There was a time when I used to listen to James Dobson. I was a young kid in high school and college and you heard his name a lot. I read a couple of his books, and I even had friends whose parents played his cassette tapes on the birds and the bees for them. But somewhere in the past decade or so he seemed to become more and more irrelevant.
Now two things are probably happening:
- I have gotten older, matured, and my views: spiritually, theologically, psychologically, politically, etc. just don’t line up with James Dobsons’.
- The current younger generation (late teens to early 30′s) just don’t find Dobson to be very relevant. A lot of people in my Christian circles as Tyler mentions, don’t even know who he is.
- I think we are tired of some major evangelical figures coming out and acting as if they speak for us. Whether he is trying to do that or not, that’s how it appears, and it rubs people the wrong way. This isn’t just limited to James Dobson. But why do we see the same evangelical leaders paraded before the media for a sound bite on various issues? I don’t think most of us believe they speak for us.
Now, I don’t think Barack Obama or James Dobson speak for me, but I just wish there would be some new Christian leaders..not to speak on our behalf..but to offset some of the noise coming from certain evangelical circles. In this day and age there are many, many voices, and therefore not one voice speaking for all of us. Rather, I think you will find a majority of younger Christians identifying with ideas and thoughts coming from a variety of people, rather than one person.
I also agree with some of the bloggers. Dobson’s worldview seems to be a very homogenous, conservative, understanding of the world. It’s a very different view than the pluralistic, diversified world we live in. Christianity also looks very different to these two groups.
I like what Dr. Mouw said a week or so ago about Christianity and public policy. His post was concerning gay marriages in California, but I think it’s appropriate words when we talk about Christianity, politics and public policy.
In the debates about public policy, however, I know that I cannot simply quote Scripture or cite ancient theologians in order to defend my position. I do not believe that everything that is declared sinful in the Bible ought to be decalred illegal in contemporary pluralistic societies. Here we enter a more pragmatic arena where we need to explore with our fellow citizens whether we have any common assumptions about what makes for a healthy society, and whether we can then figure out a workable arrangement that can accommodate our respective moral convictions. Unfortunately, that is not an easy discussion to have in the present climate.
Check out this news story on the debate, and then check out some of the commenters below:
Tyler has a good post on Dobson v. Obama: The Battle Begins, and besides some of the posts I found on this issue, Tyler has some pretty good links to the back and forth arguments.
Several key people weigh in, one of them being Scott McKnight over at Jesus Creed (205 comments and counting).
Zach Lind has a post, Yo Mr. D! Keep walkin’….
My former college student Brad has a post over at The God Blog, James Dobson doesn’t speak for me either. In Brad’s blog he links to the James Dobson Doesn’t Speak For Me website which states the following.
James Dobson doesn’t speak for me.
He doesn’t speak for me when he uses religion as a wedge to divide;
He doesn’t speak for me when he speaks as the final arbiter on the meaning of the Bible;
James Dobson doesn’t speak for me when he uses the beliefs of others as a line of attack;
He doesn’t speak for me when he denigrates his neighbor’s views when they don’t line up with his;
He doesn’t speak for me when he seeks to confine the values of my faith to two or three issues alone;
What does speak for me is David’s psalm celebrating how good and pleasant it is when we come together in unity;
Micah speaks for me in reminding us that the Lord requires us to act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with Him;
The prophet Isaiah speaks for me in his call for all to come and reason together and also to seek justice, encourage the oppressed and to defend the cause of the vulnerable;
The book of Nehemiah speaks for me in its example to work with our neighbors, not against them, to restore what was broken in our communities;
The book of Matthew speaks for me in saying to bless those that curse you and pray for those who persecute you;
The words of the apostle Paul speak for me in saying that words spoken and deeds done without love amount to nothing.
The apostle John speaks for me in reminding us of Jesus’ command to love one another. The world will know His disciples by that love.
These words speak for me. But when James Dobson attacks Barack Obama, James Dobson doesn’t speak for me.
Where do you come out on this issue?
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Let’s face it. The real problem is not who speaks for us. It is we can’t speak for ourselves.
About two months ago, The American Family Association announced on air, that “only six percent of all people who call themselves Christians truly understand the core message of the Bible. I am about to take issue with some of these beliefs.
The first idea I want to cover is the misconception of what love is. Speaking in terms of the adverage pew sitter or the non-Christians feelings or assumptions. These people do not permit Christians the right to preserve the Church. As soon as a Christian attempts to redirect a nominal Christian on his misunderstanding, the nominal Christian and the non-Christian become defensive and begin to attempt to pursuade the media and shallow asspects and individuals of the church that the Christian is out of line. He should be speaking in love!
Is this not the scenario James Dobson has found himself in? Is the church not attacking Dobson and standing in defiance against Christ when it takes part with the world to defend Obama’s errant theology?
Let’s take a look at what Jesus did when he enterred the Temple for the last time prior to his crucifixion.
The scene is of The Temple prior to Passover. People have turned it into an opportunity to sell unblemished sacrificially acceptable animals for atonement and various offerings of the five types. Jesus came to the Temple and found all manner of Greed and rivalry.
(Some backgroung information is this Temple is at this time called the House of Yeweh)
Jesus is discusted and begins turning the tables over and driving people out with a whip. Why? Because this place was the House of God. The lesson here is that we should protect it.
