tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22646012.post7573940222689135256..comments2023-11-04T00:19:12.362+11:00Comments on I'm ramblin' again: The Obama Victory: Impressions from New York CityJustinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04773963984084893424noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22646012.post-16029684776381402542008-12-03T18:46:00.000+11:002008-12-03T18:46:00.000+11:00Anonymous number one: Did you know that abortion r...Anonymous number one: Did you know that abortion rates have been much lower under Democrat presidents since 1974 than under Republican ones? <BR/><BR/>Benjamin: That's a good question - Obama does seem more willing than Jesus to act in a manner which helps those 50,000 young Iraqi girls in Iraq-bordering countries who have been forced into prostitution due to economic hardship over the last five years<BR/><BR/>Byron and Justin: I like the way you both ponder and ask questions and allow for ambiguity ...<BR/><BR/>And HURRAH FOR OBAMA!!!!!Megshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13057559601219863112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22646012.post-78703257822116936752008-11-17T23:59:00.000+11:002008-11-17T23:59:00.000+11:00Re hope: I'm with Karl Barth on this. There are bi...Re hope: <A HREF="http://nothing-new-under-the-sun.blogspot.com/2006/10/barth-on-great-hope-and-little-hopes.html" REL="nofollow">I'm with Karl Barth</A> on this. There are big hopes and little hopes. And it is the big hopes that help to shape and motivate the little ones, and keep the little ones from developing into desperate and self-defeating grabs at utopia.<BR/><BR/><I>conservatives aren't asking for "a government solution". I thought that they were asking the supreme court not to determine what states should do or not do.</I><BR/>Technically, yes. Though most seem to cherish a subsequent hope for government action (albeit at a state, if not federal, level).<BR/><BR/>Speaking of non-government action on abortion levels, have you seen <A HREF="http://www.freemoneyfornewlives.com.au/" REL="nofollow">this</A>?byron smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17938334606675769903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22646012.post-63248415969469596132008-11-11T03:05:00.000+11:002008-11-11T03:05:00.000+11:00hey justin. no, you didn't say that abortion and ...hey justin. no, you didn't say that abortion and gay marriage are the only moral issues of our time. i was riffing against the reports i keep hearing from the Evangelical leaders on TV.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22646012.post-37140162062145310942008-11-10T15:52:00.000+11:002008-11-10T15:52:00.000+11:00Hey my friend,Good thoughts. Abortion and gay marr...Hey my friend,<BR/><BR/>Good thoughts. <BR/><BR/><I>Abortion and gay marriage are NOT the only moral issues of our time, dear Christians.</I><BR/><BR/>Did someone some that? I don't think I said that. <BR/><BR/>I hear you on abortion re the total abortions not decreasing under a conservative government. But (and correct me if I'm wrong), but conservatives aren't asking for "a government solution". I thought that they were asking the supreme court not to determine what states should do or not do.<BR/><BR/>But I hear you that God's redemptive work will do that.<BR/><BR/>Also -- I get no joy in non-Americans waving flags and dancing. They stopped it the next day, and will continue in whatever path they had before. Surely.<BR/><BR/>Glad to hear back from you.<BR/><BR/>Do I know you? Let me know who you are: justin.moffatt at gmail.Justinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04773963984084893424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22646012.post-32819394395382345842008-11-10T10:47:00.000+11:002008-11-10T10:47:00.000+11:00My $.02...Christians live in two kingdoms. As a c...My $.02...<BR/><BR/>Christians live in two kingdoms. As a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven, I place all of my hope in Jesus Christ. As a citizen in the U.S., I put some hope in public policy and political leadership. To that end, I voted for Barack. But I also put some hope in God's redemptive work in history. That is to say, Jesus, the King of the heavenly kingdom, has work do to in this kingdom too. Among other tools, he uses his body--the Church--for that. Do I think a vote for a Republican can end abortions? Well, it hasn't so far... So what does reduce the abortion rate? God's redemptive work. How does this translate in my life? It means that I won't wait for the government to make abortions illegal and hope that reduces the number. I'll love the young women in my life as Jesus loves me, and I'll teach others to do the same. If I have a daughter some day, I'll try to love her in a way that, if she gets pregnant, she won't feel she has to abort the baby.