Let wonder replace worry

Inauguration

Calvin's Institutes begin with his prefatory address to King Francis. As I read through this a couple of weeks ago the theme I saw was Calvin trying to open the Kings' mind to hear his presentation of the Reformed Faith. In 1536 there had been so much slander against it that Calvin was concerned the King would not give it a fair reading. Through this you begin to get a glimpse of Calvin's grasp of Scripture and an introduction to the kind of biblical backing that he will provide for each doctrine that he discusses throughout the Institutes.

Leaving the theological world and entering the political- I was reminded of this preface as I watched the presidential inauguration this morning. Slander is very much alive today, as it was then. Both our outgoing and incoming Presidents have faced much slander. Many Americans who have placed too much of their trust in one politician or another have either gained or lost faith in their country today. This is unfortunate, for the virtue of the people of this nation far outshine the President- whomever it is.

I am proud of this country today. Not because of President Obama, but because of the reminder of the greatness of the infrastructure of our nation. The founding documents of the United States of America remain the greatest guiding hand for any nation in world history.

Barack Obama is a very smart man who has some very difficult challenges facing him. I'm sure I will disagree with many of the decisions he will make - and you will too. But watching the peaceful transfer of government power today only solidifies my belief that our nation is strong even in these turbulent times. Today I am in awe of the structure of our government.

Arkansas and the Election

I am excited to take a break from writing about politics and get back to writing about ministry.

But first, I came across some fascinating maps The New York Times has put together from the election on Tuesday.

I spent my whole life in Arkansas until moving to Washington over 7 years ago. (Man, it does not seem that long. Wow.) I still love the south and will probably move back one of these days.

This map amazed me.

I'm amazed that almost the entire state of Arkansas voted in bigger numbers for McCain than they did Bush- who is considered much more of a traditional conservative that southern voters are attracted to.

I don't have any idea why- but I do wonder how much of this was against Obama than for McCain. Of course, I have no way of knowing if this map in any way reflects racism. Comparing to the rest of the country though, I do wonder.

Even though I am no fan of Obama's politics at all, there are things about his election that excite me. Maybe I'll make a list sometime, but here is a big one:

We will finally have a black family living in the White House. Tuesday night, America put a dagger in the heart of racism in this country. Whether or not the map reflects this in any way, our entire country is better for it.

Election Night 2008

I just cannot understand how people can put their hope and trust in a politician. I can understand supporting someone- but dancing in the street? It looks like the party on 1st Ave in downtown Seattle is going to go all night.

Congratulations to Barack Hussein Obama-our President. He may not have my support, he certainly does not have my hope or confidence, but he will have my prayers. And he will need them. He is inheriting a mess.

I am scared for what a completely democratically controlled government will do. Even after a 700 billion dollar bailout they still have a long list of things they say their going to do. Where is all of this money coming from? Obama sounds like Santa sometimes. Did you see the woman on YouTube who thinks that when Obama is President she is not going to have worry about paying her mortgage or buying any gas? She honestly believes that. That alone is almost enough to make me glad I did not support him.

I found it interesting that in his speech tonight he uttered a line you would have never heard yesterday. "We may not be able to do all of this is 1 year or even 1 term..." He knows they can't afford everything he's promised. 

I am not scared because they are democrats, but because the Federal government acts best (which is still not very good) when different parties control the executive and legislative branches. Look at the first 2 years of both Clinton's and Bush's presidencies. History just repeats itself and we never learn.

My allegiance lies in my Savior and that is why I'll never declare allegiance to a man or a party. However, from this faith I hold so dear, I read this:

The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know. Pray especially for rulers and their governments to rule well so we can be quietly about our business of living simply, in humble contemplation. This is the way our Savior God wants us to live.
-The Apostle Paul to Timothy.

So Mr. President Elect- I gladly begin my 4 years of praying especially for you.

Final Thoughts on the 2008 Presidental Election

Hopefully this time tomorrow the Presidential election will be over. I was playing around on 270towin.com today and came up with this scenario which would be both fascinating and awful at the same time: (Click pic for full size.)

Its definitely unlikely, but was fun to put together.

I bet I've read and heard 100 times today how important it is to vote. Nicole and I mailed in our ballots a couple of weeks ago, but I can totally understand how someone's conscience could not allow them to vote. I respect that decision. The system is broken, the electoral college is unfair, the 2 party rule is corrupt, and we have come to accept being lied to by politicians.

I believe this election ended when McCain voted for the bailout. At least Obama is upfront about his socialistic leanings.

My prediction is that Barack Obama will easily be elected President tomorrow and Hillary Clinton will have the longest, saddest night of her life.

That is a guess- the fact facing us tomorrow is that whomever is elected will spend 4 years giving their best to the job. The will fall short, break promises, and give late night TV lots to laugh at. The country will stay polarized, just as all politicians from the 2 parties want it to be, and the race for 2012 will begin Wednesday morning.

Too bad Ron Paul is not 10 years younger.

