28 May 2009

Initial Impressions...




I started work yesterday. Its been quite the experience so far, let me begin by admitting that I hate moving to new places and am not so enthusiastic about new people. Its alright to visit a place for a week or two (where two is pushing it) but two months? Its, likewise, ok to meet new people but to be surrounded by new faces-strange faces-is really something I dread. And my anti-social tendencies don't make things any easier. I really wish I was social but alas, I am not. Its really something I ought to work on cause I tend to upset people or give the impression that I am proud, maybe I am...




Anyway, I'm enjoying my new job. I'll be working for 8 weeks. I can already tell that I'll learn alot. After working for only two days, certain things have struck me.




1) First off is the "laid-backness" of government workers. That's the first thing that hit me when I reported for work on my first day. Everyone got there before 8 but out of all the offices I was taken through, only one individual was busy working. All the others were busy chatting or reading the paper. They read the paper and chat until about 9.30 when it is "tea time" or rather time for tea. Finally at 10, people settle down to do some work! All this facilitated by the pockets of tax payers- not fair!




2) Second is the way workmates relate. I've noticed alot of people calling each other by titles like "honey", "sweetie", "my love", "baby"(!), "my husband", "my wife", "darling", etc. This did not surprise me because I've heard enough of it already from school, both at high school and at college but I had no idea it happens in the work place too! Unfortunately, it is MARRIED men and women who call and are called by such titles! I was shocked when I discovered this. If I was married there's no way that I'd call anyone, but my wife, any of the above mentioned names-never! Obviously these, *clears throat* colleagues of mine would not want their spouses to know that they engage in the misuse of "marital titles", it is obviously done behind the back of their spouses. That is not correct. I only hope that those names are as far as their marital unfaithfulness goes for it is indeed, marital unfaithfulness to call someone, other than your spouse such names, especially behind their back!




3) I find the place where I am working to be a place of... plenty, food is cheap and fairly good, transport is provided to and fro! Those are the two places where ones salary tends to emerge half entact. I remember where I was working a while ago, for my uncle, if I paid for my own food at work, a third of my pay was consumed by lunch alone. Its a great place to work, with lots of privileges and benefits. Its easy to take such things for granted, something which so many have done.




Well, that's about it as far as my initial impressions of the workplace are concerned. They might change but they remain my initial impressions none the less.

18 May 2009

Is Obama A Christian?


You have to grant it to him, Obama is a most excellent orator. To put it in the words of a former pastor, now lecturer and faculty member of a seminary on the Copperbelt, "You can't just help but like the guy." It is very true, I heard a speech by him were he speaks to graduates at a University in Arizona, USA. I got really inspired. He was basically encouraging the "graduating class of 09" to seek to serve others in all their future endeavors, rather than themselves. He didn't quote a single verse in the bible and yet I walked away feeling like I had heard a moving sermon!



Anyway, great oration doesn't get you a spot in the Lambs book of life, so, is this man actually a Christian? My interest in discovering his state before God was inspired by a comment I got on an article I wrote about Obama, about 24 hours before his inauguration. It was a negative article. I wasn't necessarily shooting the man down, I was simply appealing to anyone who would read, especially Christians, not to envy Obama because of his achievement because firstly, what good is it for a man to gain the whole world but in the end, to lose his soul. Secondly, I sought to encourage believers to admire men who achieve much for God's kingdom rather than those who achieve much in this mortal world. That makes those men who have given their lives to serving God, the ones who must be admired and envied above all others because it is that kind of achievement that will count on the last day. You can read that article by clicking here, and you can read the comment that inspired this article below that article.



Now then, is Obama a Christian? In this article I present to you nothing but actual quotes from Obama himself and leave it to you to decide. Each quotation has a link to its source indicated against the quote by a number in brackets. At the bottom you will find against the number the name of the source, simply click on the numbers to view the desired source. The quotes are taken from either videos of Obama or transcripts of interviews.





THE EVIDENCE FOR


Obama has publicly said that he is, infact, a Christian. He has been called a Muslim but says that while he respects Islam, he is not a Muslim (by the way, I do not respect Islam). Obama on being a Christian:


"I am a Christian, and I am a devout Christian. I believe in the redemptive death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I believe that that faith gives me a path to be cleansed of sin and have eternal life. But most importantly, I believe in the example that Jesus set by feeding the hungry and healing the sick and always prioritizing the least of these over the powerful. I didn't 'fall out in church' as they say, but there was a very strong awakening in me of the importance of these issues in my life. I didn't want to walk alone on this journey. Accepting Jesus Christ in my life has been a powerful guide for my conduct and my values and my ideals."(1)



Obama believes that America's greatest moral failure has been a failure to follow the fact that whatever is done for the least, is done for Jesus Christ as found in Matthew 25:40, he says:



"I think America’s greatest moral failure in my lifetime has been that we still don’t abide by that basic precept in Matthew that whatever you do for the least of my brothers, you do for me, and that notion of — that basic principle applies to poverty. It applies to racism and sexism. It applies to, you know, not having — not thinking about providing ladders of opportunity for people to get into the middle class. There’s a pervasive sense, I think, that this country, as wealthy and powerful as we are, still don’t spend enough time thinking about the least of us."(2)



Obama says he became a Christian in 1985 when...well, why don't I just use his own words, here is President Obama's testimony:



"...So one Sunday, I put on one of the few clean jackets I had, and went over to Trinity United Church of Christ on 95th Street on the South Side of Chicago. And I heard Reverend Jeremiah A. Wright deliver a sermon called "The Audacity of Hope." And during the course of that sermon, he introduced me to someone named Jesus Christ. I learned that my sins could be redeemed. I learned that those things I was too weak to accomplish myself, He would accomplish with me if I placed my trust in Him. And in time, I came to see faith as more than just a comfort to the weary or a hedge against death, but rather as an active, palpable agent in the world and in my own life. It was because of these newfound understandings that I was finally able to walk down the aisle of Trinity one day and affirm my Christian faith. It came about as a choice, and not an epiphany. I didn't fall out in church, as folks sometimes do. The questions I had didn't magically disappear. The skeptical bent of my mind didn't suddenly vanish. But kneeling beneath that cross on the South Side, I felt I heard God's spirit beckoning me. I submitted myself to His will, and dedicated myself to discovering His truth and carrying out His works..."(3)



Here are a few comments by people who've read this account. By the way, you can click on the link (number) above to read the full testimony.


"For Obama to stand up and talk about how Jesus changed his life, my friends that takes guts. You may disagree with everything he’s about, you may disagree with his policy goals but as Christians, shouldn’t we like it when someone talks about Christ being the missing ingredient in his life?"
-A Mr. David Brody of the Christian Broadcasting Network


"I found this statement breathtaking and refreshing in its straightforwardness."
-A Mr. D. Pulliam





THE EVIDENCE AGAINST


Obama is pretty sure that his mother, who died a non-believer, is in heaven. He says his late mother was the kindest, most descent and generous person he ever knew. While she was not "A believer like I am", he says, "I'm sure she is in heaven".(4)



Obama, in response to those who thought that America's public policy should be guided by the bible, said:



*"Which passages of scripture, should guide our public policy? Should we go with Leviticus which suggests that slavery is ok?... Or, we could go with Deuteronomy which suggests stoning your child if he strays from the faith? Or should we just stick to the sermon on the mount, a passage that is so radical, that its doubtful that our own defence department would survive its application? So before we get carried away, lets read our bibles now. [Some] folks havn't been reading their bible."(5)



Obama feels that the standard of the bible, and of God therefore, cannot be used to govern a nation because not everyone in America, for example, is a believer. It is on that premise that he is pro-choice (supports making abortion legal) rather than pro-life (those who want to make abortion illegal). Although, he does clarify his position saying that while he is pro-choice, he is not pro-abortion(6). Neither is he a supporter of homosexuality although he feels that homosexuals are born with their sexual orientation and that they too, like heterosexuals, have rights and should therefore be free to live normal lives(7).



Obama feels that while he is a believer, he should not superimpose his beliefs on non-believers(8). Also, he does not seem to believe in the inerrancy of scripture as he is quoted saying, that some evangelicals believe in the inerrancy of scripture, in a sorta negative tone and context(8).



Link (8) is a video, on youtube, with whose uploader's words I will end this article with, he writes:



"I usually don't upload other videos and post them (thanks YOISM.org), but
this video was too good to pass up. It reinforces why I love this candidate. Finally someone eloquent who really gets it!!! He admits some of the inanities in the bible and the illogic. He admits that faith is illogical and imperfect. He lays out why religion should stay out of government. He's for civil unions and not marriage, but... eh... criticizing that is like not driving the Lamborghini because it only gets 9 miles per gallon. It's my assertion that Obama is either a closet atheist only in religion for political reasons (Yeah hypocritical, the Lamborghini doesn't have any cup holders either) or he's one of the last and most sane Christian I could ever hope to meet. Enjoy. "



If Obama is a true believer, the words of this guy I've just quoted would cripple him. Its one thing for people to be unable to tell whether you are a believer or not but it is quite another for people to reject your faith because of what you, yourself, are saying about it.



Is Obama a Christian, you have the necessary information now-you decide. I rarely get any comments at all, but if you read this, do weigh the evidence for and the evidence against and based on them leave me a comment specifying whether or not you think Obama is saved.