<BR/><BR/>I do find it to be ironic that Conservative Christians disparage government solutions out of one side of their mouths, then ask for a government solution to abortion out of the other side. <BR/><BR/>One last thing:<BR/><BR/>On November 5th, I saw images of people dancing in the streets in many countries around the world. They were dancing with joy because the U.S. had elected someone who gave them hope. The last time I saw images of people dancing in the streets in countries around the world, they were dancing on a U.S. flag, in flames, and chanting death threats to the U.S. president who waged wars in their neighborhoods. Isn't this "new kind of dancing" something that any Christian should see as a wonderful encouragement?<BR/><BR/>Abortion and gay marriage are NOT the only moral issues of our time, dear Christians.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22646012.post-73733751586302159792008-11-08T22:02:00.000+11:002008-11-08T22:02:00.000+11:00"My biggest prayer is that those who hope in a pre..."My biggest prayer is that those who hope in a president would hope instead in Jesus."<BR/><BR/>What does this mean? Hope is such a big word, but are you talking about hope in some future time when Jesus fixes everything? Or are you talking about hope that "Jesus" (whoever that might be in Seattle tomorrow) will fix things here and now (i.e. do something about the 50,000 young Iraqi girls in Iraq-bordering countries who have been forced into prostitution due to economic hardship over the last five years)? <BR/><BR/> I'm guess I'm asking what you mean by "hope". Because it seems a lot more *meaningful* to me to hope in a president than in Jesus. I guess it's because it seems to me that at least a president is *real*, in the sense that you can see what he does and says, and these words and actions have visible consequences in the real world. I don't even know where Jesus is. I mean to say, if Jesus really pissed me off, I couldn't track him down and shout an obscenity at him.Benjamin Adyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03325520894212279303noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22646012.post-28319971289568462662008-11-08T03:46:00.000+11:002008-11-08T03:46:00.000+11:00One of the big concerns that conservatives have is...<I>One of the big concerns that conservatives have is the appointment of what they call ‘activist judges’ – judges who they say ‘impose ideology’, rather than simply interpret the law.</I><BR/>Do the conservatives you speak with see the conservative judges as simply interpreting the law rather than imposing a conservative ideology? (Ideology is not owned by the left).byron smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17938334606675769903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22646012.post-16140536229261933152008-11-08T03:39:00.000+11:002008-11-08T03:39:00.000+11:00I suspect that the language of "personal moral iss...I suspect that the language of "personal moral issue" to describe abortion is a (poor) attempt to react to a failure of the language of the religious right (and much of the media) that distinguishes between "moral" issues (abortion, homosexual marriage, stem cell research, pornography and so on) and "economic" issues, as though budgets were not moral documents.<BR/><BR/><I>Do our prayers change from one President to another?</I><BR/>Certainly. Discerning the time is always relevant to our actions (including our prayers).<BR/><BR/><I>One of the things that people regularly note is that Obama is relatively unknown</I><BR/>Only relatively. Over the last two years he has run the largest and highest profile campaign in history. This in itself is quite significant "executive experience", perhaps not of the only or most relevant kind, but neither is it inconsequential.<BR/><BR/>There can be little hopes, as well as the big hope. I hope that Obama's victory leads to a reduction in the likelihood of future wars, an improvement in the likelihood of good international relations, an increase in the chance of reaching agreements over ecological responsibility, a decrease in racial tensions, a greater access to healthcare for the poor, and a variety of other things. These are not ultimate hopes and they may well be dashed. But neither are they irrelevant, nor entirely unfounded.<BR/><BR/><BR/>Seapea: the reasons mentioned by those young people are indeed poor reasons, though I wonder if they represent a lack of experience in articulating why they like Obama, as much as an immaturity in what they love. To say that Obama is "cool" may carry significantly more weight than saying that a particular flavour ice-cream or new fashion style is cool. He may well be "cool" because he represents virtues to which those young people aspire and which they hope to see more of in their leaders. Maybe I am being too generous with an perverse and corrupt generation, but maybe not.byron smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17938334606675769903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22646012.post-71215507812850597142008-11-08T02:44:00.000+11:002008-11-08T02:44:00.000+11:00a few things:as a canuck, i am unable to vote. but...a few things:<BR/><BR/>as a canuck, i am unable to vote. but at this election, i was (somewhat) glad to not to vote. people were just going too crazy (and i use that term very loosely for this blog) over the obama-mania - which i resented. i resent any kind of -mania (e.g. Oprah, Ellen, etc.). (and did you listen to radio channels where people have called in to say that Obama is Jesus?)