I'm thinking about Obama tonight...

I'm not supporting Obama. Honestly, I can't think of one reason why I would vote for him. We view the world in radically different ways. Although, I feel the same way about McCain so maybe its just me.

However, it does seem that if the polls are true, Obama will be the next President of the United States.

That is unless he pulls some boneheaded move like preempting the potentially decisive game of the World Series with an infomercial about himself when the 2 teams are from Pennsylvania and Florida- 2 must wins states.

Wait- he is doing that tomorrow night? What in the world is he thinking?

The one question I would ask Obama if given the chance: "Why didn't you simply change your name?"

I remember reading about Harpo Marx. His name was Adolph Marx- but sharing a name-even with a different spelling- with Adolf Hitler was something he did not want to deal with. So he became Harpo.

Barack Hussein Obama could have easily became Barack Harry Obama before getting into politics. He would have had the perfect reason for changing it and the sensitivity surrounding it would be nonexistent.

This time next week, he may be the president-elect. He will give it his best shot, supply Leno, Letterman, and SNL with endless material, and he will fall short. He will disappoint his legions of fans and not follow though on all of these promises he is making. Not because he is a bad man, but because he is a man. A totally depraved man- just like me- and just like you.

While he may not have my support- he will have my prayers.

Either way, I am hoping for a decisive election night. I do not want to stomach a couple of months of court battles. How about you?

The Mess on Wall Street and the Mess in DC

Both Obama and McCain have said over the past couple of days that Wall Street is out of control. Both promise tighter regulations on the federal level.

The federal government is currently running a $400 billion deficit. That is not counting the money taxpayers are on the hook for in unfunded future Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security liabilities.

The federal government pointing their finger at anyone demanding fiscal responsibility would be laughable if it were not so sad.

Cone of Silence at the Saddleback Forum

Just read this on Politico.

Contrary to what Rick Warren said at the beginning, there was no "cone of silence" where MaCain was placed during the first hour of the forum.

The cool thing is that if you are following Doug Fields on Twitter, you knew this last night.

What a cool world we live in.

Saturday

Just finished my portion of our Saturday Discipleship class. In about 20 minutes we will be finishing up with lunch. As soon as that is over I'll be heading off for my first ever political party caucus. Maybe we can get Ron Paul at least one delegate. I'll be twittering the experience starting at 1pm pacific time. It should be interesting.

Super Tuesday

Jaxson and I are up late tonight hanging out and watching the Super Tuesday results. He must have gotten pretty bored by it all though, he is passed out on my leg.

Here are a couple of thoughts as I have spent a few hours watching news people explain this night in every way possible.

Republicans:
John McCain is clearly the front runner now. What is going on with the “Religious Right”? Republicans did the opposite of what Rush, Hannity, and Dobson told them to do.

They said vote for Romney.
Voters didn’t.
They said a vote for Huckabee is a vote for McCain.
Voters didn’t care.

Mike Huckabee preached at my church when I was in High School in Arkansas. I’ve always liked the guy. And I'm sure he took some pleasure in the way he got to thumb his nose at Romney with big wins in the south.

Speaking of Mitt, he lost every contest he needed to win. He is finished. How much of his kids inheritance will he spend to stay in the race?

Democrats:
Obama won more states and may actually have won more delegates than Clinton. The race will go on, which means there is more time for voters to reconsider the possibility of a Hillary (and Bill) presidency. Even still, the Clinton Machine held off Obama again, and won where it had to.

Speaking of, I just do not buy all of this “love-fest” nonsense between these two at the last debate. I saw an interview with Obama’s wife tonight where she said that she would have to think about whether or not she would vote for Hillary should she be the nominee. There are some bad feelings there.

I think the Clinton’s will do whatever they have to in order to beat Obama and it is going to be nasty.

The big loser of the night (more so than Romney!) was Limited Government. Ron Paul was not a factor in any state. I was hoping for at least one second place finish.

It is a fact that churches and non-profits can take care of the needs of others better than the government any day of the week. This is the reason why I have have and never will count on the federal government for anything. Including Social Security. My dream of government leaving us alone and allowing the church to do the ministry to which it is called is just that. For this election anyway.
Tags: Super Tuesday

New Year 2008

Happy New Year

I saw a poll on TV asking if 2008 was going to be a better year than 2007. For me personally, of course, I am having a son.

In the media though, 2008 may go down as the nastiest year to date. This presidential election is going to be brutal. Part of me is ready for it to be over already.

The only guy I find hope in does not have a chance in the world to be nominated. Another candidate scares me to death. Without mentioning any names, she thinks she can run my life better than I can. Besides, anyone who dreams of going to work everyday in the very office where their spouse committed adultery on them is beyond my understanding and comprehension. Talk about a strange relationship.

My pitch for Ron Paul. I'll keep it short.
3 points

1. Ron Paul does not want to run your life.
2. Ron Paul does not want to run the economy. He believes that people run the economy in a free society.
3. Ron Paul does not want to run the world.