Now, fast forward to this day. The Bible tells us that God takes residence in the Church. Not the building, the people. So, when a man like Obama comes and begins to unite all of the periphal Christians, nominally belonging to the church in such numbers that what they say church will be like is in fact what most churches today are like.
The homosexual becomes a pastor of a congregation. This person does not want to hide his sexual preferrence any more. So, he has enough influence to encourage his congregassion that absolute values are old and not a part of the new covenant. T.D. Jakes, whom used to act appauled at abortion has now united himself with Barak Obama. A man who has said he would have his own grandchildren aborted than to allow his daughters to live with a mistake. Obama believes in the suicide of babies after they have broken through the womb.
Where is T.D. Jakes on these issues as he endorces Obama, now? The color of Obama’s skin has changed the affectiveness and validity of sound, fundemental, theology.
Now, you who think I am not acting correctly as a Christian, esspecially when you see the title of my blog. It is a manuscript that address the understanding a Christian ought to have (if it were not for liberal theology and relative values) if the Christian is going to call himself a Christian and be numbered among the six percent of true believers. If you think I am being cruel and unChristlike, look at what God said to Joshua. Listen as Joshua was about to struggle to take Israel, (God’s People) into the land God chose for His Name and His people, “Be Strong and courageous”. Jesus, upon his discovery of what people were doing to the house of God purged the Temple of its’ unclenliness.
This is what James Dobson and several other “Unpopular” evangelicals are doing. They are defending the House of God, The Church as God set up his home in us.
If I speak in terms that are not popular, appear judgemental or harsh, it is because you are in error and you are encouraging others to join you.
You may say, This guy does not know that Jesus said “Love One Another”. Yes, I do. In fact, that is the title of my manuscript and the only law of the New Testament.
Love means to look out for the best interest of others. That is what I am doing. Go on and mouth off in your blog. I am concerned for all people. My reason for mouthing off on your blog is to defend the Church, which you are part of. I want for you what God wants with you. God wants a relationship.
How can our society claim to love God and hate its brethren?
If you permit a Christian to error and not bring him back to a restored center of volition, you are not loving God, because you do not love your brother enough to help restore him. He wants to be a homosexual preacher. You say, o.k., let me do my part to make it happen. (I do not personnaly attack you with this. This is a generalization for whomever wants to claim it).
Jesus said, as you have quoted below, “Love one another. As I have loved you, so must you love one another. By this, all men will know you are my disciples if you love one another”.
The Bible tells a story of a man found beaten in a ditch. Are you the man who will leave him to die there? Or, will you help restore him?
This is what we are supposed to do with the brethren who have abandon God’s commands for “Holy Living”. We are to restore them. Not encourage them by helping them to pass laws that will aid their agenda.
This is not love. We are aiding these Christians to parish eternally. And what will your part be in it?
Brother or sister, whomever you are. You do not understand that the Only law of the Bible is Love One Another. In our translations of the scripture, this verse is mistranslated. The evidence of it being mistranslated if you can not read the Koine Greek, is the fact that “Love your neighbor as yourself” from Deuteronomy is the same as “Love One Another”. So, the only newness about it when Jesus is translated to have said, “A new command I give you, Love One Another” is by virtue of the word “Command” being “Law”. Now it makes sense.
The New Covenant vs. The Old Covenant. The New Testament vs. the Old Testament. The New Law, Vs. the Old law.
“Love One another” is a new Law by virtue of Jesus having fulfilled the Old Law and putting it to rest for anyone who will claim faith in Christ to have done that.
What God created man for is relationship. We were created with a free will that we would edify God in our desire to commune with him and one another. The problem has become one issue with many different facits. Man kind believes that they were created for self. You can choose self. That is why Adam and Eve were found with Sin. The very essence of sin is self indulgence without consideration to a relationship with God. The list below is entirely unaligned with God’s desire for man. No, Dobson does not speak for you. He does not because Dobson is a teacher of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And you, you have determined to live life for yourself. And somehow, you believe that you are not party to the people whom Jesus has said, “Not every one who says Lord, Lord, will enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
James Dobson doesn’t speak for me.
He doesn’t speak for me when he uses religion as a wedge to divide;
He doesn’t speak for me when he speaks as the final arbiter on the meaning of the Bible;
James Dobson doesn’t speak for me when he uses the beliefs of others as a line of attack;
He doesn’t speak for me when he denigrates his neighbor’s views when they don’t line up with his;
He doesn’t speak for me when he seeks to confine the values of my faith to two or three issues alone;
What does speak for me is David’s psalm celebrating how good and pleasant it is when we come together in unity;
Micah speaks for me in reminding us that the Lord requires us to act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with Him;
The prophet Isaiah speaks for me in his call for all to come and reason together and also to seek justice, encourage the oppressed and to defend the cause of the vulnerable;
The book of Nehemiah speaks for me in its example to work with our neighbors, not against them, to restore what was broken in our communities;
The book of Matthew speaks for me in saying to bless those that curse you and pray for those who persecute you;
The words of the apostle Paul speak for me in saying that words spoken and deeds done without love amount to nothing.
The apostle John speaks for me in reminding us of Jesus’ command to love one another. The world will know His disciples by that love.
These words speak for me. But when James Dobson attacks Barack Obama, James Dobson doesn’t speak for me.
Not that this will soften any hearts toward me. However, I realized that I said something that sounds as if I am stating that babies are committing suicide. The correct understanding is, obviously, they are being murdered.
i was hoping that comment could be longer.