Allen Hunt's Blog

Rick Warren did it. And he did it well.
He helped many Christians get out of the muck of being toadies for the Republican party.
He demonstrated that Christians can be intelligent, compassionate, and diverse.
Best of all, Rick showed America the best of the faith.
The Saddleback Civil Forum on Saturday night was brilliant in its conception and its execution.
Rick gave both candidates time and space to answer as they wished. He asked incisive and insightful questions. He did not wade in with his own views on any given issue.
In short, he was brilliant. Amazingly, even the Washington Post saw that.
And he raised questions that Christians should be interested in, whether they are or not. E.g., the fact that there are more than 150MM orphans in the world today. How does the Church partner with the government to do something about that?
All in all, it was a great night. Both candidates seemed comfortable. Rick plainly stated that he is "friends" with both Obama and McCain while not agreeing with everything either of them espouses.
He re-introduced civility into the American political conversation. Here's wishing the rest of the media would follow suit.

Astonishing! Barack Obama has embraced President Bush's idea of the faith-based initiative. Astonishing! See this article for typical responses.
Bush considers these initiatives his greatest legacy.
Obama says the government needs help in solving the nation's problems and these partnerships help accomplish that.
Bush and Obama are both wrong.
There is no such thing as a government-funded faith based initiative. To receive funding, the recipients must pledge not to "proselytize" the persons they serve and agree not to "discriminate" against non-believers or people from other religions in their hiring of workers to administer the funds and programs.
What this means is a faith-based initiative is gutted of its faith. Faith is the reason why these people and programs are serving people in shelters, AIDS clinics, and after-school programs. The workers are motivated by their faith. Faith is WHY they are there.
Their faith gives them the compassion they are sharing. To tell them they cannot share their faith or allow faith to play an overt part in the program turns the initiative into social work.
Nothing wrong with social work, but social work does not cure the soul.
What you get when you take the faith out of a faith-based initiative is just another government program.
So it makes sense when Obama says he only wants funds given to those ministries (without the faith) who are getting the job done. Just like all those other government programs that get the job done, huh?
Obama and Bush are both wrong.
Let the Church be the Church. Let the Church offer compassion, hope and faith. And leave the government out of it.

On this one, Rush is wrong.

I love Rush. He is brilliant, entertaining and funny.

But with Operation Chaos, he has gotten it all wrong.

Voting is a divine gift. It is not a constitutional right. It is much, much more than that.

America set out to live the ideal that "all men are created equal." We were "created." That's right - we are all made by a Creator in His image. We are made equal, and we are made free. It is government, or other humans, who oppress us or set us in bondage. We are created free in the image of God.

Moreover, America set out to live the ideals that we are endowed "by our Creator" with "certain inalienable rights," like "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Those inalienable rights come from God. Again, we are created free.

So, if our rights come from God, that means they do not come from the government, or even from the Constitution. The Constitution merely protects what God has given.

Moreover, our government only gets its authority to govern from the consent of the governed (that's us, The People). John Locke first set out this idea, the Founding Fathers built on Locke's thought, and Lincoln etched it in our memories with the idea of government "of the people, by the people, for the people."

The government has no authority on its own. It receives its authority from us. How? When we vote.

When we vote, we exercise our divine freedom, our right to govern ourselves. When we vote, we give our consent to those who will govern over us.

These are God-given, noble goals. They are what we were created for. Created by God. We do not exist for the government; rather it is vice-versa.

And here is where Rush gets it wrong. To use that divine gift of voting as a weapon is to misuse the divine gift. We do just that when we cross-over, pose as something we are not, and vote for someone who is our last choice with the intent to do harm. It is wrong whether Republicans or Democrats do it. Wrong because it appeals to our basest instincts rather than our highest ideals. Wrong because its first goal is to do harm. Wrong because it takes a divine gift (voting) and treats it like a disposable diaper (soiled and to be thrown away without regard). We Americans are a better, nobler people than this.

Thus, Operation Chaos (Rush's brilliant political scheme) bastardizes the vote. The plan demeans, devalues, and debases the divine gift. Rather than standing FOR something, the voter merely deceives others in hopes of doing harm. It reduces the duty and privilege of the citizenry to the level of base warfare.

Millions in Myanmar would do anything to be able to cast a vote FOR someone other than the oppressive ruling junta who lets millions suffer needlessly from a cyclone whose effects could be remedied. The suffering yearn to vote, to exercise the divine gift of freedom, self-governance, and consent. In the meantime, many here in America (still the shining hope of the world) "chaotically" misuse the divine gift of voting rather than cherishing it as the rare blessing that it is.

