I have written about my current thoughts about prophetic words and identifying with being post-charismatic. During the campaign season, fear was fueled by prophecies and words from the Lord. I have never experienced such divisiveness in the body of Christ. Now, my thoughts are being magnified in the wake of our historic election this week.
It seems that it is not enough to manipulate people with fear-based prophecies. When it is all said and done, someone has to be blamed. It is the faithful body of Christ who is being blamed for not doing enough. I am stuck between outrage and sadness.
Brother Maynard writes in response to Dutch Sheets statement about the election:
“What are some of the judgments we can expect on our nation from this election?” You can see where this is going — he attacks people “who aligned themselves with pro-abortion forces” and promises judgment: he’s confident that Obama was not God’s will. Under the heading, “How Did This Happen?” he writes:
But still yet, since God is usually willing to work through a remnant, I thought we had enough prayer. Obviously, God decided otherwise. There comes a time when he will not forgive or bless the majority based on the prayers or actions of only a few. America rejected God and asked for a king; I believe we now have our Saul (see 1 Samuel 8:5-7)–a man who does not have God’s heart for America but his own. Like Israel in scripture, our nation believes it can turn from God and still be blessed. In His mercy and justice He will show us otherwise.
Wow. I guess God really is a Republican, and Obama’s election is, as he puts it, “a tragedy.” As for Sarah Palin, he writes, “I believe she is an Esther, a Deborah, with a huge mantle from God for reformation. God has a great destiny for her related to this nation if she chooses to continue down this path.”
My first reaction was that this is the reason I’m a post-charismatic. Past that, I don’t quite know where to begin… but how about with the observation that the entire thing hinges on the proper performance of the church to pray enough or do enough good that the “right” president will be elected and that judgment will be averted. Meanwhile, the church labours without knowing if it will be enough, if it will be acceptable to God. It sounds like God is quite the taskmaster in this particular cosmological view. I wonder sometimes if people like this are never happy unless they’re proclaiming judgment and noting all that’s wrong in the world. It’s more important for them to pray against something than for something… they’ll sometimes pray against demons more readily than they’ll pray for the blessing of others. My advice? Don’t be too quick to try and interpret events like this, one way or another. There will be plenty of time to reflect, understand, and discern. And really don’t go off rushing to find someone else to interpret them for you.
And Eli officially quits the game:
I am not walking away from the Lord . If anything, I am walking towards Him even more, because I believe that He is moved by love, not judgment. I believe we live in a world of fallen people whom God loves anyway. When I find something to do to show love to people, I do it. When I find reason to judge them for their sin or stupidity, I choose to love them instead. If it’s the Holy Spirit’s job to convict, I think he’ll do a better job without my help.
And if I am wrong and our nation ‘goes to hell’ or gets judged based on this election, it will only be one in a long line of charges that can be leveled against it. Genocide. Theft. Forced Labor. Ignorance of the poor (the true sin of Sodom). Destruction of the Earth. Wasteful consumption. Greed. Racial hatred. Idolatry. I don’t think a case can be made that this “great nation” is not also guilty of everything on that list, and more besides. The audacity it takes to arbitrarily proclaim God’s judgment of this nation because of an election is truly beyond the pale.
With love for all,
Eli Renner
founder of Ex-Charismatics For Jesus.
heather said,
November 11, 2008 at 7:09 pm
I just had this same “argument” with a strict Calvinist who decided I wasn’t a Christian because I voted for Obama, blogged about it last week. BTW, I’m heather from gsg.com.