I saw a black man hanging from a tree with a noose around his neck. His young son stood there crying and desperately calling out to his father. Even now, I feel like crying thinking of that scene from Mississippi Burning. I am not evaluating the movie here that was based, at least in part, on actual events. It upsets me a great deal to think of the racial horror carried out against Blacks in this country—and quite frankly, against all of us. Frankly, the movie helps me appreciate the fact that a black man—albeit ½ Anglo—is now the President of the United States. A dear Christian brother of mine expressed how emotional the election of Barack Obama made him feel, especially when he thought about his father and grandfather and their civil struggles. I could appreciate that and I thank God that we are at a place where an African American, or woman, or even a Puerto Rican like me—
Malta and tostones in the White House?—could be President of the U.S.
In my previous entry, I noted that In California, 70% of black voters, voted for Proposition 8 on Election Day. Californians, largely due to the black vote, chose to ban same sex marriage. Gallop reports that up to 99% of black Americans voted for our current President. Just three days after becoming our nation’s leader, President Obama signed an executive order called the "Mexico City policy," which reverses a ban on funding international groups that provide
abortions.
Oh…there goes that divisive, Evangelical, Right Wing, ‘A’ word again! A.P. reports, "Obama signed it quietly, without coverage by the media, late on Friday afternoon, a contrast to the midday signings with fanfare of executive orders on other subjects earlier in the week." Review: President Obama signed an order that provides international funding for abortions, using mine, and your, tax dollars. Review 2: “President Obama signed an executive order today reversing the ban
that prohibits funding to international family planning groups that provide abortions, as first reported by ABC News."
There have been
49,551,703 abortions
(the killing of a person being formed in the womb) in the US alone, since 1973. In
Suction Aspiration, the most common method of abortion during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, a vacuum suction, 29 times more powerful than a household vacuum cleaner, tears the fetus and placenta into small pieces which are sucked through the tube into a bottle and discarded. I won’t even go into partial birth abortion which is estimated at ten per day in the U.S. When President Clinton left office, there were
1,608,600 reported abortions that year alone;
1,287,000 now as President Bush passes the torch—the lowest level since 1974. The partial birth ban, which President Clinton repeatedly vetoed, but President Bush signed into law, will likely not get off its feet under the current president of “Hope.” This has nothing to do with being a black or white or purple President. Ironically, I often hear how we are to rescue the “oppressed” and how Barack Obama is just the man for the job, because…well….because…um…
just because! In fact last September he said
“There are a lot of people in the world to whom the American flag is a symbol of oppression.” I suppose he aims to correct this. Amos, like other biblical prophets, condemned people, who oppressed people. God, through Amos, condemned the nation of Ammon because
“he ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead.” I would say that a baby being “ripped” in their mother’s womb would consider themselves to be oppressed. Wouldn’t you? God promises to judge a nation that condones such detestable practices. “Obama promised Planned Parenthood that one of his first priorities as President would be to sign the
Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA), which allows for
taxpayer funding of abortion,
overrules all state regulation of abortion, and could
force Catholic and other faith-based hospitals to provide abortion services that are contrary to their mission.” He made this remarkable statement last year:
“...I've got two daughters; 9 years old and 6 years old. I am going to teach them first of all about values and morals. But if they make a mistake, I don't want them punished with a baby.” No further commentary is needed.
Is this what you voted for? Or perhaps you only voted for the “black” part, or the “change” part, or the “hope” part, but not the abortion part. Maybe you thought the abortion part was just an inconvenience; Just another distracting wedge issue. After all, what’s really at stake are things like
global warming—currently referred to as
climate change, since it’s been one of
coldest winters in recent memory.
WhiteHouse.gov is “the official web site of the White House and President Barack Obama.” It says that our new President
“will make preserving women's rights under Roe v. Wade a priority in his Administration. He opposes any constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court's decision in that case.” Mother Theresa made some powerful statements about abortion: "What is taking place in America," she said, "is a war against the child. And if we accept that the mother can kill her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another." "Any country that accepts abortion, is not teaching its people to love, but to use any violence to get what it wants."
"It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish." Our new President has also posted on the White House website his plan to move the gay rights agenda forward. Focus on The Family and others comment,
"This is the most bold and comprehensive pro-homosexual, abortion-friendly administration agenda we've seen." President Obama
opposes a ban on same-sex marriages and wants to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). DOMA provides: “The Federal Government may not treat same-sex relationships as marriages for any purpose, even if concluded or recognized by one of the states.” Obama states he gives his
full support to the Lesbian Gay Bi-sexual and Transgender community. Evidently, based on how African Americans voted in California, most of them do not agree with the President. Will they stand on the side of the Bible and continue to fight for what they believe is right, or will they dismiss it with a holy,
“Whatever!”? I really hope not. I choose to believe people will eventually stand for what is right, especially if they claim to live according to the Bible that includes evidence of God ordained life in the womb: “When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting,
the baby leaped in her womb,” (Luke 1:41) and “For
he did not kill me in the womb, with my mother as my grave,” (Jer. 20:17) and "This is what the LORD says—
your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb” (Isa. 44:24). Could people honestly ignore the oppression of 1.2 million babies per year so that they could delight in the fact that we have a black or charming or young President? Incidentally, if that wasn’t a human baby, leaping in Elizabeth’s womb, what was it exactly? Or is this question above your “pay grade” to answer?
Openly-gay Bishop Gene Robinson who lives with his male lover, was Obama’s choice to open inaugural weekend. He prayed:
“Bless us with anger—at discrimination, at home and abroad, against refugees and immigrants, women, people of color, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.” The main sermon, given by Rev. Sharon Watkins: “She and her church have not taken a stand on gays
, but they are
“incredibly diverse politically, theologically, and socially,” and “her appeal is that she delivers a message of unity and inclusivity and tolerance and hope.” Her church has not taken a stand on gays, but Jesus has; Love them, but reject the sin. Not a very difficult concept to understand. Also on the high profile inaugural prayer invitee list was Dr. Ingrid Mattson, President of the Islamic Society of North America, who “heads an Islamic group named by federal prosecutors as a co-conspirator in a terrorism-fundraising trial in Texas.” Interesting, no? A Hindu woman priest was also among six religious leaders—including some Evangelicals—who were specially invited to participate in the National Prayer Service.
Obama thought that the following text from Leviticus was too extreme: “If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable.” Do you as well, Christian person? Maybe we should each have customizable Bibles where we could pick and choose what we want to include as “acceptable.”
There are many issues that President Obama has already put into action, or will put into action, that are contrary to the Christian faith. Now let’s be honest. Forget Bush—you all do know he is no longer President, right? Get over the fact that Obama is black—i.e. stop being racist. Was it not Martin Luther King who said, “I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”?
I will end with more of Dr. King’s words: “I am not interested in power for power's sake, but I'm interested in
power that is moral, that is right and that is good.” May Christians support what is moral, right, and good.