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James Dobson's 'Letter From 2012 in Obama's America'
James Dobson, you owe America an apology. The fictional letter released through your Focus on the Family Action organization, titled "Letter From 2012 in Obama's America", crosses all lines of decent public discourse. In a time of utter political incivility, it shows the kind of negative Christian leadership that has become so embarrassing to so many of your fellow Christians in America. We are weary of this kind of Christian leadership, and that is why so many are forsaking the Religious Right in this election.
This letter offers nothing but fear. It apocalyptically depicts terrorist attacks in American cities, churches losing their tax exempt status for not allowing gay marriages, pornography pushed in front of our children, doctors and nurses forced to perform abortions, euthanasia as commonplace, inner-city crime gone wild because of lack of gun ownership, home schooling banned, restricted religious speech, liberal censorship shutting down conservative talk shows, Christian publishers forced out of business, Israel nuked, power blackouts because of environmental restrictions, brave Christian resisters jailed by a liberal Supreme court, and finally, good Christian families emigrating to Australia and New Zealand.
It is shocking how thoroughly biblical teachings against slander--misrepresentations that damage another's reputation--are ignored (Ephesians 4:29-31, Colossians 3:8, Titus 3:2). Such outrageous predictions not only damage your credibility, they slander Barack Obama who, you should remember, is a brother in Christ, and they insult any Christian who might choose to vote for him.
Let me make this clear: Christians will be voting both ways in this election, informed by their good faith, and based on their views of what are the best public policies and direction for America. But in utter disrespect for the prayerful discernment of your fellow Christians, this letter stirs their ugliest fears, appealing to their worst impulses instead of their best.
Fear is the clear motivator in the letter; especially fear that evangelical Christians might vote for Barack Obama. The letter was very revealing when it suggested that "younger Evangelicals" became the "swing vote" that elected Obama and the results were catastrophic.
You make a mistake when you assume that younger Christians don't care as much as you about the sanctity of life. They do care--very much--but they have a more consistent ethic of life. Both broader and deeper, it is inclusive of abortion, but also of the many other assaults on human life and dignity. For the new generation, poverty, hunger, and disease are also life issues; creation care is a life issue; genocide, torture, the death penalty, and human rights are life issues; war is a life issue. What happens to poor children after they are born is also a life issue.
The America you helped vote into power has lost its moral standing in the world, and even here at home. The America you told Christians to vote for in past elections is now an embarrassment to Christians around the globe, and to the children of your generation of evangelicals. And the vision of America that you still tell Christians to vote for is not the one that many in a new generation of Christians believes expresses their best values and convictions.
Christians should be committed to the kingdom of God, not the kingdom of America, and the church is to live an alternative existence of love and justice, offering a prophetic witness to politics. Elections are full of imperfect choices where we all seek to what is best for the "common good" by applying the values of our faith as best we can.
Dr. Dobson, you of course have the same right as every Christian and every American to vote your own convictions on the issues you most care about, but you have chosen to insult the convictions of millions of other Christians, whose own deeply held faith convictions might motivate them to vote differently than you. This epistle of fear is perhaps the dying gasp of a discredited heterodoxy of conservative religion and conservative politics. But out of that death, a resurrection of biblical politics more faithful to the whole gospel--one that is truly good news--might indeed be coming to life.
Jim Wallis is the author of The Great Awakening
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Christian families aren't going to find a better life in Australia and New Zealand. Our fundies usually need to emigrate to America.
Excellent! Now, if he only had the true Christian compassion to see the error of his ways, the bigotry and the hate, he just might make a decent "Christian".
The 'Letter from 2012 in Obama's America' is based upon statements and plans of current Democrat lawmakers and Supreme Court opinions.
When I read the 'Letter from 2012 in Obama's America', I had ALREADY known that these things were what I was fighting against in opposing Obama. I homeschool - it is always under attack. I support marriage only between a man and a woman - it is constantly under attack. I own a gun self defense - it is constantly under attack. I listen to AM talk radio - it is constantly under attack. And Obama is just the man to bring the furthest left wing ideologies to fruition. He has a voting record.
It is as 'Palpatine' has just ascended the throne.
I'm pretty sure that in the America I live in, people have been free to home school, free to have a marriage between a man and a woman, free to own a gun, and free to listen to AM talk radio. In my lifetime, I have never, ever heard of a serious effort to end any of those things. Perhaps you live in a different America?
