When Obama gives his stadium acceptance speech at the Democratic convention, it will be the night of the 45th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech. You can count on breathless reporters waxing dreamy about Dr. King’s vision fulfilled that historic night. However, not all African Americans agree. “Barack Obama is directly contrary to many positions and beliefs of Martin Luther King, Jr.,” says black author William Owens, Jr. “Obama is trying to make African Americans believe he is the reality of the Dream come true, but he’s not. It’s a nightmare.”
A recent Gallup poll reveals 91 percent of African Americans intend to vote for Obama. Nevertheless, there are dissenting voices trying to reach their community with a warning about the candidate. Dr. Alveda King, daughter of MLK’s younger brother, the late slain civil rights activist Rev. A.D. King, says, “Senator Obama’s answer to the ills of society, of higher government spending, weaker national defense, continued tax dollars to Planned Parenthood, and support of gay marriage, are diametrically opposed to everything African Americans truly believe and an anathema to the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.”
“It is high time for Black America, White America and all America to stop making their ethnicity such a big deal that we become zealous for our color over being zealous for what is right and what is truth,” says Owens.
Mr. Owens, founder of Black Americans for Real Change (BARC), makes it known, “I will not remain silent out of fear of repercussions because it is politically incorrect for Blacks to challenge Blacks.” He says one aspect of Obama’s candidacy is “intimidation because many people are afraid to scrutinize Obama and speak out because of the race Issue.” Owens believes Obama is manipulative of African Americans because “in reality he is not a Black American. His heritage is Muslim -- not African American” and calls Obama a pretender and panderer. He points out that the candidate’s record “does not remotely parallel the values, traditions and struggles of Black America.”
Having studied both MLK and Obama, Owens felt compelled to write a book to challenge African Americans “to look deeper at Barack Obama the man, his voting record, and his position on the important issues facing our country.” He urges them not to “put your race before your principles,” the truth, your family and your own country. His book, “Obama: Why Black America Should Have Doubts” has one chapter comparing the policies of the two men who are poles apart on many issues. Every American should read this eye-opening book. Owens says, “it is obvious Obama is trying to solidify the Black vote”, but he reiterates that any candidate needs to be closely examined.
With Obama’s voiced support and voting record for partial-birth abortion and every other pro-abortion bill, Alveda King takes issue with the senator over this topic. From firsthand experience she had before she was “born again” in 1983, King knows the problems a woman can suffer because of abortion. She is now a leader in both the pro-life and civil rights movements. “We can talk about poverty; we can talk about the war; we can talk about teen pregnancy; we can talk about incarceration. However, if we’re not allowed to live, we’ll never encounter those issues.” Although Blacks make up only 14 percent of the population, 40 percent of the abortions in the country are preformed on Black women, thus creating a virtual genocide of African Americans.
King recalls her Uncle Martin saying,
“The Negro cannot win as long as he is willing to sacrifice the lives of his children for comfort and safety.” For Alveda King, abortion is a civil rights issue.
“Every aborted baby is like a slave in the womb of his or her mother,” she explains. “The mother decides his or her fate.”
“In the shadow of the famous ‘I Have a Dream’ speech by my uncle in 1963, as Barack Obama makes his speech in 2008, how can the Dream survive if we murder the children?” asks Dr. King concerning the unborn. "Life was very precious to my uncle and life today is precious.”
“Our best interests as Black Americans,” Owens says, “…lie in a new direction that reflects our core beliefs and values, not merely a resemblance of someone we look like.”
Again quoting her uncle, King says, “‘there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but one must take it because it is right.’” She passionately adds, “This is not the time to be silent; this is not the time to give Barack Obama a free pass! There is too much at stake.”
Fellow Christians, please read and prayerfully consider your vote in the upcoming election.
This article is from Huntley Brown - he is a fabulous concert pianist from
the Chicago area, a man of God, and a black man. I appreciate so much his
reasoning for not voting for Obama. I would like to see this article
published or spread out via Email to as many as possible. It's good stuff!
