Brian McLaren Wants You to Vote for Obama…
- Posted by: Todd
- Posted on: Wed, August 20, 2008
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- (51) comments so far
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Brent on Wed, August 20, 2008
This kind of commercial disgusts me. You can promote the values you believe in without endorsing or trashing a particular candidate. Rick Warren demonstrated that for us beautifully last week. McClaren, Caldwell, and Co. should be ashamed.
Dread Pirate Robert on Wed, August 20, 2008
Yikes ~~ that commercial is scary is so many ways. I know that I won’t be donating to Matthew 25.
DanielR on Wed, August 20, 2008
To me it seems kind of like McCain seeking, getting, accepting, and then rejecting Pastor Hagee’s endorsement. At the time I wasn’t sure if that was an endorsement that would have helped or hurt McCain. With this, I’m not sure an endorsement from McLaren helps or hurts Obama. Surely it won’t help with a lot of conservative Evangelicals.
Peter Hamm on Wed, August 20, 2008
Daniel writes
[As an aside, Matthew 25 is about a metaphorical judgment of the nations on the basis of their treatment of Jesus’ disciples. It has nothing to do with ‘social justice’ (except perhaps by imaginative extrapolation).] I couldn’t disagree with your statement on that more, and neither, it seems, can any of the commentaries on my shelf (especially in light of all of the other instruction in the Bible for how God wants us to treat the poor).
But…
You also wrote [The Church is God’s plan for the world. Not the democrats, not the republicans.] I couldn’t agree more.
Ed on Wed, August 20, 2008
Brent,
You are so right about how we can promote or hold to our values without endorsing or trashing a political candidate.
I think we all, as Christians, need to remember that this applies to even our replies to blogs like this one.
I understand that we have different views about each candidate and his stance on issues that we feel passionate about and feel a moral obligation towards. But come on gang none of us really know how someone is going to lead when they get into the whitehouse or what circumstances they are going to have to face once they are in office (e.g., Bush and 9/11). Things change. People change. Values and perspectives can change (you have changed in some way, right?).
And could we please remember that our government is not a dictatorship. So even if the candidate that you do not vote for becomes the president, he won’t be able to just go in and rule as a tyrant.
By all means, vote according to your morals and beliefs.
I love the dialogue here. But can we agree, as brothers and sisters in Jesus, to just tone down the innuendos and the sly, inconspicous remarks about the presidential candidates? Sometimes it is hard to stomach especially knowing that there are Christians on the other side of this screen and keyboard.
Just keep in mind that leading as the president of the United States is more complex that any of us could ever imagine.
Jim on Wed, August 20, 2008
Well, lets see, if the overall reasoning by all of the commercial’s supporters is that Obama has been married for 16 yrs, and he has two daughters, and these are his qualifications for President, then let’s find someone who has been married for 17 years, because this person would be even better qualified.
What about abortion, taxes increases, and the loss of inalienable rights of free speech due to Obama’s homosexual marriage support? I guess Biblical and moral perspectives don’t matter if you’ve been married for 16 yrs.
Obama is a man who disavows much of what Scripture teaches on moral issues, but he is sure working hard to make it sound as if he’s a Biblical follower. Very curious.
Rich Kirkpatrick on Wed, August 20, 2008
Tasteless jab at McCain’s marriage failing? I think so. Why that is even more sad? These are fellow Christian’s doing it. I have more posted on my site, so that is all I will say here for now. Thanks, Todd.
fishon on Wed, August 20, 2008
Ah yes, Mr. McLaren,
Just read an interesting story about Obama’s half-brother [same father] who lives in squalor in Kenya. To bad Obama doesn’t float his brother a few bucks.
Interestingly, McClaren declares himself a “pastor.” Listen to the video, again.
“As a pastor, I know you can learn a lot about a man’s character based on how he treats his family….”—McLaren
Yep, poor George Hussein Onyango Obama could use a hand, but where is big brother. Yes, you can learn a lot by how a man treats his family.
fishon
Micah Fries on Wed, August 20, 2008
McLaren’s thoughts don’t really suprise me. I do find it interesting, however, that a pastor who has been so closely tied to Pres. Bush (introduced at Republican Convention, prayed at both inagurations, performed Jenna Bush’s wedding ceremony, etc.) would be endorsing Obama.
James Laws on Wed, August 20, 2008
I could care less that McLaren chose to publicly endorse a candidate. I won’t. But to say that he is saying it as an individual and not a pastor is laughable.
He is leveraging the title Pastor in his endorsement. If it were as an individual than why say Pastor/Author. Or Pastor on the name of every other person that shares in the video.
He is absolutely and without a doubt making this endorsement as a pastor. His choice…absolutely. Appropriate…debatable…obviously.
Bo Lane on Wed, August 20, 2008
Shouldn’t McLaren have said something like ...
“I’ve been thinking lately, well pondering something I guess. I’ve been asking a lot of questions about Barack Obama and have been asking more questions. I lit some candles and then painted a big mural while I was pondering my thoughts. Then, as I sat back to observe the painting and take in the ambiance of the candles, I thought about thinking about the possibility of the thought of Mr Obama as the potential president and what that would look like, you know, potentially. Then I asked some of my close friends to think about and ponder what I’ve been thinking and pondering about ... and well, I’ve come to conclude that I don’t really want to conclude but in a round-about way I will conclude that Mr Obama might be a good president. But then again, I’m not really sure on that…”
That would be commercial I could listen to…
Daniel on Thu, August 21, 2008
Fishon, provide some documentation for your claims (i.e. that Obama hasn’t helped his half-brother—how on earth would you know?) or shut up. And Todd, I move to have Fishon’s comment removed unless he can back it up. It’s slander.
Bo, your comment is frivolous and unhelpful. The question is not “in what ways can we make fun of another Christian?” but rather “what do we think of McLaren’s endorsement of Obama?” A little self-policing would be nice here. We can’t claim to be Christian and then rape each other with words.
Beyond the poor choice that is endorsing a candidate, I agree with the commenters who find the emphasis on ‘family’ to be poorly chosen. The ad was a bad idea, and it was a bad ad. But perhaps this can be a lesson to the rest of us.
I’ve appreciated Rick Warren’s refusal to name ‘his’ candidate very much.
Peace,
-Daniel-
Bo Lane on Thu, August 21, 2008
My comment was in fact what I thought of McLaren’s endorsement of Obama - pure crapola - just like everything else he stands for - or doesn’t stand for, for that matter.
Why would I want to listen to someone who doesn’t even know what he believes - or doesn’t believe - or wants to sit down and hold a conversation about how he believes what he’s not sure he believes or doesn’t?
Brent on Thu, August 21, 2008
“Rape” each other? Wow.
Mark E on Thu, August 21, 2008
You guys are kidding right….McLaren calls himself a pastor, he is called a pastor on this video.
Neither the religious right….nor the liberal left…should be endoring political candidates.
McLaren is doing what he has rightly railed against from the other side of politics.
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