Who’d be the Prez? Barack v John and the so called Words

Tomorrow’s the big day. It’s the biggest race of all. Moatize will win. I jest of course. The Melbourne Cup will be on tomorrow but the bigger race – one which the whole world will train its eyes on – is the US Presidential Election.

I have received a number of emails emanating from Christian groups, asking recipients/readers to either vote for or pray for the election of John McCain and Sarah Palin. My first brush with this sort of communications was when it was “prophesied” John Howard would win the Australian federal election in 2007. Danny Nalliah was the alleged prophet and he of course, goofed big time. Missed spectacularly. He’d blamed it on Christians of course (yeah, really) and said it was because Christians didn’t unite in prayer and action, that a humanistic leaning candidate like Rudd got into office.

What poppycock.

That fiasco hasn’t taught Danny Nalliah to stop the foolishness. He’d probably say he had to remain faithful to his calling. Or something like that. He’d say he cant keep silent when God has spoken to him. Or something like that. Whatever his reason, his organisation has again sent out communications, this time asking people to pray against the election of Obama. He said as Christians we ought to seek the election of John McCain and Sarah Palin.

What poppycock.

Personally I’d love to see McCain win. He’s a fair dinkum fellow. Said he’d work towards over turning Roe V Wade. In spite of his support for Bushmania, I’d personally go for him, if I had a vote. Although I must say Palin is something else. In fact but for the choice of Palin for VP, I’d categorically go for McCain. That is what I think.

My personal view is just that – my personal view. Danny and his team should also clearly draw this line. They shouldn’t bully others into accepting their views, by falsely claiming it to be the will of God for McCain and Palin to win. It is dangerous and simply unacceptable to use the name of God in support of something which is entirely personal and little, if anything, to do with God. That is an even more serious case of using the name of God in vain, than someone who carelessly swear using Jesus’ name.

Danny Nalliah should stop dragging the name of God through his personal political mire. Gregory Boyd’s book titled “Myth of a Christian Nation” is a lucid, coherent and Godly piece of work which clearly showed the business of the Kingdom of God has nothing to do with the politics of this world. Danny Nalliah and his likes are doing an Eden – ie assuming knowledge in the sense that they are deciding what they thought was good, must also be what God wants. What presumptuousness. What poppycock.

I had made 1-2 entries on this issue in the context of the Australian federal elections last November, and I want to repeat those points here. I think it is misleading, deceptive and irresponsible of Danny Nalliah and his organisation to equate his personal views with a prophecy and to attempt to bully others into acting according to his personal views, by claiming they are God’s vision for the church. He should stop doing this and confess this wrongdoing to his brothers and sisters.

 

Nose Bleeds

Last Monday, while waiting for kiddo and Tress at the train station, I received a text from Tress saying kiddo was having a bad case of nose bleed. I asked if things are under control and Tress said yes so I got on the next train and headed for work.

At about 10 Tress said the bleeding had not stopped completely so I had to ask for permission to work from home, so that I could attend to her. I packed up to leave the office soon after and as I headed out  the office it was showering so I walked quickly towards the tram stop. That was when something snapped at the top of my left foot.

It felt like a wound up rubber band giving way. There was an immediate and sharp pain and I had to drag my foot for the rest of the way. For some reason, I had recently chucked a small bottle of anti-inflammatory tablets (Arthrexin) into my bag. As soon as I got onto a tram, I popped one and prayed…

Kiddo’s nose bleed stopped later that morning but my foot injury hasn’t completely healed. I haven’t been to the gym since. Sigh… I had packed my gym gear last night, hoping to do some light work today but this morning it still hurt to put my weight down on that foot normally.

Lately, I feel like I need to do so much more and be so much more careful just to maintain a certain level of health and fitness. I guess it really is hitting home  that body requires heaps more attention the older we get. I turned 43 recently. I would have liked to think that 43 is the new 33 so bring it on… but the reality is that while 43 can still be the new 33,   it would require the sort of work that a 43 year old would find hard pressed to put in!

My bigger concern however, is kiddo and her crimson nasal dam. It has been turned on far too frequently. We have received conflicting of advice and anecdotes about whether to cauterize the affected area. To us, the bleeding has occurred too frequently and on too serious a scale – each episode can go on for up to an hour and it’s on hair trigger now. Thursday night she was watching a DVD and it got to an emotional bit and she sobbed a bit and that was enough to set it off.  With summer round the corner we have to give this matter closer attention.