WHY I CAN'T VOTE FOR OBAMA
By Huntley Brown
Dear Friends,
A few months ago I was asked for my perspective on Obama, I sent out an
email with a few points. With the election just around the corner I decided
to complete my perspective. Those of you on my e-list have seen some of
this before but it's worth repeating...
First I must say whoever wins the election will have my prayer support.
Obama needs to be commended for his accomplishments but I need to explain
why I will not be voting for him.
Many of my friends process their identity through their blackness. I
process my identity through Christ. Being a Christian (a Christ follower)
means He leads- I follow. I can't dictate the terms He does because He is
the leader. I can't vote black because I am black; I have to vote
Christian because that's who I am. Christian first, black second. Neither
should anyone from the other ethnic groups vote because of ethnicity. 200
years from now I won't be asked if I was black or white. I will be asked if
I knew Jesus and accepted Him as Lord and Savior.
In an election there are many issues to consider but when a society gets
abortion, same-sex marriage, embryonic stem-cell research, human cloning to
name a few, wrong economic concerns will soon not matter. We need to follow
Martin Luther King's words, don't judge someone by the color of their skin
but by the content of their character.
I don't know Obama so all I can go on is his voting record. His voting
record earned him the title of the most liberal senator in the US Senate in
2007. < http://nj.nationaljournal.com/voteratings/>> NATIONAL JOURNAL:
Obama: Most Liberal Senator in 2007 (01/31/2008) To beat Ted Kennedy and
Hilary Clinton as the most liberal senator, takes some doing. Obama
accomplished this feat in 2 short years. I wonder what would happen to
America if he had four years to work with.
There is a reason Planned Parenthood gives him a 100 % rating. There is
a reason the homosexual community supports him. There is a reason
Ahmadinejad, Chavez, Castro, Hamas etc. love him. There is a reason he
said he would nominate liberal judges to the Supreme Court. There is a
reason he voted against the infanticide bill. There is a reason he voted
No on the constitutional ban of same-sex marriage. There is a reason he
voted No on banning partial birth abortion. There is a reason he voted No
on confirming Justices Roberts and Alito. (These two judges are
conservatives and they have since overturned partial birth abortion. The
same practice Obama wanted to continue.)
Let's take a look at the practice he wanted to continue. The 5 Step
Partial Birth Abortion procedures:
A. Guided by ultrasound, the abortionist grabs the baby's leg with
forceps.(Remember this is a live baby)
B. The baby's leg is pulled out into the birth canal.
C. The abortionist delivers the baby's entire body, except for the
head.
D. The abortionist jams scissors into the baby's skull. The scissors
arethen opened to enlarge the hole.
E. The scissors are removed and a suction catheter is inserted. The
child's brains are sucked out, causing the skull to collapse.
F. The dead baby is then removed. God help him.
There is a reason Obama opposed the parental notification law. Think
about this: You can't give a kid an aspirin without parental notification
but that same kid can have an abortion without parental notification. This
is insane.
There is a reason he went to Jeremiah Wright's church for 20 years.
Obama tells us he has good judgment but he sat under Jeremiah Wright
teaching for 20 years. Now he is condemning Wright's sermons.. I wonder why
now? Obama said Jeremiah Wright led him to the Lord and discipled him. A
disciple is one in training. Jesus told us in Matthew 28:19 - 20 'Go and
make disciples of all nations.' This means reproduce yourself. Teach people
to think like you, walk like you; talk like you believe what you believe
etc.
The question I have is what did Jeremiah Wright teach him? Would you
support a White President who went to a church which has tenets that said
they have a
1. Commitment to the White Community
2. Commitment to the White Family
3. Adherence to the White Work Ethic
4. Pledge to make the fruits of all developing and acquired skills
available to the White Community.
5. Pledge to Allocate Regularly, a Portion of Personal Resources for
Strengthening and Supporting White Institutions
6. Pledge allegiance to all White leadership who espouse and embrace
the White Value System
7. Personal commitment to embracement of the White Value System.
Would you support a President who went to a church like that? Just
change the word from white to black and you have the tenets of Obama's
former church. If President Bush was a member of a church like this, he
would be called a racist. Jessie Jackson and Al Sharpton would have been
marching outside. This kind of church is a racist church. Obama did not
wake up after 20 years and just discovered he went to a racist church. The
church can't be about race.
