Defending my faith

I find it very interesting that a person’s character, beliefs, and faith are questioned by simply being on the opposite side of a political spectrum. We’ve encountered friends and family who can’t fathom not supporting a conservative candidate with a conservative agenda. From the shock and awe facial expressions, to the spam email chains and the doom and gloom speeches, we have seen and heard it all. If you haven’t guessed, Leslie and I both support Barack Obama for President. This wasn’t blind support of a candidate or let’s hop on the bandwagon support. Leslie and I both are pro-life and believe that marriage is ordained by God between a man and a woman so how could we support a candidate that is pro-choice and supports civil unions.

It is actually a simple thought process based on Jesus teachings. “Love one another as I have loved you.” We live in a society with poverty, prejudice, hatred, sickness, apathy, crime, violence, illiteracy, global warming, war, religious intolerance, and broken homes. There are many issues facing our cities, country, and our world. Yes there are some moral issues that face us but we should not shoulder our support in the political process for a few moral issues because there are many life issues that are just as important. My faith is not defined by a moral issue it is defined by believing in Jesus as the Son of God and his life, death, and resurrection as atonement for my sins.

I believe in the authority and holiness of the Bible and found the following post interesting: James Dobson Doesn’t Speak for Me

• What does speak for me is David's psalm celebrating how good and pleasant it is when we come together in unity;
• Micah speaks for me in reminding us that the Lord requires us to act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with Him;
• The prophet Isaiah speaks for me in his call for all to come and reason together and also to seek justice, encourage the oppressed and to defend the cause of the vulnerable;
• The book of Nehemiah speaks for me in its example to work with our neighbors, not against them, to restore what was broken in our communities
• The book of Matthew speaks for me in saying to bless those that curse you and pray for those who persecute you;
• The words of the apostle Paul speak for me in saying that words spoken and deeds done without love amount to nothing.
• The apostle John speaks for me in reminding us of Jesus' command to love one another. The world will know His disciples by that love.

This is just my two cents. I will gladly respect view points that differ from mine.

An Obama Moment

This past week we had the opportunity to get involved with the campaign activities here in Pennsylvania. On Sunday, I went canvassing in our neighborhood. It was interesting to see the dynamics and passion of various people. Some voters were adamant that they would not support Obama and others were on the fence. We did not knock on every door only those that were uncommitted (i.e. did not have a sign in their window).

Most people were very civilized but others were not as nice. The funny thing is that we were only reminding people about the upcoming election and whether or not Senator Obama could expect their support. If it was no, we thanked them for their time and went to the next door. It was very respectful. It was also funny to see people try to avoid answering the door. This was another first time experience.

On Tuesday we were invited to stand outside a rally, wave signs, and cheer for Obama. As the event was ending we had the pleasure of being where his motorcade was going to pass by. As he drove by us he rolled down his window and waved. I think I was star struck but Zane was just as excited. The rest of the evening Zane said, “Obama waved at me”.

Eli has also joined in the Obama movement. He has added his name to his vocabulary, well sort of. When he sees an Obama sign he says “Mama”.