Man of Depravity - Tyler Braun's posts on Church Ministry, Worship, Seminary, and Theology.

I Disagree with Colin Powell

2008 October 24

by Tyler

Last Sunday Colin Powell said this on Meet the Press regarding the off suggestions of Obama being a Muslim:

“I’m also troubled by, not what Senator McCain says, but what members of the party say. And it is permitted to be said such things as, ‘Well, you know that Mr. Obama is a Muslim.’ Well, the correct answer is, he is not a Muslim, he’s a Christian. He’s always been a Christian. But the really right answer is, what if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer’s no, that’s not America. Is there something wrong with some seven-year-old Muslim-American kid believing that he or she could be president? Yet I have heard senior members of my own party drop the suggestion, ‘He’s a Muslim and he might be associated terrorists.’ This is not the way we should be doing it in America.”

On Powell’s overall premise I completely agree. Too many have this idea that being Muslim is a negative thing. However, I want to disagree with Powell.

He has essentially said that if Obama was a Muslim and not a Christian, it shouldn’t matter at all. In other words, if Obama wasn’t a Christian, those Christians who are voting for him should do so anyway.

On this, I think Powell is wrong. I’ll explain why…

The faith of a Christian believer should influence how they vote. Faith should integrate with all other parts of life including politics. This isn’t to say that we should use our faith and politics to talk down to others or force views on others. It is to say that faith shouldn’t be put in one section of our lives, it should be in all sections.
The statistics show that younger Christians are less Republican than their parents. Part of the reason there is this idea that Obama is big among young Christians is because he is a professing believer in Christ. It is weird to have the outspoken Christian on the Democratic side, and have the person who says faith is more of a personal thing on the Republican side. 4 years ago it was directly the opposite. And I think that makes big difference.
So if a Christian’s faith integrates with how they vote and because Obama is such an outspoken Christian…if he was a Muslim, wouldn’t that totally change how many of those young Christian voters are supporting him? I think that many of them are voting for him because he is an outspoken Christian. If he was a Muslim, I believe that many Christians who are supporting him would not. This isn’t because being Muslim is bad or means Obama is a terrorist though.

So I disagree with Powell if Obama was a Muslim it shouldn’t be a big deal. Because there are plenty of Christian supporters of Obama and I think many would be less inclined to vote for him if he wasn’t a Christian. Christians often vote for Christians and I think that is a good thing because faith should influence how people vote.

Agree or Disagree?

Filed under: the rest...

http://ash-nits.blogspot.com ash

disagree. we live in a free country where the first amendment gives everyone the right to practice religion as they choose. while it would be nice if the president agrees with my moral beliefs, i don’t expect him to. why? well, it is more important for him to hold up the constitution of the united states of america than follow my theological belief system. i will live my value system no matter what the president believes in or doesn’t. if i think the candidate will hold up the constitution then he may have my vote…..but both mccain and obama claim to be “christian” men and neither impress me at this point. so it has less to do w/ whether or not they go to evangelical church than what policies they will implement in foreign policy, taxes, education, and promoting states rights.
http://ash-nits.blogspot.com ash

PS- the muslim religion at its core, when studied correctly is not extremist.
adam

Tyler,

I would have to say I disagree with you on this. Our faith should not be politicized at all. There should be a definite separation from church and state and if Senator Obama was an effective executive of his office it would not matter to me if he was Hindu, Muslim, etc. The Constitution gurantees the rights of all individuals and if a Muslim wants to run for president then he is afforded that opportunity. As a Christian, I would vote for him if I found his policies on running the government in line with my own. Christians need to realize that while having Christian values in government is preferable it is not a right nor a requirement for effective government.
Verena Vogler

tyler, i disagree with u as well! faith should have nothing to do with politics, but in the u.s. it always did. i recommend you the documentary “campamento jesus”. you might have watched it already since you are completly into this topic.
http://manofdepravity.com Tyler

Verena- “Faith should have nothing to do with politics.” Let me push back a little here, since I’ve almost said the opposite in my post. I’m not saying faith should be everything in politics but to say nothing seemed naive to me. Example here is George W. Bush had plenty of “faith based initiatives” and they were surrounded in his beliefs and values as a Christian. Obama has a similar plan, though their beliefs are values differ some. I’m sure a Muslim could come up with a similar plan but it would be coming out of different values and beliefs. People voted for W. Bush because of that plan and people are voting for Obama because of his plan. Both plans are surrounded by their Christian beliefs. Our faith should influence how we vote.
http://newheights.wordpress.com/ Darin

This is probably a big reason I don’t vote in presidential races.

Labels seem more like marketing then commitment. Instead of Christ influencing choices we either want or say Jesus endorses ours.

The current President is a prime example. I could use a lot fewer people looking for book chapter and verse to justify or excuse their actions. If they follow Christ wouldn’t bringing it up be the last thing they would do?

I always love finding someone is a believer by their actions and what they support.
http://manofdepravity.com Tyler

I should add that I don’t think that voting based on your beliefs/faith compromises separation church and state.
http://ash-nits.blogspot.com ash

darin, if you don’t vote, then how can you have any room to raise your complaints and praises about the direction of the country? excuse me for being bold, but i believe that….

@ adam, i think you put my thoughts down in better words…
rachel

What if this were a country with a majority of Muslims instead of Christians?
http://manofdepravity.com Tyler

I think it would be much more likely for a Muslim to be elected then. I am not saying that Christians should always vote for Christians. My point is that we share some similar beliefs and a faith that Muslims do not completely share with us…not that a Muslim can’t make a great President.
http://benandalli.blogspot.com Alli

Speaking of wanting to share similar beliefs…I hate to bring abortion into this, but what about Obama’s position on abortion? If I want to vote for someone whose belief system is similar to mine, how do I vote for Obama when I am pro-life? I am actually currently undecided and need to make up my mind pretty quick here, but I am struggling with this. I really like what Obama has to say on many issues, but being pro-life is big for me. I know that this is only one issue of many, but I am curious what other people think. Sorry, Tyler, for making your already controversial post even more so.
http://manofdepravity.com Tyler

Hey Alli-

I’ll give you a couple things to read about that subject so we can focus on this current topic here.

http://manofdepravity.com/2008/02/11/guest-blog-abortion-in-politics/

http://manofdepravity.com/2008/05/27/we-the-purple-4/

http://manofdepravity.com/2008/10/13/abortion-in-politics/