Jesus did not come for any particular race. He came for the whole world.
A church can't have a value system based on race. The churches value
system has to be based on biblical mandate. It does not matter if it's a
white church or a black church it's still wrong. Anyone from either race
that attends a church like this would never get my vote.
Obama's former Pastor Jeremiah Wright is a disciple of liberal theologian
James Cone, author of the 1970 book A Black Theology of Liberation. Cone
once wrote: 'Black theology refuses to accept a God who is not identified
totally with the goals of the black community. If God is not for us and
against white people, then he is a murderer, and we had better kill him.
Cone is the man Obama's mentor looks up to. Does Obama believe this? So
what does all this mean for the nation?
In the past when the Lord brought someone with the beliefs of Obama to
lead a nation it meant one thing - judgment. Read 1 Samuel 8 when Israel
asked for a king. First God says in 1 Samuel 1:9 'Now listen to them; but
warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them
will do.' Then God says 1 Samuel 1:18 ' When that day comes, you will
cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the LORD will not
answer you in that day.' 19 But the people refused to listen to Samuel.
'No!' they said. 'We want a king over us. 20 Then we will be like all the
other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our
battles.' 21 When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it
before the LORD. 22 The LORD answered, 'Listen to them and give them a
king.'
Here is what we know for sure. God is not schizophrenic! He would not
tell one person to vote for Obama and one to vote for McCain. As the
scripture says, a city divided against itself cannot stand, so obviously
many people are not hearing from God. Maybe I am the one not hearing but I
know God does not change and Obama contradicts many things I read in
scripture so I doubt it.
For all my friends who are voting for Obama can you really look God in
the face and say; Father, based on your word, I am voting for Obama even
though I know he will continue the genocidal practice of partial birth
abortion. He might have to nominate three or four Supreme Court justices,
and I am sure he will be nominating liberal judges who will be making laws
that are against you. I also know he will continue to push for homosexual
rights, even though you destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah for this. I know I
can look the other way because of the economy. I could not see Jesus
agreeing with many of Obama's positions. Finally I have two questions for
all my liberal friends. Since we know someone's value system has to be
placed on the nation, 1. Whose value system should be placed on the
nation. 2. Who should determine that this is the right value system for
the nation?
Blessings,
HUNTLEY BROWN
Barack says we need to have a conversation about race in America.?
by: Patrick Buchanan
Fair enough. But this time, it has to be a two-way conversation. White America needs to be heard from, not just lectured to.
This time, the Silent Majority needs to have its convictions, grievances and demands heard. And among them are these:
First, America has been the best country on earth for black folks. It was here that 600,000 black people, brought from Africa in slave ships, grew into a community of 40 million, were introduced to Christian salvation, and reached the greatest levels of freedom and prosperity blacks have ever known.
Wright ought to go down on his knees and thank God he is an American.
Second, no people anywhere have done more to lift up blacks than white Americans. Untold trillions have been spent since the '60's on welfare, food stamps, rent supplements, Section 8 housing, Pell grants, student loans, legal services, Medicaid, Earned Income Tax Credits and poverty programs designed to bring the African-American community into the mainstream.
Governments, businesses and colleges have engaged in discrimination against white folks -- with affirmative action, contract set-asides and quotas -- to advance black applicants over white applicants.
Churches, foundations, civic groups, schools and individuals all over America have donated time and money to support soup kitchens, adult education, day care, retirement and nursing homes for blacks.
We hear the grievances. Where is the gratitude??
Barack talks about new 'ladders of opportunity' for blacks.
Let him go to Altoona and Johnstown, and ask the white kids in Catholic schools how many were visited lately by Ivy League recruiters handing out scholarships for 'deserving' white kids.?