<BR/><BR/>one really disturbing thing was talking to youngsters (=people younger than my present age) about who they were supporting. i do not go around asking "who have you voted?" - i still believe that's a very personal question. people have volunteered the information and i found it shocking WHY they were voting for obama. here are the snippets:<BR/><BR/>"he is so cool"<BR/>"he is young!"<BR/>"he is rad"<BR/>"he can use internet unlike mccain"<BR/><BR/>and these are CHRISTIAN whom i spoke with.<BR/><BR/>isn't that disturbing? no stance on abortion, immigration, taxes, but that he's the (basically) "flavor of the month."<BR/><BR/>if it only ended on that nice note. nope - they had to go on bashing the other side.<BR/><BR/>what i come away from this election is that HATE was stronger than HOPE. HATE in the guise of "hope"...<BR/><BR/>i sincerely hope for this country's sake that all this (temporary) hope and glory will be put to good use and that people will genuinely pray for obama & his new administration.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12979903440711533913noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22646012.post-12341675166503358182008-11-07T17:36:00.000+11:002008-11-07T17:36:00.000+11:00the picture you chose looks like an icon, I assume...the picture you chose looks like an icon, I assume it was on purpose. I think Obama has done a lot to choose his image. I pray with you that people will put their hope in Jesus.Laura W.https://www.blogger.com/profile/04361250697594936298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22646012.post-33845042907743358342008-11-07T17:31:00.000+11:002008-11-07T17:31:00.000+11:00The Ebenezerling, at 5 yrs old, is quite intereste...The Ebenezerling, at 5 yrs old, is quite interested in how the political process works in Australia. Yesterday when I came home he told me who the new American president was, and what political party he represented.<BR/><BR/>We didn't wake him up on election night in Australia last year, but I imagine he would have appreciated it.Ebhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18305070461972884964noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22646012.post-81833094833966363442008-11-07T10:08:00.000+11:002008-11-07T10:08:00.000+11:00And I am profoundly saddened, too. God will judge ...And I am profoundly saddened, too. God will judge the earth with justice and righteousness.Justinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04773963984084893424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22646012.post-60071886400258035842008-11-07T10:07:00.000+11:002008-11-07T10:07:00.000+11:00Andrew -- Oh. Great point. I wonder if they'll let...Andrew -- Oh. Great point. I wonder if they'll let me change that!<BR/><BR/>:)<BR/><BR/>I wonder if it might be better put in inverted commas? That is, I am kind of reporting what they say. <BR/><BR/>But I agree with you, brother.Justinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04773963984084893424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22646012.post-50220999232941697522008-11-07T09:59:00.000+11:002008-11-07T09:59:00.000+11:00I meant to say that I liked your analysis and your...I meant to say that I liked your analysis and your prayer points. I just don't like the unnatural social / personal ethical divide.<BR/><BR/>Even though I'm in Australia I'll pray those now.<BR/><BR/>Andrew BarryAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22646012.post-66193378832124819742008-11-07T09:34:00.000+11:002008-11-07T09:34:00.000+11:00Moffatt Reflects on Obama Victory<A HREF="http://www.sydneyanglicans.net/sydneystories/moffatt_reflects_on_obamas_victory/" REL="nofollow">Moffatt Reflects on Obama Victory</A>Matthew Moffitthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00546422699620482793noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22646012.post-38881604393517782082008-11-07T08:48:00.000+11:002008-11-07T08:48:00.000+11:00It's great to hear the news from the ground what t...It's great to hear the news from the ground what the news is. <BR/><BR/>I have one pretty strong quibble with what you wrote. You said:<BR/><BR/>"The younger voices – many of whom would agree with their parents on the personal moral issues – are concerned also about social and ethical issues"<BR/><BR/>I think you have made a slip up in your language or you have accurately communicated a mistake in the thinking of young evangelicals. <BR/><BR/>I'm not saying that Christians can't vote Democrat, but they certainly can't talk about abortion in that way.<BR/><BR/>Abortion is not a 'personal moral issue' it is a 'social and ethical issue. <BR/><BR/>We should never let people regard abortion as personal. It is social (it is another life and a member of our community that is killed) and it is ethical (we are talking about slaughter). <BR/><BR/>Andrew BarryAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com