'Obama Believers', the theological aspects of the Obama campaign....

[Reddogs]

'Obama Believers', the theological aspects of the Obama campaign....

Hillary has noticed it, the media has caught up into it, the young people are being overwhelmed by "Obama fever" or the Obama "phenomenon" , the last time I saw something like this it was the Beatles and the whole world was in a frenzy over them, and John Lennon was making comparisons. Well it seems to be a similiar occurance with the Illinois senator’s campaign, has he gone beyond the realm of a political campaign to almost a following of 'believers'....Here is what they are saying:

"....Obama's believers...

There’s a theological underpinning to what’s going on with the Illinois senator’s campaign.

Engaged, well-informed young Americans are being moved to act and follow in what feels like a religious awakening....

New York Times columnist David Brooks has likened them to Hare-Krishna people and to Moonies — "Soon they'll be selling flowers at airports and arranging mass weddings." Joe Klein of Time has dubbed their "mass messianism" to be "just a bit creepy." And William Lowther, Washington correspondent for the Telegraph (United Kingdom), reported something "unnervingly akin to the hysteria of a cult, or the fervour of a religious revival" at Obama events.

Picking up on the hysteria theme, syndicated columnist Kathleen Parker has dismissed their "New Age glossolalia" as spiritual hunger gone terribly wrong, seduced by Obama's rhetoric, which "drips with hints of resurrection, redemption, second comings." MSNBC's Chris Matthews, going Parker one better, was quoted in Australia's The Age as saying, "I've never seen anything like this. This is bigger than Kennedy. Obama comes along and he seems to have the answers. This is New Testament."

Actually, Parker and Matthews may, however unwittingly, be onto something here. It has to do with two concepts that are deeply embedded in the Protestant theology that derives from the New Testament. And these concepts go a long way toward accounting for what is going on at Obama rallies.

The first is kairos (in the biblical Greek), which refers to an "opening" in ordinary time, a historical moment when a collective sense of deeply meaningful change is in the air. The other is metanoia (another Greek term), which refers to a radical change of mind or consciousness.....

http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2008/04/obamas-believer.html

Obama calls on citizens around world to stand together

Obama speaks in Berlin, Germany. (AP Photo)

(CNN) — Sen. Barack Obama.. challenged people to look to Berlin as an example of what can be accomplished when nations come together to tackle global challenges.

"This city, of all cities, knows the dream of freedom. And you know that the only reason we stand here tonight is because men and women from both of our nations came together to work, and struggle, and sacrifice for that better life," he said before a massive crowd at Berlin's Victory Column.

Watch: Obama says the world needs to unite as one

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/07/24/obama.speech/index.html

[John317]

Very interesting. I've noticed the same spiritual/religious aura of Obama's campaign, and I've never seen anything like it before in American politics. There have been times when it's seemed to me almost as if some people are in a trance or have been hypnotized. Many don't apparently care what he's said, what he's done, or what he hasn't done.

There seems to be a different attitude towards him than I have seen people have about a presidential candidate before. Not that everyone has it but many do. It is very similar to the attitude people have about a movie star or rock star. The closest thing to it in political history is how some people felt about John Kennedy after he was president. I don't remember that attitude being shown while he was campaigning. The media liked Kennedy, too, but I think the media has generally joined Obama's campaign instead of remaining neutral in order to give the American people the cold, hard facts about both candidates.

[BobRyan]

I worry about the chaos and anarchy that might errupt if Obama loses. The left seems to be getting more and more radical unhinged and fringe these days.

Prayer is probably in order.

in Christ,

Bob

[John317]

No doubt about it-- there will be lots of rioting if Obama loses. There will be charges of election corruption because the exit polls will certainly show Obama winning even though he may actually fall short.

Right now I am not sure who will win, but if McCain loses, no one will riot. When was the last time Republicans or supporters of Republican candidates rioted?

[Robert]

No doubt about it-- there will be lots of rioting if Obama loses.

I hear racist overtones....Let's stay to the issues!

The thing is,

1] Do you want more Bush economics...more so called free-market (which is really exploitation - economic slavery)

or

2] Do you want someone who is going to look out for the interests of the folks who actually put these guys in office?

Rob

[Woody]

Originally Posted By: John317

No doubt about it-- there will be lots of rioting if Obama loses.