Is white America really responsible for the fact that the crime and incarceration rates for African-Americans are seven times those of white America? Is it really white America's fault that illegitimacy in the African-American community has hit 70 percent and the black dropout rate from high schools in some cities has reached 50 percent?
Is that the fault of white America or, first and foremost, a failure of the black community itself?
As for racism, its ugliest manifestation is in interracial crime, and especially interracial crimes of violence. Is Barack Obama aware that while white criminals choose black victims 3 percent of the time, black criminals choose white victims 45 percent of the time?
Is Barack aware that black-on-white rapes are 100 times more common than the reverse, that black-on-white robberies were 139 times as common in the first three years of this decade as the reverse?
We have all heard ad nauseam from the Rev. Al about Tawana Brawley, the Duke rape case and Jena. And all turned out to be hoaxes. But about the epidemic of black assaults on whites that are real, we hear nothing.
Sorry, Barack, some of us have heard it all before, about 40 years and 40 trillion tax dollars ago.
KRLA-AM 870
A BLACK LOS ANGELES TALK RADIO HOST,
WENT DOWN A LIST OF THINGS SENATOR OBAMA HAS SAID THAT ARE
NOT EXACTLY CORRECT.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Obama's Not Exactly's:
1.) Selma March Got Me Born - NOT EXACTLY, your parents
felt safe enough to have you in 1961 - Selma had no effect
on your birth, as Selma was in 1965. (Google'Obama Selma
' for his full March 4, 2007 speech and articles about
its various untruths.)
2.) Father Was A Goat Herder - NOT EXACTLY, he was a
privileged, well educated youth, who went on to work with
the Kenyan Government.
3.) Father Was A Proud
Freedom Fighter - NOT EXACTLY, he
was part of one of the most corrupt and violent governments
Kenya has ever had.
4.) My Family Has Strong Ties To African Freedom - NOT
EXACTLY, your cousin
Raila Odinga has created mass violence
in attempting to overturn a legitimate election in 2007, in
Kenya . It is the first widespread violence in decades. The
current government is pro-American but Odinga want s to o
verthrow it and establish Muslim
Sharia law. Your
half-brother, Abongo Oba ma, is Odinga's follower. You
interrupted your New Hampshire campaigning to speak to
Odinga on the phone. Check out the following link for
verification of that....and for more.
Obama's cousin Odinga in Kenya ran for president and
tried to get Sharia muslim law in place there. When Odinga
lost the elections, his followers have burned
Christians' homes and then burned men, women and
children alive in a Christian church where they took
shelter.. Obama SUPPORTED his cousin before the election
process here started.
Google Obama and Odinga and see what
you get. No one wants to know the truth!
5.) My Grandmother Has Always Been A Christian - NOT
EXACTLY, she does her daily Salat prayers at 5 am according
to her own interviews. Not to mention, Christianity
wouldn't allow her to have been one of 14 wives to 1
man.
6.) My Name is African Swahili - NOT EXACTLY, your name is
Arabic and 'Baraka' (from which Barack came) means
'blessed' in that language. Hussein is also Arabic
and so is Obama.
Barack Hussein Obama is not half black. If elected, he
would be the first Arab-American President, not the first
black President. Barack Hussein Obama is 50% Caucasian from
his mother's side and 43.75% Arabic and 6.25% African
Negro from his father's side. While Barack Hussein
Obama's father was from Kenya , his father's family
was mainly Arabs.. Barack Hussein Obama's father was
only 12.5% African Negro and 87.5% Arab (his father's
birth certificate even states he's Arab, not African
Negro). From... .and f or more....go to.....
http://www.arcadeathome.com/newsboy.phtml?Barack_Hussein_Obama_-_Arab-American,_only_6.25%25_African 7.) I Never Practiced Islam - NOT EXACTLY, you practiced it
daily at school, where you were registered as a Muslim and
kept that faith for 31 years, until your wife made you
change, so you could run for office.
4-3-08 Article 'Obama was 'quite religious in
Islam''
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=60559 8.) My School In
Indonesia Was Christian - NOT EXACTLY, you
were registered as Muslim there and got in trouble in
Koranic Studies for making faces (check your own book).
