| The Audacity of Hope |
 |
 |
 |
 Barack Obama is the junior US Senator from Illinois from 2005-present. He is lives in Chicago, Illinois, with wife and two daughters. He is the second most popular choice of Democratic voters for the party's nomination for the 2008 presidential election. He is a self-professed Christian and attends a Church of Christ. The Audacity of Hope is his second book, the first being Dreams From My Father. The book Audacity of Hope is a well written book. At the same time, it is very confusing, mainly because of some of Obama's conflicting statements. So let's take a look at The Audacity of Hope. In his book, Obama is supposedly attempting to show how politics has become too partisan and vicious. He purposes a political system based on "faith, inclusiveness, and nobility of spirit". Well, that sounds just great. Wouldn't we all love that? He writes, "Religious or secular, black, white, or brown, we sense---correctly---that the nation's most significant challenges are being ignored, and that if we don't change course soon, we may be the first generation in a very long time that leaves behind a weaker and more fractured America than the one we inherited. Perhaps more than any other time in our recent history, we need a new kind of politics, one that we can excavate and build upon those shared understandings that pull us together as Americans." Bravo Obama! I couldn't agree more. If only the book ended there. However, his brand of politics is very inclusive. Too much so. His principles are watered down so much it is sad. For an example let's look at his Christian beliefs. Obama writes this about his Christian experience," I felt God's spirit beckoning me. I submitted myself to His will, and dedicated myself to discovering His truth." That sounds beautiful. But just wait until you hear the truths Obama has discovered. He writes this about the Bible," When I read the Bible, I do so with the belief that it is not a static text but the Living Word and that I must be continually open to new revelations---whether they come froma lesbian friend or a doctor opposed to abortion. On homosexuality he writes, "For many practicing Christians, the same inability to compromise may apply to gay marriage. I find such a position troublesome, particularly in a society in which Christian men and women have been known to engage in adultery or other violations of their faith without civil penalty." As I tried to figure out the logic behind that statement, Obama hit me with, "I am not willing to have the state deny American citizens a civil union that confers equal rights on such basic matters as hospital visitation or health insurance coverage simply because the people they love are of the same sex---nor am I willing to accept a reading of the Bible that considers an obscure line in Romans to be more defining of Christianity than the Sermon on the Mount." What can I say? Not only does that view cause me to question Senator Obama's new political system, but his Christian beliefs as well. He blatantly says he doesn't think people have translated Romans right, and that homosexuality is not Biblically wrong. The fact is that anyone that has read the passage in Romans can have no doubt as to the Bible's view on homosexuality. Senator Obama then justifies his beliefs by relating a phone conversation with a homosexual lady. "As I spoke to her I was reminded that no matter how much Christians who oppose homosexuality may claim that they hate the sin but love the sinner, such judgment inflicts pain on good people---people who are made in the image of God, and who are often truer to Christ's message than those that condemn them." Well, there you have it folks! We shouldn't condemn homosexuals because we might hurt their feelings. Amen brother, preach it! (Yes, that is sarcasm) I think Obama has been reading from the wrong book. The rest of Obama's book is typical liberal writing. There is the Fox News bashing, the Rush Limbaugh bashing, the view that rich people think that everything in life can be fixed with a high SAT score, and the usual mush about the sufferings of the lower class at the hands of the big business. Did I miss anything? I don't think so. To be fair, I must say that he almost leans towards being a conservative liberal on a few occasions. He is fair towards Bush and the war on terrorism. He is talks about some Republicans that he thinks are balanced, and says that there is such a thing as a good Republican. Nonetheless, his blatant support of unbiblical causes, while professing Christianity, casts the rest of the book in the shadow of his hypocrisy. In conclusion, this book is "not worth a plug nickel", as the saying goes. If you want a account on life behind the curtain for a US senator, then this book is all right, but for anything else it is worthless. Let me leave you with a quote by Abraham Lincoln that I believe addresses just the kind of inclusive politics that Obama is suggesting. "I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live by the light that I have. I must stand with anybody that stands right, and stand with him while he is right, and part with him when he goes wrong." God bless you and Godbless America, Abraham R. Sweet |
