| I still think that it was religion more so than race why Obama lost heavily in the Democratic primaries here in West Virginia and Kentucky this past May, especially among white Pentecostals and evangelicals in the solidly Democratic Appalachian coalfields where I bluemcdowell hail from. And not just me but a sufficiently large number of political experts much more intelligent about this than I am as well.
Some white Republican Pentecostals and evangelicals are now claiming that Barack Obama is the person mentioned in the Bible, namely the Book of Revelation, called the "Antichrist," which is supposed to assume power after the "Rapture of the Church" in which all true born-again Christians will meet Jesus Christ in the air, first the Christian dead which will be resurrected, and also "those who are alive and remain will be caught up together to meet the Lord in the air" according to their own biblical doctrine, and that the "Antichrist" will first make his presence felt immediately after the "Rapture of the Church."
Basically they cite Obama's middle name Hussein, which was deceased Iraqi dictator Saddam's last name, and the similiarity of Obama's last name to "Osama bin Laden."
Actually their very own biblical doctrine contradicts what they're saying, yet in an attempt to destroy Obama's candidacy because of abortion and other "values" issues they often cite these two reason in their attempt to help John McCain and the Republican Party keep the white evangelical and Pentecostal vote in West Virginia, Virginia, and Kentucky this November.
That false rumor has already spread like wildfire, especially in the West Virginia, Virginia, and Kentucky coalfields which is usually the most Democratic region of all three states, and could very well been a main reason Obama lost the West Virginia and Kentucky Democratic primaries by huge margins in both states, and is now being used to hopefully keep Virginia Republican Red in November as well since most current polls show Obama with a slight lead in the Old Dominion, which primarily because of heavily Democratic-trending Northern Virginia has a chance of turning Democratic Blue for the 1st time since 1964.
In McDowell County where I live that falsehood has already been spread all over the county, and sadly did impact the Democratic primaries here in the "Free State," and not just here but the rest of southern West Virginia as well.
And the shocking part about all this is that according to their very own biblical doctrine there is no possible way Obama can be "the Antichrist," as their very own doctrine which says that Obama has to a Middle Eastern resident who is half-Jewish.
Neither of Obama's biological parents were of Middle Eastern or Jewish descent, as his father was of Kenyan heritage, as Kenya is located in east-central Africa, and his mother of mostly if not 100 percent white Caucasian heritage. Obama also wasn't even born in the Middle East either of Palestinian or Jewish descent, as his birthplace was Hawaii instead.
Thus Barack Obama is neither of Middle Eastern or Jewish heritage according to Republican evangelicals and Pentecostals' very own teachings....
but as we all know by their continued support of the Republican Party and President Bush their leaders will use and do anything and everything necessary and stop at nothing at all to elect a fellow Republican to the presidency for another 4 years, primarily for McCain granting them more politically conservative justices like John Roberts and Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court to overturn Roe vs. Wade and for other Religious Right purposes...
including even disobeying and contradicting their very own biblical doctrine and teachings.
That falsehood may have contributed much more to Obama's landslide defeats in Kentucky and West Virginia's Democratic primaries to Hillary Clinton especially in what's actually supposed to be the most solid Democratic parts of the state, the Appalachian coalfields, than previously thought.
That false rumor is still very commonly spread here in McDowell County where I live. I have a close female friend whom her and her mom desperately want to vote for Obama this November but are hesitant to do so because of that falsehood.
Republican evangelicals and Pentecostals teach that if you take the "Mark of the Beast" or "the Antichrist" as mentioned in the Book of Revelation you'll immediately sign your ticket to hell forever and ever the very moment you do so.
Meanwhile Barack Obama is in fact a very devout and practicing born-again Christian...
while I've never heard of McCain as much as ever darkening a church's doors.
Sadly the damage may have already been done here in the normally Democratic West Virginia and Kentucky coalfields, where socially conservative Pentecostalism and evangelicalism has a very, very strong and loyal following, and could very well hurt us Democrats in our neighbors to the east the key swing state of Virginia which is very close to turning Democratic Blue for the 1st time since 1964 as well...
not to mention the all the other important swing states with large evangelical and Pentecostal congregations and denominations, like Missouri, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Iowa, Florida, and most definitely the all-important swing state of them all Ohio, in which white evangelicals and Pentecostals are widely believe to have the sole reason that Bush carried all those important swing states with the exception of Pennsylvania in 2004, and thus retain his seat in the Oval Office.
It's up to us Democrats to educate voters like my female friend and her mom whom is a very devout Pentecostal, both of whom could very well vote for Obama this November or sadly stay home and not vote at all because they thankfully don't like John McCain either.
Or else we Democrats might lose yet another presidential election due to so-called hypocritical "values" issues.
Sad but true.
I myself, actually with a majority of theologians, personally believe that the term "Antichrist" doesn't refer to one specific person at all but rather everything and everyone that are evil and opposed to Jesus himself and his teachings instead. |
