Presumptious Accusations?

The religious coverage of the political landscape is so juicy right now that I just can't stay away from it....

In January of 2007, I was sitting with a very astute gentleman and we were discussing politics and the bible. After all, we were at a Biblical Studies Conference on the "end times," and both ideas were evident to come up. Now, the stance of the conference was markedly different than the popular views elucidated in the Left Behind series, but we were well aware of the influence the books unfortunately had on "pop" Christianity and many Christians countrywide. Based upon the influence of the book, many think that the rise of a figure like Nicolae Carpathia (the antichrist) is how the end times will actually come about. So, this gentlemen remarked to me that he knew several folks back where he was from (in Illinois) that were eyeing Barack Obama as a Carpathia figure. They thought he was the antichrist. Now, in January 2007, Barack Obama was still a longshot figure to win the democratic nomination, but his rapid rise to national prominence was striking nonetheless.

Apparently, though, my friend's homeward associates are not the only people to think such a thing. The Obama camp has accused the McCain camp of making a commercial with just such subtle accusations. The video can be seen here. You can judge for yourself if you agree with the Time article.

I think it is important to discern the times we live in. I also think it is important to stand for absolute truth. I also think it is important not to be too hasty in declaring absolute certainty in determing one's view of the end times. The Left Behind series has left its impression if these hasty conclusions are the ideas Americans come to.

I'm not saying Barack Obama isn't the antichrist. I'm certainly not saying he is. I want to avoid the idea altogether and evaluate him on his political/religious comments, his public voting record, and his articulated worldview. I do not want to compare him with any popular books. I do not want to vote for him based upon his ability to speak publicly. I do not want to vote for him based on age. And I never want to vote for a candidate based upon television advertisements or commercials. Almost all of the political discourse this summer then has been garbage on both sides.