Christians: Is it a sin to vote for Obama? (Jehovah, preacher, Israel)

[ShanaBrown]

Hi, I think that someone who is running for the president of this country has to take into account the fact that he will be the president of all Americans. He has to consider the rights and seek to protect the rights of all citizens of the country despite his religious views/beliefs concerning some behaviors, beliefs. As a teacher I have the right to express my faith within the law in the classroom and I must also respect the rights of others who may have different religious views, to express their views. We teach children of all faiths and children who may not have a faith. I don't think that Barack Obama has taken his positions on abortion and gay union lightly and I do believe that he has probably struggled within himself in coming to his positions as a presidential candidate.


Barack Obama and Gay Marriage/ Civil Unions:
Although Barack Obama has said that he supports civil unions, he is against gay marriage. In an interview with the Chicago Daily Tribune, Obama said, "I'm a Christian. And so, although I try not to have my religious beliefs dominate or determine my political views on this issue, I do believe that tradition, and my religious beliefs say that marriage is something sanctified between a man and a woman."
Barack Obama did vote against a Federal Marriage Amendment and opposed the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996.
He said he would support civil unions between gay and lesbian couples, as well as letting individual states determine if marriage between gay and lesbian couples should be legalized.
"Giving them a set of basic rights would allow them to experience their relationship and live their lives in a way that doesn't cause discrimination," Obama said. "I think it is the right balance to strike in this society."

Sources: Chicago Daily Tribune, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force

Barack Obama on Abortion

God bless

[freedom]

I'll vote for the one that has been to war and understood the cost of going and not going.
We are in the time of WWIII, and a rookie is not what we need, many will die, but many more with the wrong commander.

godspeed,

freedom

[ozzie679]

Originally Posted by freedom

I'll vote for the one that has been to war and understood the cost of going and not going.
We are in the time of WWIII, and a rookie is not what we need, many will die, but many more with the wrong commander.

godspeed,

freedom

Our current "commander" is a bonehead. Would McCain have invaded Iraq?

[freedom]

Originally Posted by ozzie679

Our current "commander" is a bonehead. Would McCain have invaded Iraq?

Easy to say with only part of the information.

I hear many critique from the comfort of zero accountability, and without the benifit of the national security briefings every morning.

I'm glad we havn't had any more 911's while the bonehead (your word) has been in command.

godspeed,


freedom

[GCSTroop]

Ok, I know I'm not a Christian, but I'd like to input my two cents on the matter.

I am not what anyone would consider a "yellow dog" voter. For those who don't know what that means, there are certain people who are so overzealous in a certain party that you could nominate a yellow dog for the office as opposed to the nominee fro the other party and you'd still vote for it. That, to me, is an ignorant way of doing business. Politics, like many other decisions in life should be viewed not from a finite standpoint in which you can only see one side but should be viewed from who is actually best to run this country.

In every election, I try my best to decide who I feel is the best candidate for the job. There are certain things I myself feel very strongly about. While I do understand that abortion and gay marriage are very strong issues for many Christians, I too have my thoughts in what I feel strongly about. I'm a big proponent of universal healthcare, entire education reform, and getting out of this war. And while I find it heartwarming to think that I've found a candidate who can do all of that in Obama, I am not so naive to think that my views are what is necessarily the absolute best thing for this country at this point in time.

What I am weighing is the overall situation of America along with what my personal opinions and things that are important to me are. Let's face it. As many others have mentioned: Gas is hovering around four dollars a gallon, we are nine trillion dollars in debt, we are stuck in the middle of a war teetering on the brink of utter chaos, the world hates us, the Dollar pales in comparison to the Euro, our education system is in shambles, many cannot afford healthcare, social security is a wreck, and we are in the midst of a recession.

So, I sit here and I ask myself what is the cause of all of this? Looking at the things I just mentioned it seems that there is quite an intricate nature in all of this. Let's take our economy and our debt. What is it all stemming from? Well, since the spring of 2003 when we first invaded Iraq we have slipped roughly five trillion dollars more in the hole than where we were. Keep in mind, that this was not too long after 9/11 when our economy was on the downturn. Now, when I was in Iraq I really became perturbed at what I saw. Vast living quarters, good food, piles of money wasted on trivial things, buildings being constructed like a new city was going up, and waste, waste, waste. I began to wonder. Who is making all of this money? (KBR and Haliburton - by the way). Folks, we have no plan on leaving there. EVER. It is evident as day and night that we were/are building things for the long run. No one pumps five trillion dollars into a war effort only to abandon it. Sorry. Not going to happen.

But what more about our economy? Well, because the oil prices are based heavily on the dollar (since we are the largest consumers of oil) when the dollar faulters so do oil prices. And that makes me go back to question one. Why is the dollar faultering? I can only come up with one answer. The Iraq War, egregious mismanagement of funds, and big business getting richer on the so-called "trickle down" economics.