February 28, 2008. Kristoff from the
New York Times a year
ago: Mr. Obama recalled the opening lines of the Arabic call
to prayer, reciting them with a first-rate accent. In a
remark that seemed delightfully uncalculated (it'll give
Alabama voters heart attacks), Mr. Obama described the call
to prayer as 'one of the prettiest sounds on Earth at
sunset.' This is just one example of what Pamela is
talking about when she says 'Obama's narrative is
being altered, enhanced and manipulated to whitewash
troubling facts.'
9.) I Was Fluent In Indonesian - NOT EXACTLY, not one
teacher says you could speak the language.
10.) Because I Lived In Indonesia , I Have More Foreign
Experience - NOT EXACTLY, you were there from the ages of 6
to 10, and couldn't even speak the language. What did
you learn except how to study the Koran and watch cartoons.
11.) I Am Stronger On
Foreign Affairs - NOT EXACTLY, except
for Africa (surprise) and the
Middle East (bigger surprise),
you have never been anywhere else on the planet and thus
have NO experience with our closest allies.
12.) I Blame My Early Drug Use On Ethnic Confusion - NOT
EXACTLY, you were quite content in high school to be Barry
Obama, no mention of Kenya and no mention of struggle to
identify - your classmates said you were just fine
13.)An Ebony Article Moved Me To Run For Office - NOT
EXACTLY, Ebony has yet to find the article you mention in
your book. It doesn't, and never did, exist.
14.) A Life Magazine Article Changed My Outlook On Life -
NOT EXACTLY, Life has yet to find the article you mention in
your book. It doesn't, and never did, exist.
15.) I Won't
Run On A National Ticket In '08 - NOT
EXACTLY, here you are, despite saying, live on TV, that you
would not have enough experience by then, and you are all
about having experience first.
16.) Voting 'Present' is Common In
Illinois Senate - NOT EXACTLY, they are common for YOU, but not many others
have 130 'NO' VOTES.
17.) Oops, I Misvoted - NOT EXACTLY, only when caught by
church groups and Democrats, did you beg to change your
misvote.
18.) I Was A Professor Of Law - NOT EXACTLY, you were a
senior lecturer ON LEAVE.
19.) I Was A Constitutional Lawyer - NOT EXACTLY, you were
a senior lecturer ON LEAVE.
20.) Without Me, There Would Be No Ethics Bill - NOT
EXACTLY, you didn't write it, introduce it, change it or
create it.
21.) The Ethics Bill Was Hard To Pass - NOT EXACTLY, it
took just 14 days from start to finish.
22.) I Wrote A Tough Nuclear Bill - NOT EXACTLY, your bill
was rejected by your own party for its pandering and lack of
all regulation - mainly because of your Nuclear donor,
Exelon, from which
David Axelrod came.
23.) I Have Released My State Records - NOT EXACTLY, as of
March, 2008, state bills you sponsored or voted for have yet
to be released, exposing all the special interests pork
hidden within.
24.) I Took On The Asbestos Altgeld Gardens Mess - NOT
EXACTLY, you were part of a large group of people who
remedied Altgeld Gardens . You failed to mention anyone else
but yourse lf, in your books.
25.) My Economics Bill Will Help America - NOT EXACTLY,
your 111 economic policies were just combined into a
proposal which lost 99-0, and even YOU voted against your
own bill.
26.) I Have Been A Bold Leader In Illinois - NOT EXACTLY,
even your own supporters claim to have not seen BOLD action
on your part.
27.) I Passed 26 Of My Own Bills In One Year - NOT EXACTLY,
they were not YOUR bills, but rather handed to you, after
their creation by a fellow Senator, to assist you in a
future bid for higher office.
28.) No One on my campaign contacted Canada about
NAFTA -
NOT EXACTLY, the Canadian Government issued the names and a
memo of the conversation your campaign had with them.
29.) I Am Tough On Terrorism - NOT EXACTLY, you missed the
Iran Resolution vote on terrorism and your good friend Ali
Abunimah supports the destruction off
Israel . ;
30.) I Want All Votes To Count - NOT EXACTLY, you said let
the delegates decide.