I hear racist overtones....

Rob

Yes. There ARE racial overtones. Nothin wrong with that.

This is a case of John just tellin the truth.

Listen to John Rob ... he knows what he is talking about.

RED

[olger]

Rioters of any kind/color should be dealt with severely.

[John317]

Originally Posted By: John317

No doubt about it-- there will be lots of rioting if Obama loses.

I hear racist overtones....Let's stay to the issues!

Don't play the race card.

The fact is that there are Democratic supporters of Obama who have said that it would happen if Obama loses.

http://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/p-j-gladnick/2008/10/08/james-carville-hints-riots-if-obama-loses

I live in LA. I have seen many riots, from the ones of 1965 to the Rodney King riots that spread all over Southern Ca. Believe me, if he loses, there will be riots. It has nothing to do with race. There are blacks saying the same thing. Anyone who understand the political situation knows it will happen. It is just a question of how much and for how long.

[John317]

Rioters of any kind/color should be dealt with severely.

Completely agree with that.

[John317]

Originally Posted By: Robert

I hear racist overtones....

Rob

Yes. There ARE racial overtones. Nothin wrong with that.

This is a case of John just tellin the truth.

Listen to John Rob ... he knows what he is talking about.

RED

And so does James Carville and many others. I posted a link to what Carville said.

If you think I am joking, you just drive down some of the streets in LA in a car with McCain stickers on it if Obama loses. Dare ya, double dare ya. ---On second thought, NO, please don't.

[Neil D]

And so does James Carville and many others. I posted a link to what Carville said.

If you think I am joking, you just drive down some of the streets in LA in a car with McCain stickers on it if Obama loses. Dare ya, double dare ya. ---On second thought, NO, please don't.

First off, your quote comes frome this source-

Welcome to NewsBusters, a project of the Media Research Center (MRC), the leader in documenting, exposing and neutralizing liberal media bias.

This is from a news source deliberately out to distort the main stream media, which by it's own admition, is automatically considered as "Liberal".

As for driving down the road with a McCAin sticker on your car, I don't think it matters when, before or after an election....I don't think that there will be riots...with one caviot.....The last couple of elections have been close....with a lot of concern that the electronic voting without a paper ballot may be fraudulent. If the vote is perceived as a fraud, then I suspect that you should expect riots.

After all, any vote that has been manipulated, would concidered as a violation of the will of the people. And I might just join the rioters if I also felt a theft of the people....

[rush4hire]

There have been times when it's seemed to me almost as if some people are in a trance or have been hypnotized.

That doesn't mean he's evil. He's just a good speaker. People like him and that's how they show it. People go into a trance-like state real easy, these days, because they watch too much TV.

[rush4hire]

Rioters of any kind/color should be dealt with severely.

This country was started by rioters. They dumped the tea in the harbor and declared their Independence from England. If they hadn't done that, we'd still be under the Queen of England and would never have experienced a time of freedom from Papal influence.

But if they are rioting for a good cause, they shouldn't steal anything. Because that looks bad. If they do, they should give the stuff to the homeless or poor people.

I know people threw eggs at JW Bush's car when he got elected. That has never happened before in U.S. history I saw that in Fahrenheit 911, a documentary by Michael Moore.

[Tammy]

Originally Posted By: olger

Rioters of any kind/color should be dealt with severely.

Completely agree with that.

Yep, I agree...

I'm sure glad I live in the Country....would not want to live in the inner city - it might get pretty bad....

[Taylor]

Originally Posted By: Redwood

Yes. There ARE racial overtones. Nothin wrong with that.

This is a case of John just tellin the truth.

Listen to John Rob ... he knows what he is talking about.

RED

JOHN SAYS:

And so does James Carville and many others. I posted a link to what Carville said.

If you think I am joking' date=' you just drive down some of the streets in LA in a car with McCain stickers on it if Obama loses. Dare ya, double dare ya. ---On second thought, NO, please don't. [/quote']

TAYLOR SAYS:

Trust me, the opposite could be true as well in other sections of the country. (After all, there have been people at Republican Rally's that have said things like "Kill Obama" etc.) There are strong feelings on both sides...we are just sitting on a powder keg of problems till Jesus comes...regardless who wins this election.

[olger]

Originally Posted By: John317

There have been times when it's seemed to me almost as if some people are in a trance or have been hypnotized.

