2008/08/18
2008/08/09
Obama the antichrist
A post by Brian Maclaren, points to a Time article describing an advert for American TV, evidently endorsed by the McCain campaign, which insinuates that Barack Obama is the Antichrist. This has me alarmed.
What if .......?
No, but seriously: evidently the allusion is to the Left Behind books. I was given the first one, and read it. Well, I remember starting it - there was something to do with the rapture and half-empty aeroplanes, and a charismatic leader sweeping all before him - but I don't remember any more. Perhaps I got fed up with the poor writing, fanciful story, or doubtful theology. But I get the gist: a bright young leader promises marvellous things and is adored by a watching world, even though he truly represents the most manevolent force in all creation. Or something. Must be Mr O. (Is he adored? I think that most of the world is reserving judgement, really. But I digress).
Now, perhaps Mr. McCain actually believes Mr Obama is the Antichrist. In which case he should come out and say it, and have a public debate at that level.
Assuming he does not, what alarms me is that the man who wants to be the leader of the free world seeks to hold that position by scaring a section of his electorate with a proposition he knows to be false. (Hey, the rapture hasn't happened, so in that whacky eschatology, the rise of the Antichrist is premature...) Let me say that again: he wants to be elected on the basis of a plain, clear, bare-faced lie.
I know politics is a messy business, and politician are prone to exaggerate, spin, and generally encourage double-think. But this is different. Which one of the candidates is evil?
What if .......?
No, but seriously: evidently the allusion is to the Left Behind books. I was given the first one, and read it. Well, I remember starting it - there was something to do with the rapture and half-empty aeroplanes, and a charismatic leader sweeping all before him - but I don't remember any more. Perhaps I got fed up with the poor writing, fanciful story, or doubtful theology. But I get the gist: a bright young leader promises marvellous things and is adored by a watching world, even though he truly represents the most manevolent force in all creation. Or something. Must be Mr O. (Is he adored? I think that most of the world is reserving judgement, really. But I digress).
Now, perhaps Mr. McCain actually believes Mr Obama is the Antichrist. In which case he should come out and say it, and have a public debate at that level.
Assuming he does not, what alarms me is that the man who wants to be the leader of the free world seeks to hold that position by scaring a section of his electorate with a proposition he knows to be false. (Hey, the rapture hasn't happened, so in that whacky eschatology, the rise of the Antichrist is premature...) Let me say that again: he wants to be elected on the basis of a plain, clear, bare-faced lie.
I know politics is a messy business, and politician are prone to exaggerate, spin, and generally encourage double-think. But this is different. Which one of the candidates is evil?
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