positions him as a “healer” and prophetic conscience for our nation, on the level of Lincoln, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr., Ghandi, Desmond Tutu, William Wilberforce and others.
The pertinent question, then, is what IS Barack Obama’s faith and religious vision and how will it inform his leadership?
Although Barack professes to have a personal relationship with Jesus (the historical object of Christian faith), this book reveals little about how Barack’s faith is rooted in that relationship. To me the book reveals his faith to be more rooted in traditions, ethics, black liberation theology and an attractive community life that fits with his personal values, rather than in a personal submission to the God-man, Jesus Christ, as revealed to us in Scripture.
As Mansfield observes, Barack’s faith is in a belief that “Christianity is but one religious tree rooted in the common ethical soil of all human experience.” For Barack, “there are many paths to the same place.”
According to Mansfield, Obama “is the product of a new, post-modern generation that picks and chooses its own truth from traditional faith, much as a man customizes his meal at a buffet.”
I also find it enlightening that his religious vision and faith is guided, not by revealed truth, but by doubt. “Doubt is at the heart of Obama’s religion. Indeed, it is not going too far to say that for Obama, doubt is a form of worship.”
Mansfield moves from these quotes and statements to his conclusions in the last chapter. That religion, to Barack Obama, “is transforming, lifelong and real. It is who he is at the core . . . While Americans are used to religious insincerity from their political leaders, Obama seems to be sincere in what he proclaims. It was his faith that gave him the will to serve in public office and the worldview of that faith that shaped his understanding of what he would do once he came to office.”
“Obama’s faith infuses his public policy, so that his faith is not just limited to the personal realms of his life; it also informs his leadership.”
In what way will a faith rooted in doubt and customized at will inform leadership? Every person must wrestle with doubt, but do doubt and uncertainty qualify a person for leadership? What does it say about our times and culture that our most admired individuals are those who cannot affirm what they believe? That not knowing truth is valued above knowing truth? If doubt is a form of worship for Barack Obama then our country’s infatuation with Barack Obama belies an infatuation with doubters and those who readily admit that truth is unknowable.
We would all do well to remember the famous and timely words of C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity:
I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: “I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God.” That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a good moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic-on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg-or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronising nonsense about His being a great moral teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”
In conclusion, there is much to admire about Barack Obama. He is gifted and able in many areas. I commend him for his many good qualities, and respect the hardships he has overcome, and hope that many will emulate the positive choices he has made in his life. But on the question as to whether or not his faith as presented in this book makes him more attractive to me as a leader and presidential candidate, it does not. Rather, the faith of Barack Obama is deeply concerning to me–for him as a person, and for our country.
Unlike Mr. Mansfield, I do not see Barack Obama as a prophet, ready to heal the wounds of our nation. Rather, he is a brilliant politician, a winsome, sincere and transparent communicator, who is seriously confused about the object of his professed faith.
Even though I disagree with the conclusion of this book, I would recommend it to anyone seriously following the presidential candidacy of Barack Obama and the critically important choice ahead for our nation on November 4th.
Talk about rewriting history… this video speaks for itself.
“Democracy demands that the religiously motivated translate their concerns into universal, rather than religion-specific, values. It requires that their proposals be subject to argument, and amenable to reason. I may be opposed to abortion for religious reasons, but if I seek to pass a law banning the practice, I cannot simply point to the teachings of my church or evoke God’s will. I have to explain why abortion violates some principle that is accessible to people of all faiths, including those with no faith at all.” – Barack Obama in a 2006 speech
Wow! Really? Yikes!
According to reports from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), almost all the allegedly “lost” ice reported by Al Gore and other global warming alarmists, has come back. The report shows that ice levels which had shrunk from 5 million square miles in January 2007 to just 1.5 million square miles in October, are almost back to their original levels. I addition, a Feb. 18 report in the London Daily Express showed that there is nearly a third more ice in Antarctica than usual.
My family and I went to a real rodeo while we were in Steamboat Springs, Colorado in mid-August. We watched bucking broncos, bull riding, barrel racing, rodeo clowns and a number of other events in a family-friendly atmosphere. It was delayed a bit due to a rain shower passing through!
One the most memorable things about this event was how they started it. Think about how often at events like football and baseball games, you will hear the announcer telling the crown to stand, remove hats to show honor and respect for the American flag.