31.) I Want Americans To Decide - NOT EXACTLY, you prefer
caucuses that limit the vote, confuse the voters, force a
public vote, and only operate during small windows of time.
32.) I passed 900 Bills in the State Senate - NOT EXACTLY,
you passed 26, most of which you didn't write yourself.
33.) I Believe In Fairness, Not Tactics - NOT EXACTLY, you
used tactics to eliminate Alice Palmer from running against
you.
34.) I Don't Take PAC Money - NOT EXACTLY, you take
loads of it.
35.) I don't Have Lobbyists - NOT EXACTLY, you have
over 47 lobbyists, and counting.
36.) My Campaign Had Nothing To Do With The 1984 Ad - NOT
EXACTLY, your own campaign worker made the ad on his
Apple in one afternoon.
37.) I Have Always Been Against
Iraq - NOT EXACTLY, you
weren't in office to vote against it AND you have voted
to fund it every single time.
38.) I Have Always Supported
Universal Health Care - NOT
EXACTLY, your plan leaves us all to pay for the 15,000,000
who don't have to buy it.
39.) My uncle liberated Auschwitz concentration camp - NOT
EXACTLY, your mother had no brothers and the Russian army
did the liberating
Wednesday, October 21, 2008
Breaking Up (With Obama) Is Hard to Do
African-American Christians who don’t support Obama risk being called traitors, defectors and Uncle Toms. But some are defying him for moral reasons.
This past Sunday I shared a pulpit with a delightful African-American recording artist. She recently turned 70, although I would have guessed she wasn’t a day over 55. She sang better than I preached. (After all, she has won Grammy awards in the gospel category.) Then we sat down for a meal and she decided to get very honest with me.
She leaned close to my ear as if to make a dreadful confession. “Can I tell you something? I’m not voting for Obama.”
I wasn’t sure how to react, but I let this woman elaborate. With a pained expression she vented her frustrations about leaders who, in her opinion, are more concerned about loyalty to their race than to Scripture. She scolded pastors by name who have endorsed Obama when they should have been preaching against abortion, which Obama defends.
| "I pray that all of us, black and white, will speak for truth and stay on the narrow path even when the crowd has chosen the broad highway." |
She continued: “I hear some black pastors saying from the pulpit, ‘Let’s thank God we’re going to have a black man in the White House.’ Well, I’m sorry, but I don’t think this is the right black man.”
I’m not going to reveal the identity of this woman—not because she doesn’t want me to tell, but because outing her as a McCain supporter could close doors for her in the black church. Sadly, African-Americans who aren’t supporting Obama today are viewed as traitors.
It’s not easy to go against the flow when it seems that the entire black community is marching in lockstep with the well-financed Obama machine. Aside from all the endorsements from Hollywood celebrities and European crowds, black church leaders have formed a huge mass choir of support as well:
- Texas megachurch pastor Kirbyjon Caldwell and conference speaker Juanita Bynum have endorsed Obama.
- Gospel artists Donnie McClurkin, Hezekiah Walker, Byran Cage and Mary Mary have performed at Obama rallies.
- Television preacher T.D. Jakes gave Obama a glowing acclamation the day after he claimed his party’s nomination.
- Obama received a thunderous ovation when he appeared at the convention of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in June.
- When his wife, Michelle, spoke to 7,000 delegates at the National Baptist Convention in Cincinnati in September, her 15-minute speech was interrupted constantly by cheers, chants and applause.
- Last year Obama formed an impressive coalition of pastors and leaders who have mobilized support for him at the polls. The prestigious group includes civil rights icon Joseph T. Lowery; Dr. Cynthia Hale of Atlanta; Bishop Larry Trotter of Chicago; Bishop Cody Marshall of the Church of God in Christ (COGIC) in Illinois; and the presidents of the two largest black Baptist denominations.
