Barack Obama's acceptance speech briefly reviewed

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Can anyone live up to so much hype? Even Obama can't. I didn't get a quiver up my leg even once. However, one line stood out and one line stunk up the place. Text
Stand out line
the change we need doesn't come from Washington. Change comes to Washington.
Stinker line
in the words of Scripture hold firmly, without wavering, to the hope that we confess.

but i'm not sure what verse he was referring to, it might be Hebrews 3:14,We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first. (NIV-other versions) but the hope in Scripture is hope in Christ, not hope in a politician. Perhaps he really does think he is the Messiah...

update: It's Hebrews 10:23, Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. (NIV) Again, it's not about political uplift of a country, but, rather, salvation of our souls by our hope in Christ . Thanks to TMatt at GetReligion for the pointer.

Comments

Anonymous said…
That jumped out at me as well. I remember when Bush was criticized (with good reason, IMHO) for his talk of "freedom" as the "light which shone in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it". It's a similar conflation of the human and divine. I don't expect Obama will hear much criticism, though.

I guess that one of the things that creeps me out the most about Obama (who I'm not completely against, BTW): he seems to me like a very smart, Ivy League guy who decided at a certain point that he had to make a study of the whole "Christianity Thing" in order to be able to appeal to southerners and evangelicals. He was helped, I think, by the fact that he's black and religiosity is tolerated by democrats in blacks in a way it isn't in whites.
August 29, 2008
John Umland said…
I don't think Obama's colleagues prove true your assertion that black religiosity is tolerated. His running mate considers himself a faithful Catholic. So does Nancy Pelosi. Even Ted Kennedy, at one time, opposed abortion as a Catholic. Christianity has pointy parts and Washington does not like hard lines and rubs them off politicians. Bob Casey was a pro-life Catholic Democrat who was snubbed for not following the herd. Clinton and Gore were pro-life before they hit the big time. Obama joined a liberal church in Chicago so he started without a pointy theology and has lost nothing.
God is good
jpu
August 29, 2008
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