Informed Decision

It is a Reasonable Thing to Ask What a Leader Believes

"The Left has decided that the best way to counter reasonable inquiries into Barack Obama’s philosophy, theology or worldview is to attack anyone who raises questions. This is classic political hardball -- the opposite of what Obama claims to stand for!" - Focus on the Family Action

Barak Obama has compared James Dobson to Al Sharpton in a widely circulated speech and here is where we must begin. Dobson has pointed out some reasonable questions one might ask of the man who would become the next president of the American people. Rather than consider the questions, publications such as Time are simply attacking the messenger.

But if I were the media right now I wouldn't be worried about James Dobson right now and I'd be really curious about James Cone. James Hal Cone is the author of works on Black Liberation Theology and is an inspiration to Reverend Jeremiah Wright, Obama's recently disowned mentor of twenty years. This particular theology has its roots in the movement that made Che Guevera a messianic figure and creates an oppressed/oppressor split in its view of society. Thus a person who subscribes to this theology would naturally identify with the 'oppressed' element of a society. If the split is drawn along racial lines, it is quite fair to ask if one steeped in this tradition could legitimately aspire to be president of all the American people. Consider this quote from James Cone:

"The black theologian must reject any conception of God which stifles black self-determination by picturing God as a God of all peoples. Either God is identified with the oppressed to the point that their experience becomes God's experience, or God is a God of racism.... The blackness of God means that God has made the oppressed condition God's own condition. This is the essence of the Biblical revelation. By electing Israelite slaves as the people of God and by becoming the Oppressed One in Jesus Christ, the human race is made to understand that God is known where human beings experience humiliation and suffering...Liberation is not an afterthought, but the very essence of divine activity." (A Black Theology of Liberation, pp. 63-64)

When a person steps up to the plate to make hard decisions, it is reasonable to ask what will be the basis of those decisions. Let us respectfully hear all the voices we need to hear to make our decision in November.