Senator Barack Obama's Church; Part II

Well, I stand by what I said back in January about the conspiracy theory ideas that were rampant about Barack Obama and his church. Now, however, we have crossed beyond conspiracy theories into the realities of what the good senator's pastor has stated loud and proud.

But before I go any further, I want some things to be understood. I don't hold Senator Obama's pastor any more or less culpable than I do any number of the current batch of pastors, of all races, who have done enormous harm to the knowledge of God's true character through their careless statements. For instance, if we declare that God has allowed deadly judgment to fall upon America because of the legality of abortions, haven't we massively muddied the waters? God is killing people because we have killed babies? I hope I don't need to explain the insanity and confusion of that contradiction.

So, Senator Obama's pastor has declared that America did not "blink" when we decided to bomb Japan. Hmmmmmmm....no bible scholar needed for that ignorance of history. President Truman agonized over the stark reality that a land invasion of Japan would likely cost a million lives, many of whom would be civilian. Japan made it abundantly clear that surrender was not an option. At Iwo Jima, our first invasion of Japanese territory, their strategy was to spill as much blood, in as gruesome a manner as possible so that an invasion of their mainland would be considered out of the question. On that small island, human loss on both sides in just a matter of weeks, was three times what we have suffered in Iraq in 5 years. I think Truman's decision was at least a well documented historic "blink".

**(March 29th correction: deaths on both sides of the battle for Iwo Jima were actually higher than my first recollection noted above. Total battle deaths in the approximate 10 weeks of fighting for this tiny island were 27,000! Over 20,000 Japanese soldiers died and 6800 American Marines died in just 8 to 10 weeks. Think about it; we've lost 4000 troops in Iraq in 5 years. Back then we lost 6800 men in a little more than 2 months, and that was considered a victory).**

More concerning to me than that, however, is that Senator Obama's pastor said, "God bless America? No, God d___ America" Why? For our racial sins. (Note: the concept of putting God at the prefix of the "d" word in print is just not in me...I know, I thought it and you probably thought it, but I just can't bring myself to PRINT it).

Again I say, hmmmmmmmmmmm. As evil as racism is, God is no longer in the business of damning anyone, anywhere for any reason. Isaiah 53:11 says that our Father has placed upon His Son the evil of us all, and HE IS SATISFIED.

It is amazing to me how stuck in the Old Testament we are in our need for God to be mad. Especially when we want Him to be mad at stuff we are mad about. The problem is, Jesus fulfilled the demand for Old Testament judgment, fulfilled the law and the prophets AND satisfied God so that now....brace yourselves....this is going to get deep.....

God so loved the world that He sent His only Son...NOT TO JUDGE THE WORLD, but that the world should be saved. This is in an obscure little passage in John 3. Much read and seldom embraced especially when we need God to be mad at someone we don't like. Some TV preachers did not like some folks in New Orleans and a hurricane filled their need for God to look just like them and judge.

As much as we might not like certain behaviors it is illegal to create God in our own image to validate our own bias. God has been forever beautifully painted in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. Pastor Bill Johnson of Redding California says, "Only Jesus is perfect theology". Did Jesus ever send a storm on anyone? Did Jesus have a single "damn" in His vocabulary for Rome?

No....but He did have a few, "woes" for strict, uptight, judgmental religious bigots. Why a woe? Woe be to those who distort the image of the Father and frighten sinners away from the possibility of discovering that God is ONLY good.

One last note: Senator Obama has said he did not know his pastor had said these things. If someone who has been one of my sheep for 20 years did not know me any better than that, I would be disappointed, regardless of whether they could quote me word for word or not. But, I will hand to Senator Obama on another note: he refused to disconnect himself from his pastor, agree or disagree. I like that kind of loyality.