When it comes to Christians and Politics, I agree with Tony Campolo in this interview. We need to focus on the specific teachings of Jesus. Caring for people in poverty and stewardship of the environment God gave us are moral issues that need to be addressed. The lust for wealth is continually warned against throughout the New Testament.
Here is the link to the interview. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m584z5aE4Uc
Do you know that all names have hidden messages?
A Message In A Name
Look at the hidden message in Focus On The Family
“
Yesterday, Satan's invisible organization used fear, lies, negativism on Americans to help energize McCain's failing Campaign.”
Cross out a letter of the name for example cross out the y in family and the word yesterday in the message. Keep doing this until all letters and words are crossed out and see the result.
Based on the Letter from 2012 it is clear that an invisible demonic force is in play with Focus on the family. Maybe everyone who reads this letter should also read the scriptures below that apply directly to Letter from 2012.
Ephesians 4:17 "This, therefore, I say and bear witness to in the Lord, that you no longer go on walking just as the nations also walk in the unprofitableness of their minds, while they are in darkness mentally, and alienated from the life that belongs to God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the insensibility of their hearts” Revelation 18:4 And I heard another voice out of heaven say "Get out of her, my people if you do not want to share with her in her sins, and if you do not want to receive part of her plagues. For her sins have massed together clear up to heaven and God has called her acts of injustice to mind."
How desperate and marginalized Dobson has become that he has to create a fictional letter from the future to try and dissuade all his former followers from voting for Obama?
I really believe that the Right-Wing Conservatives and the Christian Right have no idea why former followers seem to be abandoning their (Dobson's) politics, platform, values, and Dobson's "messianic vision" of a "real pro-america"!
I think people finally woke up from the nightmare!
Keep the faith....
Obama/Biden
This is so refreshing, Jim! Thank you for speaking out on behalf of many of my faith convictions!
Homework Assignment for Dr. James Dobson in the spirit of Wallis's "God's Politics": Dr. Jimmy - go through the Bible you revere as your personal god, cut out all the passages where God, God's Son, or heaven sent messengers exhort someone to "Be not afraid." After you're finished, and you have these passages spread out on your desk, consider your own deep seated fear and how it lines up with the Gospel. We who understand ourselves to be followers of Christ care for you, ye of little faith. We long for you to cease your "fear based faith," your fear mongering and recognize that neither McCain nor Obama are the bringer of the Kingdom. Instead of being a preacher of Good News, you are a preacher of No News. Turn. Return to the Lord your God. Right now you are in error and you clearly...CLEARLY, do not get it.
One of your fellow brother's in Christ.
The whole fictional letter sounds absurd to me.
"inner-city crime gone wild because of lack of g un ownership?" Another example of the striking contrast between faith and science. In fact, an inhabitant of a home that is free from firear ms is actually epidemiologically safer than someone living in a home with one.
Thank you for illustrating the ignorance of the Left. The study which propounded that belief has been debunked several times.
Semper fi
Got links?
Leland R. Erickson
Citizen
The right is wrong, now you get it.
Dobson should remember James 3:1 and the 10 commandments, especially the one about false witness.
I have heard it said there are two reasons why someone is not a Christian. They have never met a Christian or they have. James Dobson is a perfect example of the latter.
Religion is DANGEROUS and may DOOM human life.
Like food, money, or alcohol, it is the people who abuse (or neglect) religion that are vulnerable to themselves and dangerous to the rest of us.
It is like a doctor who smokes warning you about the dangers of smoking. Do you listen to the medical evidence or take yourself "off the hook" by citing hypocrisy? No logic to create a second fool.
One can only hope that the election of Senator Obama and a democratic majority will marginalize the James Dobsons in this country.
Look up Timothy Egan's piece in the NYT. Dobson is already history.
Dobson has marginalized himself.
A note to Dobson: Why would American christians want to emigrate to Australia + NZ when many of the social changes they are so fearful of are already a reality here (gun control, late term abortions, mandatory sex ed in schools etc)? And amazingly enough, the social fabric has not shown any sign of breaking down; we can even have elections without descending to hatemongering and poorly concealed racial attacks.
In any case, please don't even consider it, whatever happens over there, intolerant religious fanatics, whether christian or muslim, are not welcome here in Australia or NZ.
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