That doesn't mean he's evil. He's just a good speaker. People like him and that's how they show it. People go into a trance-like state real easy, these days, because they watch too much TV.

True.

I would like to sit down and talk with Obama. I am certain we would get along. I am also certain that there is much that divides us (get to that later).

What I have noticed about him so far, is that he is not a good listener. He uses words as deflection tools. Perhaps in a one-on-one-scenario he would revert to dialogue.

If Obama was a conservative person, I would support him whole-heartedly. As it is, he supports several things that I can not. For instance, Obama supports:

Gay rights (homosexual lifestyle)

Abortion (this kills one heart and deeply wounds another).

Global Warming (dumb hoax)

Labor Unions (duhhh)

Higher Taxes (duhh)

More Government involvement in personal lives & property. (completely unsupportable for olger)

National Health care (I would rather supply my own health care, through healthy lifestyle and HSA).

For these and other reasons, I cannot support the young man. If he was a Reagan Conservative I would support him thoroughly.

`oG

[John317]

TAYLOR SAYS:

Trust me, the opposite could be true as well in other sections of the country. (After all, there have been people at Republican Rally's that have said things like "Kill Obama" etc.) There are strong feelings on both sides...we are just sitting on a powder keg of problems till Jesus comes...regardless who wins this election.

I certainly agree that there are some unhappy people on both sides of the political aisle.

I said what I did because of what people like James Carville said. There have been others saying the same thing.

I haven't heard any of the McCain supporters saying there will be rioting by Republicans if Obama wins.

We'll have to see what happens.

[Woody]

Originally Posted By: Taylor

TAYLOR SAYS:

Trust me, the opposite could be true as well in other sections of the country. (After all, there have been people at Republican Rally's that have said things like "Kill Obama" etc.) There are strong feelings on both sides...we are just sitting on a powder keg of problems till Jesus comes...regardless who wins this election.

I certainly agree that there are some unhappy people on both sides of the political aisle.

I said what I did because of what people like James Carville said. There have been others saying the same thing.

I haven't heard any of the McCain supporters saying there will be rioting by Republicans if Obama wins.

We'll have to see what happens.

Our friend Joe Biden and John Murtha think this. Murtha says that all of Western PA is full of racist. Joe Biden says that within 6 months of a Obama presidency ... that the terrorist will cause a big event to test Obama since he is so soft on terrorism and lacks experience. With the Democrats being so vocal about this kind of thing ... what hope do we have?

Now ... Murtha modifies his statement and says they are rednecks. What will the Demos come up with next?

[fccool]

People choose to overlook the issues in light of the political bumper stickers that are written by campaign speechwriters and strategists and then regurgitated by the candidates. Consider these:

1) The biggest one is... under JOE DOE you will pay higher taxes, and I will fight against the higher taxes... read my lips NO NEW TAXES.

I hope you are intelligent enough to see through the issue in light of the following.

a) US debt is 10.3 trillion dollars and growing. The debt is due to the politicians wanting to push their enormous expenditures, but not raise taxes. So they just borrow it on your behalf. The interest payment for debt is nearing half a trillion dollars, or a quarter of all of the tax revenues. How can any honest politician promice you that he will not raise taxes, while at the same time doing minimal cuts in budgets or military spending, which takes nearly half of all the revenues... with mere 25% of it going for social programs (not including salaries)

The IRS costs nearly 400 billion to raise 2 trillion. It's an immensely inefficient way of collecting taxes.

c) Businesses do not pay taxes. Since most of the rich people are invested in businesses, they avoid paying taxes at the expense of the middle class. How? Two thirds of the corporations did not pay ANY taxes in 2005. There are many accounting tricks you can pull off to avoid taxes, and these are legal. Unfortunately, these tricks are not available for employees, who's taxes are being automatically withheld in many cases. These are the people who do carry the most tax burden... not the businesses or corporations.

Finally, consider the global phenomenon of wealth polarization. Recent data states that 50% of the world population own 1% of wealth, while the riches 1% owns 40%. Do you really think there are so many lazy people out there, or is there something else that comes into play?

[carolaa]

[quote=olgerHigher Taxes (duhh)

More Government involvement in personal lives & property. (completely unsupportable for olger)

[carolaa]

Originally Posted By: olger

Rioters of any kind/color should be dealt with severely.

