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St Obama the Divine?
7 November 2008
If Barack Obama thought his 21 month epic election campaign was hard work or that he could now take a well earned break, he will be in for a shock when he reads today's papers. With 75 days until he takes office it seems he'll need every one of those if he is going to come close to living up to the expectations that are being placed on him.
The excitement about Obama's election is quite extraordinary: on the bus people are talking about it; around the world every paper has his face splashed across its front-page. If you hoped that the election would bring an end to the media's obsession with Obama this is a distant dream; it may well in fact have only just begun. According to abcnews 54% of voters were excited or optimistic about an Obama presidency, including 5% who voted for McCain!
John McCain may have mocked him for being 'The One' during the campaign, but for many this is their reality. Oprah Winfrey declared that 'This is the most meaningful thing that has ever happened'. And the Independent was full of what he must do, challenging him to 'heal America'.
It is as though people have forgotten that when Canute commanded the waves to roll back, they disobeyed. The Times' cartoonist has dubbed him St. Barack the Divine and a Telegraph cartoon depicted a White House gardener putting up a sign which read "Please do not walk on the water". He has already made history, and now he is being called to make it again and again on a daily basis. Apparently, it is his task to redeem America's image in the world, save their economy, save the world from climate chaos, and presumably cure cancer - all before breakfast!
Obama's wife, Michelle, has brought perspective on all of this. She has said that she wished she did live with "Obama the phenomenon", because "the Barack Obama who lives in my house, that guy's not as impressive." While Obama has undoubted abilities, it is transparently the case that he is not the messiah that many would wish. And like all our heroes, his feet of clay will soon become apparent if they aren't already.
The question, though, is why we so clearly feel this need to invest supernatural abilities in those we admire. Our society's obsession with celebrity reflects precisely the same trend. We long, it would seem, to have people we can worship. So the challenge this weekend, if you get caught up in an Obamamania conversation, is to remind your friends that he's not God, or even the Saviour, and that perhaps their adulation should be redirected to the One who actually is.
Daniel Webster, Parliamentary Officer
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(The views below are the authors', and not necessarily those of the Evangelical Alliance.)
| Written by David Young on 11 November 2008 at 17.39 |
| Obama might have a little more breathing space than he thinks before he has to worry about being taken out. He takes up office as soon as the 20th of January, but any assassin worth their salt is probably too busy celebrating at one of the many 'Hooray! Sarah Palin is not the Vice President so the second most powerful job in the most powerful country in the world is not being done by a creationist!' parties. They go on for at least three years, and that's if you leave early. What a great day for science teaching in US schools this is. |
| Written by Bill Smith on 10 November 2008 at 18.05 |
| A certain rabbi from Nazareth, lived out all the desires of a downtrodden society by the sheer love and compassion He displayed. He did the stuff. He didn't just talk it. It cost Him His life. One thing we need to be very mindful for the President elect is that as the first non white President he has become the target for every assassin across the world. This would devastate the USA. Imagine the fallout of the death of a black president on the social stability in America. Also it would have international ramifications on a major scale. He and America need so much prayer. It is a sad reflexion on the desperate state of society that one vulnerable, weak as you and me, man, has been invested with so much "Messianic" expectation. Why are people os against turning to the Light, when they are so desperately looking for it? |
| Written by David Young on 10 November 2008 at 14.31 |
| Jonathan Trimble, how did you manage to get your hands on a computer with internet access when Jesus made it so clear that you need to sell everything you own and give to the poor? Or are you not particularly interested in inheriting eternal life? |
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