This was completely unnecessary here! A young woman on horseback started to ride into the arena with an American flag. Everyone stood immediately. Men removed hats, hands went to hearts, conversations stopped, children quieted down. Silence reigned as the flag was slowly circled in the arena, and came to a stop in from of the grandstand. The announcer commented on how he had not needed to tell us what to do! He made some heart felt comments about our nation, and the men and women serving in the armed forces. We sang the national anthem together. The young woman on horseback then took that flag around the arena at a very fast pace – it was a very inspiring and heart warming sight! We cheered and made a lot of noise!
I will never forget that moment and the feeling of pride I had, to be an American. I was also so thankful that this spontaneous display of national unity and pride is still reflective of most of America, outside of the Peoples Republic of Oak Park, Illinois!
I became aware of this article written by Vaclav Klaus, the President of the Czech Republic recently, and found it to express my feelings on the “Global Warming” issue quite well. I encourage you to read it also. The article is called, “Freedom, not climate, is at risk.”
My previous post “Is Al Gore Right? – Who is Causing Global Warming? – Sunday, March 18, 2007″ that includes a link to the video entitled “The Global Warming Swindle” makes a similar case.
I also notice that Vaclav quotes Michael Crichton. I highly recommend a book that Michael wrote called “State of Fear.” You can read about it here. It is also mentioned and linked in my previous post.
Recently, George Barna has conducted a survey and published results that reveals an emerging movement of atheists and agnostics who are intentionally and aggressively making a united effort to belittle people of faith, and discredit their personal beliefs in God. For the study, atheists were defined as people who have determined there is no God and agnostics are those who doubt his existence.
This new survey shows some alarming gaps between Christians and other people of “active-faith” (defined as simply having gone to church, read the Bible and prayed during the week preceding the survey.) and those Americans who are in the “no-faith” camp. According to the study, “most atheists and agnostics (56%) agree with the idea that radical Christianity is just as threatening in America as is radical Islam.” Wow! This view is so misguided it is frightening!
The study also reveals that, “two-thirds of Christians (63%) who have an active faith perceive that the nation is becoming more hostile and negative toward Christianity. ” No kidding! I wonder where they get that idea?
As a Christian who believes in God, I have a difficult time with the misguided belief that my faith is “just as threatening in America as is radical Islam.” Where do these people get this idea? How many Christians have committed acts of terror? How many people have had their heads cut off in the name of Jesus? How many people really believe that people are being tortured, mutilated, humiliated and murdered by fanatic, fundamentalist Christians? Where do the atheists and agnostics in this survey get these warped ideas?
I fear that it is partially due to our “news media,” which loves to paint a negative biased picture of people of faith on a regular basis in print, on the radio and in mass media. The “entertainment” industry also does this on a regular basis in movies, TV shows and in music.
Then there is the realm of politics, where public servants who profess a belief in God are maligned, slandered and denigrated by those of a more “liberal” and “progressive” party or label. Their views and even their very right to serve the citizens they represent, is questioned.
So, we know the caricatures that are widely promoted in the public arena. But the facts bear out a different picture when the lifestyles of “no-faith” people are compared with people of “active faith.”
People of “no-faith” are:
• Less likely than active-faith Americans to be registered to vote (78% versus 89%)
• Less likely to volunteer to help a non-church-related non-profit (20% versus 30%)
• Less likely to describe themselves as “active in the community” (41% versus 68%)
• Less likely to personally help or serve a homeless or poor person (41% versus 61%)
• More likely to be registered to vote as an independent or with a non-mainstream political party
Another glaring difference between the groups is the paltry amount of money that “no-faith” people donate to charitable causes. In 2006, the average “no-faith” American donated just $200, and “active-faith” Americans averaged $1,500. If you subtract church based giving from these figures, “active-faith” adults still donated twice as much as atheists and agnostics. Looking at it a bit differently, just 7% of active-faith adults failed to contribute any personal funds in 2006, compared with 22% among the no-faith adults.
So, I ask… which group generally does more good for our society, especially toward those who need help… the poor and needy? Which group exhibits good citizenship, care for others and involvement in our society? Which group actually more often practices what it preaches? Which group contributes less toward the common good?