- COGIC, the nation’s largest Pentecostal denomination, has not officially endorsed Obama, but the leader of its Pastors and Elders Council, Derrick Hutchins of Florida, told Charisma he supports Obama because he “understands the infirmities of the nation’s neediest communities.”
Never in American history has a presidential campaign so energized the black church. And that makes it hard for black Christians who, for conscience reasons, cannot support a candidate who believes in killing unborn babies or rewriting Judeo-Christian morality.
One black friend who works in my office said family members blasted her when they learned she wasn’t voting for Obama. Another black colleague said she gets icy comments from women at her hair salon when she expresses honest disagreements about Obama’s values.
I have a friend in Baltimore, an African-American pastor, who says black friends have chided him after he admitted he isn’t in Obama’s camp. “They tell me, ‘Why are you voting that way?’ or ‘You’re letting us all down.’ It’s a touchy subject.” He also knows pastors who will tell people to vote for Obama from the pulpit, yet they have never once preached against abortion.
My friend believes there is a spiritual problem at the bottom of this. “It’s a spirit that has to be broken,” he says. “People have allowed an allegiance to race to become more important than the gospel. That’s why we have to fast and pray before this election.”
As divisive as the 2008 campaign has become, it’s even more divisive in the black church. Many African-American churchgoers view voting for Obama as the black thing to do. It’s a given. They see an Obama victory in November as the grand culmination of the Civil Rights movement and, perhaps, as the end of racial intolerance in this country.
My friend Kimberly Daniels, founder of Spoken Word Ministries in Jacksonville, Florida, is an African-American preacher who grew up in the inner city. She sees this conflict quite differently.
If anyone had a reason to be a racist, Kim did. She experienced the worst kind of racism growing up in the “dirty South,” as she calls it. Yet today she unashamedly pleads with black Christians to vote according to conscience, not race.
Says Daniels: “Believe me, I would love to see a black brother in the White House—but not someone like Obama, who has embraced humanistic doctrines. Many white preachers are afraid to say this, and many black preachers won't touch it with a 10-foot pole.”
(I am including Kim Daniels’ editorial at the end of my online column today. Please pass it on. Kim says some things that I, as a white guy, can’t say in our politically correct culture.)
I am thankful for Kim and the many brave African-American Christians today who have risked their reputations by going against the flow of popular opinion. I pray that all of us, black and white, will speak for truth and stay on the narrow path even when the crowd has chosen the broad highway.
J. Lee Grady is editor of Charisma. Kimberly Daniels’ column, “Draw the Line,” which ran in the November issue of Charisma, appears below.
Draw the Line!
White Christians can’t say this—and black preachers won’t touch the issue. But it’s time black Christians faced the reality about Barack Obama’s dangerous moral values.
by Kimberly Daniels
“Regardless of political opinions, the Bible makes it clear: Those who support the homosexual agenda and the murder of unborn babies will be judged.”
As a child in the 1960s I rode in the back of the bus. I was at the front of the riot lines in the 1970s, when I hit white boys on the head with bricks and dragged white girls down sidewalks near my school. I also experienced serious racism when I was an athlete in college.
I have been called the "N" word many times. I was taught to hate white people, and some of my relatives still call white people names such as "honky" and "cracker." But after I found Jesus, I was delivered from racism. I am free indeed!
The residue of my abuse has dried up at the root, and I am no longer a victim of what I call "ricochet racism." This occurs when the abused becomes the abuser.
Ricochet racism is a hellacious boomerang that grips the victim with pride and makes him think he has a right to hate. When I was saved, God taught me that I did not have a right to hate white people. Jesus nailed all my excuses to the cross, and I moved on.
Now that I am a born-again Christian, I do not consider my race to be my primary identity. I am a Christian first—before I am an African-American, a Democrat or a Republican. That's why I am troubled that so many African-American Christians are voting for Barack Obama simply because he is black.
If someone won't vote for a person because of race, we call this racism. But it is also racism when someone votes for a person because of his race!
Believe me, I would love to see a black brother in the White House—but not someone like Obama, who has embraced humanistic doctrines. Many white preachers are afraid to say this, and many black preachers won't touch it with a 10-foot pole.