So, with that covered I sit around some more and I think about why it is that all of the rest seems to fall in behind this. While we can't really solely blame Bush and the Republican Party on a lack of healthcare (simply because other President's have failed to get it done too) we can fault him for not trying. But, in the state the economy is in, who CAN afford healthcare? And why is the economy in such a shambles leading us unable to afford healthcare? My, my, my I can only point to one thing. It rhymes with Iraq.

The question I would like to pose for those who are indeed against Obama is this. Knowing what you know about Iraq, knowing that you know that it has hurt our economy and MUCH more on top of that, would you still feel comfortable voting for a candidate who has no intentions of letting us go. But hold on! I see where this is headed! Apparently McCain wants to cut it back a little bit. He wants to make this a "minimal" effort. Well, let me tell you a little something that I was privvy to long before it ever happened. It was called "The Surge". The Surge has seemingly worked. A vast influx of troops in the Middle East has kept the region relatively more stable than in the past. You can't walk down the streets of Baghdad without seeing an American soldier. They are everywhere. But what happens when we "dumb it down?" Do you really think that things are going to get better? No. The violence will continue, more American lives will be lost, and the American public is going to once again get tired of seeing the faces of our loved ones on the evening news. So, in repetitive fashion McCain will once again try a surge operation and so the cycle will continue. But, what does that all mean? Well, it means that keeping that number of troops in that area is going to cost a lot of money. Trillions more will be spent and all for what? For what might I ask?!

Rather, why don't we focus on this for the future:

Get out of Iraq. Stop the bleeding of this country. We should all be asking ourselves why that five trillion dollars used in Iraq couldn't have been spent on healthcare reform, beefing up the borders of this country, economic growth, education reforms and other major issues. Why are we not asking this?! And why are we going to promote further bleeding of this country in a Republican President who is not willing to commit to a timetable to leave either? Are you really willing to overlook all of this? ALL of this lost because of a stance on gay marriage or abortion? I ask you to really weigh the options in this election. Because until we leave that horrid country "over there" we are going to suffer and we are going to suffer hard. I have a lot of things I'd like addressed from a personal standpoint myself but we really need to focus on what it is that is causing this country to die a slow, agonizing death.

There's a reason why Obama's campaign is effective. He wants to change things. I can't honestly sit here and say that I necessarily take every word he says as the literal unerrant truth. But at least it's an offer to change. It's SOMETHING. I don't see that in the Republican side. When I hear MCcain say that we are not leaving Iraq my heart sinks because I know that it will just be at least four more of the same.

Do the smart thing and vote for Obama in this election. And I can say that not as a diehard Democrat but as someone who tries to look at both sides in every election. Take that from someone who has seen what is going on in Iraq and has also seen what tremendous atrocities we are driving this country into as a result of flagrant and boisterous spending. I'm begging you to put a tourniquet on. When the country is in a better condition than we can bring up the abortion and gay marriage debate. Don't you think? Until then, I can't help but feel it'd be a "sin" to vote otherwise.

That's just my opinion.

[freedom]

troops,

where do you get the five trillion figure?

We are not even at 1 trillion (choke...) as far as i've heard.

godspeed,

freedom

[liliblu]

I have never understood why people believe they can stop abortion or homosexual activity by passing a law. Both activities occured before they were legal and would continue if they were banned.

[SouperStar34]

Originally Posted by blue62

I will vote for Obama, and I separate my religion from politics in the rl, because both are the cause of most of the arguements, and I really hate arguements

1) Politics are based on beliefs.

2) Voting for Obama is accepting the mass-murder of millions of children.

3) Bush is not the big problem here (speaking to the original poster). Keep in mind that our country has constantly been hit with natural disasters. WAY more than during Clinton or Reagan's term or any president!

In regards to gas prices, keep in mind when you (the general american population) are drivng with your SUV going 80 mph down the highway YOU ARE THE PROBLEM! Any time you drive over 65 you are greatly wasting gas! If you excellerate quickly you are wasting gas! The American people had what was coming to them with their plush lifestyles. Now all they want to do is blame the president! America buy a 4 cyclinder car drive slow, step up and stop complaining.

Also keep in mind that the stock market hit its highest mark EVER during the Bush administration. I believe it was in the 14,000s (DOW).

As for Iraq, Bush took out one of the most evil dictator in our life. Iraq although looks bad now, it is only the starting blocks for middle peace in the future.

The Bible tells us that the Jewish people and her neighbors (that are against Israel) will live in peace in OUR lifetime. Both YOU and I will see peace in the middle east before we naturally die.

[SouperStar34]

Originally Posted by liliblu

I have never understood why people believe they can stop abortion or homosexual activity by passing a law. Both activities occured before they were legal and would continue if they were banned.

How many slaves do you have?

[bchris02]

Originally Posted by SouperStar34

1) Politics are based on beliefs.

2) Voting for Obama is accepting the mass-murder of millions of children.

Bush had 8 years to put an end to abortion. Did he do it? Reagan/Bush had 12 years back in the '80s/early '90s, which was a much more conservative time, to put an end to abortion. It would have been FAR easier then than it would be now. Did he do it? Will four more years of Republican leadership end abortion?