the conservative family and the politic

One of my family members is notorious for anti-Obama forwards. This week, one finally bothered me enough to send a Reply-All email to my extended family, and I thought you all might appreciate the exchange. If I get any replies, I may post those, as well:

The Forward

"This was sent by a friend. I believe it does make us
think...a whole lot. Hope it makes you think also.

According to The Book of Revelations the anti-christ is:The anti-christ will be a man, in his
40s, of MUSLIM descent, who will deceive the nations with persuasive language,
and have a MASSIVE Christ-like appeal....the prophecy says that people will
flock to him and he will promise false hope and world peace, and when he is in
power, will destroy everything.. Is it OBAMA??

I STRONGLY URGE each one of you to repost this as many times as you can! Each
opportunity that you have to send it to a friend or media outlet...do it!If you
think I am crazy..Im sorry but I refuse to take a chance on the "unknown"
candidate"

The Response

Hi family,

This email did make me think, and I wanted to share a few of those thoughts with you all, and I'm certainly interested in your thoughts, as well...

I think this election year is a great opportunity, first and foremost, for a conversation about who we are and where we are going as a country, and to not let the media dictate to us what we should think. What's great about our democracy is that it was founded and sustained by free people who think for themselves and seek a common ground in the midst of diversity, and we have the privilege of carrying on that tradition.

As for myself, I am supporting Obama. I don't believe that I have been deceived, nor do I believe I am giving naive support to an "unknown candidate". I don't think he fits the description of the Anti-Christ found in Revelation anymore than George W Bush does, and that's because I don't find the description from Grandma's email anywhere in the Bible when I read it. I'm not sure what is implied by calling him an "unknown candidate"; It can't be because we don't know about his past-- he has been very honest and transparent about his past; And it can't be because "there is no substance behind his rhetoric" as the media would like us to believe-- he actually has some very detailed policy plans available for viewing on "The Internets".

I have much respect for the work John McCain has done as a US Senator (and that's probably because I don't view his "lack of conservatism" as a bad thing :) ...), but I worry that his presidency would carry over too many of the Bush Administration policies that have severely damaged us as a nation over the past eight years. I realize I probably just opened myself to a tit-for-tat fight about which party has done the most damage, and I certainly recognize that neither party is God's Party, but I think at this point in our history we could collectively use a season of self-reflection and self-correction. Like Lent or something.

I'll stop now, but I really would be interested in hearing perspectives from you all, since I think "seeking to understand" is just as important, if not more so, than "seeking to be understood", and who better to seek understanding with than family!?! I'll end with a prayer from our Book of Common Prayer:

"Oh God, you have bound us together in common life. Help us, in the midst of our struggles for justice and truth, to confront one another without hatred or bitterness, and to work together with mutual forbearance and respect; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."

Much love,
Andrew