Somehow...

...I think this may have happened if whether or not the Phillies won.

This Election May Require a Cold Shower Afterward

What I’m about to write is going to come off as very stream-of-conscious. It’s pretty much a couple of random thoughts I’ve had about the election, and I’m not quite sure how to structure it together. Essentially, however, I don’t think I’ll be able to step out of the voting booth on Election Day and not feel dirty.

The issues:

• The Vile & Shameless Campaign
• Courti...er...Taking Advantage of the Evangelical Vote
• Obama is the Messiah?
• Abortion & Third Party Candidates
• The Proper Perspective or Why I Really Shouldn’t Feel Dirty at All

1.) The Vile & Shameless Campaign

The ads, the mailings, the robocalls—the attacks have been pretty shameless. Were Presidential campaigns always this vile, or am I just becoming more aware of it? The mud has been flying back and forth nonstop between both parties, and we’ve been caught in the crossfire. I’m going to need a shower (and probably a new change of clothes as well).

2. ) Courti...er...Taking Advantage of the Evangelical Vote

I think it’s been the media’s joy to play up how the candidates are “courting the evangelical vote”. We’ve had the Saddleback forum (which was actually quite respectable). We’ve also had Donald Miller “praying” at the DNC (along with every other “emergent” Christian running to support Obama). We’ve also had John McCain choose Sarah Palin as his running mate (and it appears she has begun to go off script).

For awhile there, we had Huckabee. Truth be told, I like Huckabee and was initially hoping he would have won the Republican primary. However, I’m actually glad he didn’t win, for his own sake. Considering how vile this campaign has been, Huckabee has the ability to finish this election season with his dignity in tact.

3.) Obama is the Messiah?

I think it’s pretty safe to say that Barack Obama is not the second coming of Jesus Christ our Lord. The large quantities of people claiming that he is, however, are actually quite scary. Take a look at this:

If this weren’t serious, it would be hilarious (ok…the execution of the song still is sort of funny, but the message is not—the message is blasphemy).

4.) Abortion & Third Party Candidates

I think I’ve already made myself pretty clear that I won’t be voting for Obama. However, I’m not sure if I can vote for McCain either.

Barack Obama is most certainly not pro-life (even though some are claiming otherwise). However, McCain isn’t exactly pro-life either. He supports embryonic stem-cell research and the like.

There is, however a third-party candidate, from the Constitution Party, who is completely pro-life. Chuck Baldwin (the name of the candidate), could be a viable option. However, he doesn’t have chance of getting elected. If I would vote for him, I’d be taking a vote away from McCain, and essentially be voting for Obama.

Should I vote for the lesser of two evils and hope McCain wins, or vote for the most truly desirable candidate, knowing that he’ll lose?

If I vote for McCain, I may have sacrificed some of what the Bible has taught me, and I will feel dirty. If I vote for Chuck Baldwin, I may have thrown my vote away and towards Obama, and will feel dirty. If I don’t vote at all, I will have thrown my vote away and towards Obama, and will feel dirty. In any case, I’ll need a cold shower.

5.) The Proper Perspective or Why I Shouldn’t Feel Dirty at All

Despite these feelings, John Piper has come around to set things in their proper perspective. In a recent article (HT: JT), he says this about voting:

We should do it. But only as if we were not doing it. Its outcomes do not give us the greatest joy when they go our way, and they do not demoralize us when they don’t. Political life is for making much of Christ whether the world falls apart or holds together.

And this:

There are losses. We mourn. But not as those who have no hope. We vote and we lose, or we vote and we win. In either case, we win or lose as if we were not winning or losing. Our expectations and frustrations are modest. The best this world can offer is short and small. The worst it can offer has been predicted in the book of Revelation. And no vote will hold it back. In the short run, Christians lose (Revelation 13:7). In the long run, we win (Revelation 21:4).

And this:

There are joys. The very act of voting is a joyful statement that we are not under a tyrant. And there may be happy victories. But the best government we get is a foreshadowing. Peace and justice are approximated now. They will be perfect when Christ comes. So our joy is modest. Our triumphs are short-lived—and shot through with imperfection. So we vote as though not voting.

And this:

We do not withdraw. We are involved—but as if not involved. Politics does not have ultimate weight for us. It is one more stage for acting out the truth that Christ, and not politics, is supreme.

And this:

We deal with the system. We deal with the news. We deal with the candidates. We deal with the issues. But we deal with it all as if not dealing with it. It does not have our fullest attention. It is not the great thing in our lives. Christ is. And Christ will be ruling over his people with perfect supremacy no matter who is elected and no matter what government stands or falls. So we vote as though not voting.

By all means vote. But remember: “The world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:17).

Thabiti Anyabwile has also had a series of thoughts on the election.

We found confluence, but it's still not reliable...

Archeologists believe they may have discovered the ruins of copper mines from the time of Solomon's rule of the Israelites.

Key quote from Thomas Levy from the University of California San Diego who led the research:

"We can't believe everything ancient writings tell us," Levy said in a
university statement. "But this research represents a confluence between the
archaeological and scientific data and the Bible."

Interesting. Here is the full story.

Somehow...

...I think that in a school where the kids make pregnancy pacts, handing out free contraceptives is a bit pointless.

For the Engineers...

HT: JT