An Obama win is not the end of the world, but...

Conservative Christians should still pray for a McCain miracle

Hatchet
By Lucas Roebuck

In 2000 and 2004 the heads of many secular-progress/angry-left voters figuratively exploded when they realized that George W. Bush was going to (still) be president.

Bush didn't just represent Satan, he literally was Satan to the secular left. That's because generally secularists don't believe in a spiritual Satan, so Bush fit the bill for those who cannot "cling" to the supernatural. Which explains all the venom, outrage, hate and handwringing over Bush. Of course, they treated the Bush victory like it was the end of the world, because the hope of the secular progressive is rooted in man. And Bush wasn't their man.

Now, with the prospect of an Obama presidency looming, many traditional conservative Christians are speaking as if an Obama presidency is the end of the world — that all hope is lost should Sen. Barack Obama's strong lead in the polls become prophetic. I have one word of encouragement for my Christian friends in the event Obama gets elected.

Relax.

Either you believe God is in control or you don't. Either you believe that all things happen for a reason or you don't. If Obama becomes president, either God allowed it or God preordained it (depending on your theological persuasion). Yes, Obama has promised Planned Parenthood that he will work to virtually eliminate all restrictions on abortion (infanticide) as soon as he takes office. Yes, Obama's Supreme Court picks could curtail religious activity in the name of "separation of church and state." Yes, with Obama as commander in chief, the nation of Israel should not count on American support if attacked by hostile Islamic states.

Obama's promise to set back all the work social conservatives have done to fight the infanticide is especially horrific. Bush may be flawed, but he was probably the greatest advocate of the pro-life cause in the White House since Roe v. Wade.

When and if Obama's kingdom comes, social conservatives should have a pretty good idea of how secular-progressives felt when Bush became president. Fortunately, we don't have to lose any sleep like they did, because the political realities are not the ultimate realities for us. There is something greater than utopian government, than social engineering, than environmental preservation. There is eternity with a living, loving God.

To be Christian is to know that this world is temporary. Empires rise and empires fall. But our ultimate hope is not in our government making the world a better place, our hope is in Christ.

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This is not to say the Christians should ignore and disengage from the political process. Nor am I saying that any "real" Christian would never vote for Obama. (I would argue that a Christian who votes for Obama is misguided.) What is clear is that we are blessed to live in America, in a time when we have influence in the political process, and certainly we should use that influence to do what is right.

Even against the odds, social conservative Christians should not give up this fight for two reasons. The first is that Obama's secular-progressive allies will feel empowered with a mandate to push Obama and the Democrat controlled congress to adopt more extreme policies if Obama wins a popular and electoral vote landslide. The tone of the debate will be a lot different in 2009 if Obama wins 51-49 (by two points) than if he wins 55-45 (by ten points). The voices of moderation will have more sway the smaller the spread.

Radical abortion and anti-traditional family value policies will be retarded if Obama only wins by a slim margin.

The second reason social conservatives should not give up hope (and keep working to turn out the vote) is that miracles do happen. Pray that Sen. John McCain is on the receiving end of one Tuesday.

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