________________________________________________



(1) Obama's interview with Christianity Today.


(2a) Obama, at the Presidential forum at Saddleback Church where both he and Maccain were interviewed, on Question 6. "What does it mean to be a follower of Christ?". (Transcript)


(2b) Obama at the Presidential forum at Saddleback Church where both he and Maccain were interviewed. (Video)


(3) A Politics of Conscience by Barack Obama.


(4) 30 second video at youtube.com


(5) Call to Renewal by Barack Obama. (Video)


(6) In response to Question 7, third paragraph, "At what point is a baby entitled to human rights?"


(7) In response to Question 8, "Define marriage."


(8) "Religion Speech" at youtube.com

17 May 2009

Sense Of Sight


I got this idea in my head that, all my relevant senses but one, have experienced God. I thought I'd put pen to paper and write a song about it.

Sense Of Sight
Before I Knew You, I Would Hear You,
Hear You Calling Unto Me
But Like Samuel, I Wasn’t Sure
What To Do Or What To Say

Oh, I Have Heard You
I Have Felt You
But Oh, What It Will Be
To Use The Sense Of Sight!

Softly And Tenderly, You Touched Me
You Sent The Driest Eyes To Tears
And I Knew You In A Whole New Way
I Was Never The Same

Oh, I Have Heard You
I Have Felt You
But Oh, What It Will Be
To Use The Sense Of Sight!

You Must Be Lovely, All So Beautiful
My Heart Yearns For Your Embrace
My Soul Cries Out Deep Within Me
To See The One Who Loved Me First

Oh, I Have Heard You
I Have Felt You
But Oh, What It Will Be
To Use The Sense Of Sight!

In All Your Glory, In All Your Splendor,
To Look Into The Eyes, Of One So Tender
Yes I Have Heard You, I Have Felt You
All I Want Now, Is To See You

Oh, I Have Heard You
I Have Felt You
But Oh, What It Will Be
To See You!



I wish I could die for a very simple reason. I wish to escape this body of death. This flesh that loves the sin so much depresses me, had I the pinions of a dove, I'd fly to my God and be at rest! But then, what will it be like to see, my saviour and my God?! The one who teems with love for sinful me, it will certainly be something! Its like meeting a person who has sent you lovely gifts each and every birthday you have ever had for the very first time. They may not be particularly lovely to look at, but the love they have shown you makes them beautiful to behold. I have heard him, I have felt him, but what will it be to actually behold him that loved me so much as to give his life for me?

16 May 2009

Missing My Aim


I've written under 10 songs but I was really embarrassed about them for some reason. My buddy found them accidentally and told me they were good. I decided to pull them out and see what was so "good" about them and sure enough, they weren't half bad. I thought I'd share them and the background surrounding them one song per post so that my post average can go up alittle! I pray God uses these feeble expressions of a feeble heart to encourage somebody.


Missing My Aim


It’s the same line every evening,
“Sorry Lord, please forgive me.”
It’s the same sins, over and over,
Oh Lord, I feel like am mocking you.

To be holy, that’s my aim,
When I miss, who is to blame?
Help me Lord, to hit my aim

I really do try, to be holy,
Maybe, that’s the problem,
I forget to, ask your aid,
And end up missing my aim

To be holy, that’s my aim,
When I miss, who is to blame?
Help me Lord, to hit my aim

Sometimes I feel so dirty,
And I don’t deserve your mercy,
(But) thank you Lord because you forgive
If I only have faith and believe

To be holy, that’s my aim,
When I miss, who is to blame?
Help me Lord, to hit my aim



The problem with me is that I have weaknesses in specific areas. It is in those areas that I tend to sin and fall short of God's glory. I think its the same for most Christians. If your problem is lying, for example, after a whole day of lying, you'll feel terrible about your sin and ask God for forgiveness. The next day, its the same pit fall, the same weakness and so you mess up again. That evening you again repent. Day three begins, and yet again, its the same weakness, the same pit fall, you mess up but then you wonder, am I mocking God? Every night its the same line, "sorry Lord, please forgive me." You wonder whether God begins to feel mocked. You keep saying sorry for the same sins and yet you keep asking for pardon for them. Its almost like making a mockery of God. In the end, certain days, you won't ask pardon because you wonder if you're playing games with the almighty God. For others it could be, an addiction, drinking, smoking, pornography, lying (yup I know people who lie all by themselves, no pressure on them, they just open their mouth and start lying). For me I felt like I was mocking God, and I'd pray, "God, here I am again, the same sin, I'm sorry, please don't feel that I'm mocking you."


In the second verse, as I was penning this song, I wanted to convey the fact that, I am trying hard not to sin. Then I realised that maybe that was the problem, I couldn't do it on my own, I needed him to help me hit my aim. And don't we all?