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Jun
28
Could Obama Be Right In Suggesting Focus On Universal Christian Values?
Filed Under Barack Obama, Democratic Party, GOP, Republican Party, abortion, politics, religion
Kevin Tracy writes that conservatives should listen to Barack Obama’s suggestion that instead of trying to change hearts and minds via evangelical church rules, maybe Christians should focus on common goals that would make America a better place.
… Barack Obama is essentially saying that he recognizes that this nation was built with a Christian foundation, which is significant progress for liberals we on the right should be applauding. Barack Obama further says that we should thus fight for universal Christian values. But since there is no universal Christian values book, he’s saying we should fight for the ones everybody agrees on, including the Christian Left… that doesn’t leave much besides that “Love Thy Neighbor” stuff.
In other words, if this is a Christian country, as Obama seems to be admitting to, we shouldn’t be isolating any Christians who may not agree with the likes of James Dobson by only writing Christian legislation from a very VERY narrow non-Catholic conservative perspective.
I agree 100% with that.
Having watched our society split into two polar opposite camps that seemingly will never be able to unify as one, I have to also say that I agree with Kevin Tracy that the time has come to figure out what we have in common so that we can figure out common sense solutions to our nation’s problems — instead of always fighting with each other and with the other side. Much of Congress’ inability to do anything — both the GOP and the Democrats have failed to do anything during the 2000s — stems from our leaders’ inability to look at the greater picture. Much of this myopia comes from the constant battles and hate that has been a feature of Washington politics for far too long.
Let’s focus on common goals so that we can get the things that we agree upon resolved. Once we figure out how to get on the same page, maybe Washington will be able to get things done.
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6 Responses to “Could Obama Be Right In Suggesting Focus On Universal Christian Values?”
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Chris, I’m not sure the vast middle is actually the dream we keep hearing about. In the middle who actually leads? In the middle who says that something is right or wrong?
I like some working together, butt just turning our country into milk toast isn’t leadership, it’s following.
I disagree with Kevin on a lot, all he wants to do is hurt John McCain in retaliation for beating Mike Huckabee. There isn’t an issue that Mike Huckabee and John McCain disagree on even now.
It’s like the Hillary supporters that can’t let go of hating Barack, so they have over 150 blogs against Barack. Barack and Hillary agree on 90% of everything they’ve ever talked about.
The real choice is between Barack’s America and ours.
I hate to do this, but only meant to explain Obama’s point of view there… I still believe we should fight for our values, just frame the debate differently (in secular terms instead of Christian sectarian terms).
Regarding Dalton’s comment, he knows full well that my distrust for McCain dates back to 2001 and was etched in stone in 2005 after the Amnesty Fiasco when he stabbed Republicans in the back and was part of the coalition that cost us our majorities in Congress.
John McCain and Bill Frist were among the men I vowed NEVER to vote for if they ran for President.
Sure enough, one of them got on the ticket.
It has NOTHING to do with getting revenge for Governor Huckabee, and he knows that perfectly well because I’ve explained it to him multiple times and have written about it on my blog for months.
Maybe it’s hard for people like that to grasp, but there is real dissent in the Republican Party and discrediting them as disengenous isn’t going to unite the party any more than Lindsay Graham calling opponents of McCain-Kennedy “biggots.”
Hi Steve,
I’m not necessarily saying that we give up our core values. The problem in America today is that there is no way to bridge the gap between someone who wants the government to be the great nanny who will take care of everything for everyone without thinking about who will be doing the work that will feed all of the infants that such a state will produce and the people on our side who mean well, but espouse opinions in such a way that it is easy for the majority of voters misinterpret them as “being mean” or “not caring,” and all of the other phrases that have been used against the GOP since Reagan’s days.
In relation to the church — and this was the focus that I was thinking about when I wrote my post — we see this a lot of times when people are evangelizing. Instead of approaching people with a message of love, sometimes the approach comes off the wrong way — often as a legalistic, rules-based belief system that requires strict adherence to the rules otherwise one will end up in hell (and forgetting about Christ’ message of forgiveness).
Just as the church is fulfilling Christ’s message by reaching out to the sinners — eating with the tax collectors, the poor and other misguided souls — maybe we’d do well to figure out a way to reach out to the middle so that they can be brought into the fold. We don’t have to necessarily water down our beliefs — but we don’t want to scare people away before they’ve had a chance to hear our message.
Hi Kevin,
I understood your message and was taking it a little further to strike against the polarization that has occurred in our society over the last eight (and more) years.
When people view other people as “evil” — the left does this a lot more than the right, from my observation — we cannot move forward as a nation.
That’s not to say that I want Congress to get everything that they want. It might be good that they haven’t figured out how to do anything except investigate baseball — which was a waste of taxpayers’ money.
But, we need to figure out how to free ourselves from foreign oil, get out of the way of the economy, and let business owners get back to doing what they do best without being put out of business by excessive taxation and regulations.
I like the idea of taking a different approach. Reagan was a master and was able to win over the Reagan Democrats.
We need someone who can reach across the aisle with love and with a focus on our commonalities as Americans so that we can keep America great.
If we keep fighting with each other and neglect focusing on our security — both militarily and economically — we’re putting our nation at risk.
Guys, I only wish more readers were engaged in this conversation. Kevin you are right, this is the heart and soul of the opportunity and problems inside the Republican party right now.
Yes Kevin, I know that you had problems with John McCain prior to his primary wins over Mike Huckabee. I actually enjoyed your post today, where you suggested that Mitt Romney was in your top 10 most hated, but would have run a better campaign than McCain.
I have a “big tent” philosophy of the Republican party. There are multiple tranches of affinity, and the religious right is one of those. I wrote yesterday http://reasonbellpundit.blogspot.com/2008/06/religion-candidate-waterman-slow-to-get.html about the religious right in Indiana and their failed attempt to get Waterman on the ballot. I also wrote this morning http://reasonbellpundit.blogspot.com/2008/06/black-republicans-new-paradigm.html about black republicans and our need to reach them.
I want the party to grow, and to enfold the many conservative niches.
Back to the subject, I am a Christian first and some label second. On my facebook I call myself Post-Modern Christian, that ticked off some of my evengelical friends. Chris you’re right we need to approach the teaching of salvation and redemption through Christ lovingly. I have already commented in previous posts on churches and their sophomoric politics of damage.
Kevin, I have no doubt that you are a Christian, how’s that from a Protestant.
Hi Steve,
I’m going to have to take a look at your previous posts (listed in your comment above) when I get a chance to so some reading this weekend.