This country was started by rioters. They dumped the tea in the harbor and declared their Independence from England. If they hadn't done that, we'd still be under the Queen of England and would never have experienced a time of freedom from Papal influence.

Yeah, really! How patriotic can a person be if they won't tolerate rioters? Sounds like they need to back to England. This country is about fighting for freedom.

[Tammy]

Originally Posted By: rush4hire

This country was started by rioters. They dumped the tea in the harbor and declared their Independence from England. If they hadn't done that' date=' we'd still be under the Queen of England and would never have experienced a time of freedom from Papal influence.

[/quote']

Yeah, really! How patriotic can a person be if they won't tolerate rioters? Sounds like they need to back to England. This country is about fighting for freedom.

When our forefathers rebelled from England, they did n't do like today's modern rioters, and loot and shoot just for the sake of stealing and killing.

You say, "This country is about fighting for freedom" but yet, you are willing to pronounce the death sentence on millions of babies, because you believe in voting Pro-Choice (really Pro-Death)...you are not even willing to give those babies the freedom you enjoy. The "freedom" you speak of, is the selfish type of freedom, freedom to do what you want at the expense of someone elses life...freedom to kill innocent children who never asked to come into this world in the first place, children who would find loving, kind, adoptive homes, if they only had the chance. I wish you could ask our forefathers if the kind of freedom they rebelled for is in any way, shape or form, like the kind of freedom you want.

[olger]

To all:

There is a good reason that God links rebellion with witchcraft in His Holy Word. What do you suppose that reason might be?

oG

[Tammy]

Expound on that Olger....

[fccool]

The "freedom" you speak of, is the selfish type of freedom, freedom to do what you want at the expense of someone elses life...freedom to kill innocent children who never asked to come into this world in the first place, children who would find loving, kind, adoptive homes, if they only had the chance. I wish you could ask our forefathers if the kind of freedom they rebelled for is in any way, shape or form, like the kind of freedom you want.

Now, now Tammy. Consider the following:

1) Many people consider the founders of this nation to be the infallibles, and they were far from it. They were not Christians, and when they wrote "We the people of the United States... secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves..." Who do you think they meant? It was certainly not black people at the time. And it was certainly no natives. Partly women, but they did not think that it was a responsible thing to let women vote. So what liberties were they talking about. It was not till years later when somebody was reading constitution and said: "Wait a minute! What about me? And what do you mean by "liberty"? ". And that's when amendments followed.

2) Consider what democracy is! It's pluralism. It's a group of people coming together because they want something, and if the majority wants something more than the minority, then it's too bad for the minority. This was not the case with US. The constitution was to be the Traffic Light for that one car trying to cross the crowded highway. Without that traffic light that car would be sitting on that intersection for days.

Yet... today in America we somehow forget that we are Republic and not Democracy. And we forget what being a "Republican" really means.

Tammy, I commend you to have a burden on behalf of the unborn. Over the time of my professional career as producer, I have interviewed many women on behalf of charitable anti-abortion clinics. The common theme among these women is a sense of loss, sense of regret, sense of repentance.

You have to understand that pulling a club out will only create more fear. Consider what happened when the Jesus saved a woman from stoning. He said "Go, and sin no more". It was the sense of forgiveness that helped her to move on, and not the sense of condemnation.

Same with Adam and Eve. Guess where the Tree of knowledge of the Good and Evil was? My guess is that it was in a near viscinity to the tree of life. They've seen it. It was a test. If there was barbwire and "don't eat" signs all around the tree, would they partake of the fruit? If there were no Satan, do you think they would eat the fruit??? I don't think so. The test was... Will you trust me without me going Nazi Communist on you?

That's the approach we should take. Sure there should be punishment, but will the punishment solve the problem? The prison systems today do not "correct" people. People who go through today prison systems come out to be more criminal than they went in. Not only by means of "social scarlet letter", but also in attitudes and beliefs. That's why repeated offenses are very common.

The approach should be prevention through education, and help to discourage abortion in light of adoption to people who do want children, or people who are willing to help single mothers to raise them. Crying out "This is wrong, she should be in jail for murder"... will only contribute to the sense of fear and hopelessness among those who are considering abortion. Scaring people into doing something is never a way to go.