For the first time ever in my voting career, I am headed to the polls with absolutely no idea how to vote. I have always made fun of folks who went to the polls without a clue, and now I R one.

To be honest, this surprises me a bit since we have had more candidates in the race than ever before. One would think that I could get excited about at least one of them. But I truly have no idea.

For every candidate, I can find something I like and something that turns me off immensely.

By the end of the day, the two big nominations will be all but sealed, I will have contributed to that process as a voter, and yet I head to the polls without a clue. Please pray for me!

Like I said on the show last weekend, I want to see more faith in the Presidential election. Why are Huckabee and Romney the only two who get asked about their faith? Asking all the candidates to share about their faith, the origin of their moral and values systems, and their philosophies of life only serves to help me know a candidate better.

My faith teaches me 5 things about politics
Faith teaches me
1)Hope comes from God, not the government. No candidate or party is going to usher in the Kingdom of God.

2)No candidate is Jesus; nor does any candidate have a corner on the faith marketplace. The candidates are human beings like the rest of us; they are not divine.

3)Freedom is precious and rare and therefore to be valued. Freedom of religion and freedom of speech are precious gems of our republic and I want as little government interference as possible.

4)Weak and vulnerable matter. That includes the homeless, the mentally ill, and the unborn. How you provide protection and help to them varies. Often, government is not the answer here either and the free market may do a better job. I'd like to know a candidate's faith in order to get their perspective on this.

5)I am happy for candidates to talk about their faith. We are big people, we're grown ups, and we can handle hearing their answers. We can use that as part of our decision making – just do not expect me to use their faith as my sole criterion for supporting a candidate.

The Hillary Haters are out. And they are filling up my inbox.

It surprises me that Hillary haters cannot have a calm, reasonable conversation about her. I do think her faith is real and sincere. That does not mean that she is the best candidate for the Presidency of the United States, but I think it is important to acknowledge.

She grew up very active in the Methodist church.

Her first date with Bill was to a Billy Graham crusade.

Faith plays a large role in the formation of her political positions. I think she believes the government can solve poverty issues. And racial justice issues. Some Christians think socialism is the right answer. I strongly disagree with that view, but I respect it.

And her relationship with Billy Graham has an air of authenticity. Their interview on the Billy Graham special last week that shared snippets from all the Presidents and their wives who are living, revealed how faith played a large role in her forgiving Bill for his affairs. I respect that.

But the Hillary haters cannot even give her credit for that. Hatred blinds any grace.

I do not suggest that you vote for Hillary. I do suggest that you look at how your faith impacts how you vote.

And in 2008, that will be tough for someone who is a devoted follower of Christ.

Well, the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles met and decided to give Troy Anthony Davis 90 more days to make his case. Good news and bad news.

Good news - at least they are trying to hear all the evidence before sending this man to his death by lethal injection. It is always good to know whether a person actually committed the crime before executing them.

Bad news - it looks like the death penalty will still be in play if it turns out that the evidence remains strong that Davis killed a police officer in 1989.

I have no idea whether Davis committed the murder or not. I do know that executing Davis in the name of the state of Georgia solves nothing. It brings no healing. It has cost the state of Georgia enormous sums of money. Davis may or may not have actually done the crime.

Executing Troy Anthony Davis would be just one more death.

Life without parole is punishment that fits the crime - any crime.

Memorial Day weekend came and went. I got to spend lots of time with my family, and we went to movies and rented movies. First time in a long time.

My reviews:

1) Facing the Giants - much better than I expected. B+. Low budget film made me fear it would be another embarrassing Christian flick. Turned out to be inspirational, well done, and enjoyable. High school football coach encounters adversity and the power of faith.

2) Waitress - went to see this instead of Pirates of the Caribbean 3. Odd movie. Unique movie. Entertaining movie. WOman trapped in loveless marriage has remarkable ability to bake pies. WHo thought this up? Has love tryst with her doctor and sees new possibilities for her life. Not the most moral movie of all time. Odd, unique, entertaining. C+

3) The Holiday - rented this one. Entertaining and light.Jack Black can act - who'd have thunk it? Typical European portrayal of American girl as loose slut and English woman as sexually prudent and proper. Overcomes this boorishness with lighthearted fun and unique story line. B.