I love Obama and pray for him and his family. But as Elijah troubled Ahab in Israel, I will challenge his views because they are dangerous to our religious liberties. It's time to draw the line.
Black Christians today need to put their faith first when they step into the voting booth. Does Obama represent godly values?
We know, for example, that he is an inclusionist. For 20 years he attended a church in Chicago that preaches that (1) Jesus is not the only way to God; (2) there is no hell; and (3) God will allow homosexuals to go to heaven even if they remain in their sinful state. Obama also has defended the killing of unborn babies, even in the third trimester.
He claims to be a Christian, but in his book The Audacity of Hope he calls the first chapter of Romans an "obscure" passage of Scripture. God's admonition about the sin of homosexuality is hardly obscure. It is very clear!
Jesus is the only way to God, and God will surely send homosexuals to hell if they do not turn from their ways and accept Christ—just as He will do for all other sinners who do not trust Jesus.
Regardless of political opinions, the Bible makes it clear: Those who support the homosexual agenda and the murder of unborn babies will be judged (see Rom. 1:32). These were the main issues in the days of ancient Israel, and they are critical issues today.
The pro-abortion movement is tied to the worship of two idols, Chemosh and Molech, the gods of child sacrifice. The movement toward gay marriage is rooted in the spirit of gameo, a Greek word that refers to same-sex marriage (see Matt. 24:38).
How can we vote for politicians who favor these ungodly movements? The Bible says we must separate ourselves from sin and wickedness. God is looking for faithful Christians who will not bow to the gods of this world.
I know what I am saying is not popular, and some people will denounce me for it. But I believe it is time to draw a line.
Believers can no longer make excuses by pulling their race cards, leaning on their lukewarm denominational rules or hiding under the covering of a political party. If we want America to recover, we must repent. We must choose the right side.
We must stand strong for what we believe and hold our ground. We must declare, as Joshua did, "Whoever is on God's side ... stand with me!"
Kimberly Daniels is the founder of Spoken Word Ministries in Jacksonville, Fla., and author of several books including her new release, Inside Out. Visit her at kimberlydaniels.com.
McCain campaign chief: Obama 'played the race card'
7/31/08
John McCain's campaign manager is accusing Barack Obama of unfairly using the issue of race, a significant accusation in a campaign featuring the first African-American major party nominee.
"Barack Obama has played the race card, and he played it from the bottom of the deck," said Rick Davis, in a statement issued from the McCain campaign. "It's divisive, negative, shameful and wrong."
Yesterday in Missouri, Obama predicted McCain and the GOP would use racially tinged attacks against him.
"What they're going to try to do is make you scared of me," Obama said. "You know, he doesn't look like all those other presidents on the dollar bills."
An Obama spokesman denied that the line about "dollar bills" was related to the Democrat's race and the campaign said today that they don't believe McCain is using the race issue. Obama aides didn't directly respond to the accusation that their candidate was doing the same.
"This is a race about big challenges—a slumping economy, a broken foreign policy, and an energy crisis for everyone but the oil companies," said press secretary Bill Burton. "Barack Obama in no way believes that the McCain campaign is using race as an issue, but he does believe they’re using the same old low-road politics to distract voters from the real issues in this campaign, and those are the issues he’ll continue to talk about."
McCain's campaign has stepped up their attacks Obama since his overseas trip and began airing an ad yesterday comparing the Illinois senator to a vacuous pop star. But for months, both McCain and his campaign have been careful to avoid anything that approaches an assault based on race. McCain has rebuked outside parties, including the North Carolina GOP and an Ohio talk show host, whose attacks cited Obama's controversial pastor and his middle name.
Now with the contest entering a new, more negative phase — one largely brought on by McCain — the Republican campaign is clearly seeking to preemptively rebut any attempt by Obama to attribute race to their attacks. Davis, in effect, is laying down a marker.
But by flatly accusing Obama of having "played the race card," Davis ensures that the issue, already looming over the historic campaign, will now take a front-and-center position in a contest that is increasingly being fought more over character than issues.