A Message of Hope and Change?

Posted by: Kaylan Christopher on July 8, 2008 Hot Issues •

All the media outlets are calling it “Obama’s Message of Hope & Change.” I’ve heard about it, but I still don’t know exactly what its supposed to look like.

What’s the message this presidential hopeful is trying to convey? And why is it attracting so many people across America—especially young people?

I say this because I’ve heard a similar message of change before from previous candidates. So is this completely different? Is Obama merely marketing himself to the American people with a catchy slogan? Or is he for real?

There’s no doubt, most of his speeches leave people “feeling good.” But is that all they’re good for? Or are Americans just so ready for a new president, they’ll stand behind the first smooth-talker that comes along?

I’m interested in finding out more of why young Americans are so drawn to this candidate. True, most teens and young 20-somethings have only ever known two names—Clinton and Bush—to assume the position of “most powerful leader of the free world.” So maybe we can find some sense in this: perhaps they’re ready to take a chance on a new name.

Sure, times have changed. This generation is not like each of the three before it. Nor will the next be like today’s generation. Ideas and views will change as each new election rolls around. And, in the future, new issues will arise and trump the priority of those that haunt us today.

But there’s one thing that won’t change or disappear—God’s Word. It stands firm, consistent, proved, and most importantly, it clearly spells out the one true message for hope and change only found in Jesus Christ.

Will our country ever finally realize that all the answers to these seemingly complicated issues lie in the Word of God? Will this generation and the next and the last ever come to fully understand that the fresh change and hope they’ve been waiting and searching for is found in Jesus?

Let’s hope so. I pray so.

Next entry: The New America: A Melting Pot of Faiths Previous entry: Independence Day Reflection

Comments

Hi, just clicked to this site from a Dr. Dobson email. I was aware of a similar site during the 2004 election, but did not know it was still active and with a blog for this years’s election.

I am no longer a Southern Baptist but my parents were Southern Baptist missionaries for 32 years and I am still very interested in what is going on in the SBC.

I am also an Obama supporter and I have been noticing from the SBC’s Baptist Press that there seems to be some concern out there that Obama may be attracting some Southern Baptist voters.

What I would like to see from Southern Baptist communication leaders is an attempt to interview and understand Southern Baptists who are interested in voting for Obama. I would like to see a more objective and balanced interest in BOTH of the major candidates running for president.

Otherwise it all looks like a very partisan McCain effort. And such partisan efforts make the SBC look like simply an outdated Christian Right organization that is loyally blind to the Republican party.

Perhaps that would explain why it looks like a ghost town here without many comments and without much debate. This election is different, with different candidates. It is a shame that the SBC is not willing to question its tiring loyalty to the Republican party.

Because the time is right for a new sort of Christian political engagement, a new openness to various issues that have not been discussed before.

Thanks for letting me express my opinion on this blog.

Carlos

Posted by on July 9, 2008.

Hello again, just a brief note to thank you for publishing my comment without any interference from a moderator or an editor.

Posted by on July 9, 2008.

To illustrate my point that the Baptist Press may be missing the support Obama already has with Southern Baptists in the pews, please see the poll at http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/features/poll.html

Now, it is of course possible that these numbers are completely artificial and not representative of what the readers of Christianity Today are thinking. But I have seen other polls, and especially with younger and moderate or centrist evangelicals, there is strong evidence that Obama is getting strong numbers.

I would like the Southern Baptist media to report and investigate this.

Posted by on July 9, 2008.

Hi Carlos,

There are several reasons why, as a Christian, I could never vote for Obama. First, he is the most pro-abortion member of the senate. He voted, as a member of the Illinois state legislature, to allow doctors to kill babies born alive who survived an abortion.

Second, he doesn’t believe the Bible. He has twisted the teachings of the Word of God.

Third, Obama chose to attend a church for 20 years pastored by a man who is anti-American, anti-white, and who did not preach the Word of God accurately (if at all).

The truth is that for now the Republican party is pro-life, pro-family, and (for the most part) stands for Biblical values, while the Democrats are pro-abortion, pro-homosexual, and against many Biblical values. I don’t understand why any true believer in Christ would ever vote for Obama.

Posted by Carol Stack on August 26, 2008.

Hello Carlos,
Thank you for your comments. I am a SBC pastor and a rare creature: an Obama supporter- for many reasons that I will not go into here (but, as you say, others have written excellent articles on why so many evangelicals are “going over” to Obama).I just discovered this site today and what a disappointment. It seems like simply a link to Tony Perkins and and the Family Research Council. You will find no “objective and balanced” discussion from the supporters of the GOP ("God’s Only Party"). They claim to speak for God, so there is no room or need for discussion - or even thinking for that matter (thanks for your comments Carol - you help to illustrate my point!). I doubt our comments are even noted by anyone in influence in the SBC. But thanks for writing in and sharing all the same. And don’t stop asking the “hard questions” - it will lead you to the truth.

Posted by on August 27, 2008.

Dear Doug and everyone else reading,

You don’t have to pick the lesser of two evils between McCain and Obama. There is a third party alternative that we all can agree on. Chuck Baldwin is running for president as the nominee for the Constitution Party. Check out their platform at http://www.constitutionparty.com and http://www.baldwin08.com. You will be pleasantly surprised.

Posted by Andy Raymond on October 3, 2008.