By What Standard?

The NY Post is reporting that Barack Obama is beginning to court the votes of young evangelicals and Catholics. His campaign is launching the "Joshua Generation Project" to "...solicit, engage, and win the votes of young evangelicals, young Catholics, and 'people of faith.'"

According to a source who spoke with the Brody file,

"The Joshua Generation project will be the Obama campaign's outreach to young people of faith. There's unprecedented energy and excitement for Obama among young evangelicals and Catholics. The Joshua Generation project will tap into that excitement and provide young people of faith opportunities to stand up for their values and move the campaign forward."

Now I know what you are probably thinking. How can a man who is so completely in support of things like abortion expect to win the votes of committed Christians? Well the first thing to realize is that Obama is (or at least claims to be) a committed Christian. The other thing is that the "values" of the majority of young evangelicals are changing.

"...the Obama campaign understands that the issue of abortion is a problem for some voters of faith. They respect that and understand if some just simply can't come on board because of that. However, they look at this project as a way of broadening the values discussion. Poverty, Darfur, Climate Change and yes,
even the war are issues younger Evangelicals may be able to see eye to eye on with the Obama campaign."

The irony of the support that Obama is gaining from young voters has not been lost on some members of the media.

"It's surprising that 18 to 30 year olds, the most pro-life demographic in a generation, is the same voting bloc from which Barack Obama, the most anti-life presidential candidate ever, draws his most ardent supporters."

It should be surprising, and yet in some ways it is not. It seems that today's Christians (regardless of what age group they fall into) are increasingly moving away from the standards for life that God has set forth. We ignore the biblical standards regarding dress, life, and sexuality and instead look to the culture around us for our values. If we ever want to see a difference in our culture, then we must turn back to using God's commands as the standard by which we live our lives. We need to stop asking "How does my culture view this issue" and instead ask "How does God view this issue". It is only then that we will see true "change we can believe in".

"And you will know that I am the LORD, for you have not followed my decrees or kept my laws but have conformed to the standards of the nations around you." Ezekiel 11:12