Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

The Pangea Blog

Home

Home
Progressive Christian
Why I voted for Jesus instead of Obama in the primary

Why I voted for Jesus instead of Obama in the primary

Last updated on: June 12, 2012 at 8:47 pm by Kurt Willems

Why I voted for Jesus instead of Obama in the primary 2012-06-12T20:47:55-07:00 Kurt Willems

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Why I voted for Jesus instead of Obama in the primary…

Because, obviously, President Obama is uncontested during the primary election so nothing is actually on the line by writing in a candidate like Jesus.

Because as a registered Independent, I’m not allowed to vote in the Republican primary contest.

Because, Jesus is the only president (King) worth voting for, not just in a ballot box, but every day of my life.

Because although President Obama’s rhetoric is less militant than the Republican Right, his actions these past four years have proven otherwise.

Because Jesus is the only just Ruler, not only of America, but of the entire cosmos.

Because I wanted to make a statement about my ultimate allegiance.

Because I’m becoming less and less convinced that participating in the system actually produces any measurable results.

Because left and right are both mirages clouded by media hype, the demonizing of the other, empty promises, and mere parodies of a just society under the rule of Christ.

Because I sometimes need a tangible reminder that the politics of Jesus ought to be part of my life and the lives of those I’m in community with – both now and in my church planting project to come.

Because Jesus as President requires that I live a certain way, that I become a certain kind of person, transformed by his Spirit to become the kind of good I desire to see in this world. Politics of the American Empire require marking a ballot every other year and arguing endlessly on the internet about policies I have very little influence over.

Because I always vote for the “lesser of two evils” in the presidential election, and presented with only “one evil” I felt it necessary to seek the better alternative… in this case, an alternative that overcomes all evil: Christ.

Because… I wish to remind my friends on any end of the political spectrum that we must always speak the truth in love to power, even if we agree with some of what it represents.

And finally, because I pray that all of my sisters and brothers will “seek first the Kingdom of God and his justice” realizing that all nations are under the influence of Satan in this present age, even the United States. Therefore, lets do what we can to influence the system, but not waste our lives on a utopian dream that simply having more or less government will solve the world’s ills. Our nation, like every other nation, is founded on self-interest, the opposite of our King who founded his Kingdom on self-giving Calvary-like love.

——————————————————————————————————-

Obviously, I’m influenced by a number of things, including Jesus for President by Claiborne and Haw.

——————————————————————————————————

PS – To be clear, I didn’t go to the voting booth just so I could write in “Jesus” on a ballot. I went because I wanted to vote for propositions and other issues, the president thing was incidental.

Previous Post

June 11, 2012

What Still Surprises Miroslav Volf about America

Next Post

June 13, 2012 The Oratory of the Heart: How Benedictine Spirituality had Shaped My Walk with Christ (3 - The Vows)

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category (Series) All Out War-Spiritual Warfare (Series) Church Plant Journal (Series) Dear Reader... (Series) Earthquakes...Signs of the Times? (Series) Entering the... Conversation (Series) Evangelical Culture Myths (Series) Everything is Meaningless [Pete Enns] (Series) Evolving Evangelicalism (Series) Hell Yes. Hell No! Who Cares? (Series) Hidden Worldviews (Series) If Evolution is Right, what about Adam? (Series) in less than 300 words (Series) Jesus and Nationalism (Series) Liberating Women for Ministry? (Series) Life-Changing Books (Series) Markers of Church Plant Movement (Series) Nonviolence 101 (Series) Philemon - Reconciliation (Series) Quote to Ponder (Series) Red Letter Dialogues (Series) Resource of the Week (SERIES) Revelation Sermons (Series) Share Something Sundays (Series) Simplicity in the Burbs: $2 a day (Series) The Binding of God [Open Theism] (Series) The Creed: Anabaptist Reflections (Series) Values for Church Leadership (Series) Video to Ponder Anabaptism Animal Advocacy Books Church Ministry Church Planting Community Culture Eschatology Eucharist Evangelical Reject Evolution Fundamentalism Greek Greg Boyd Guest Contributors Hell Holy Spirit Israel/Palestine Kingdom of God Lent Missional N. T. Wright Nationalism New Creation Nonviolence Open Mic Open Theism Parenting Passover Paul Philemon Podcast Politics Restorative Justice Revelation (the book of) Rob Bell Ron Martoia Sermon Shane Claiborne Social Justice Speaking Engagement Spiritual Warfare Spirituality Temple Theology Tim Geddert Tribulation Uncategorized universalism Video Blog Women in Ministry Worship Music Youth Ministry

Select a Month August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 October 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 December 2016 October 2016 August 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

True or False: According to Romans, if God is for us, no one can be against us.

Select your answer to see how you score.

TRUE FALSE

Support this
Column