I was a young high school student in November of 1992 when Bill Clinton won the presidency. I remember being terrified that night because I went to a conservative Christian school and had listened to some authority figures warning about the destruction of America if Clinton were to win the election.
The next day one of my favorite teachers in the whole school looked at me with crazed eyes and said, “They’ll regret this. In four years they’ll be begging for change.”
I wish that had never happened to me. I had ENOUGH to worry about like my favorite TV show Quantum Leap ending, when body hair might sprout, and which girl to get rejected by next. Now they told me the world was going to end before I ever got that first kiss. Why America, WHY?!?! But then it turned out the 90s were kind of great to me.
Now we’re here two decades later and some Christians are still wild-eyed and strapping in for Armageddon and Barrack’s zany train ride to the pit of destruction. He’s coming to get us all! It’s the anti-Christ ya’ll!!! Dive in your bomb shelter and give up on human existence cuz we all GONNA DIE!
*grabs dog and leaps out first floor window*
If you’re convinced that any one president will destroy us all, please take the following steps:
1. Study world history, particularly all the apocalypse-mongering.
2. Study American history, specifically the office of the presidency.
3. Study American politics, specifically American politics.
4. Keep calm and carry on.
Look, I understand the criticisms of some of President Obama’s policies. Believe me, I do. And I disagree with the man on plenty of issues as I’ve disagreed with other presidents both in my personal history and in my study of history B.C. (Before Clay). American Presidents have been overreaching since the turn of the 20th century. But there’s also 535 members of Congress and 50 state governments. They kind of matter too.
And all of these leaders are elected. By us. We the people.
But more importantly for Christians, I have some questions:
- Where’s the hope?
- Where’s the confidence in God’s control and plan?
- Why are so many of us always convinced that whatever just happened is the thing that has suddenly derailed humanity and now we’re all going down?
- Since when is the world supposed to be perfect according to our standard or anyone else’s?
- Some people might believe utopia on earth to be possible but why for the love of Adam would Christians?
Agree? Disagree? Let me know what you think then hop over to my take on, sigh, Mark Driscoll.
