26th October 2008

Oh noes! I’m voting for the anti-Christ!

posted in Politics, Pop Culture, Religion |

Remember how I asked here whether Obama is supposed to be the anti-Christ, because some folks were giving us rally-ers the devil’s horn, as opposed to the finger?

Well, apparently I’m just a sweet, innocent naif from Alaska, wide-eyed and gobsmacked, because, yes, Virginia, there are folks who think Obama is the anti-Christ and that’s why they’re not going to vote for him.

Really and truly.

I was whacked by a 2×4 alongside the head with this realization when reading a 400+ comment thread on A Little Bit Pregnant.  One commenter flat-out said she wasn’t voting for Obama because he fit all the characteristics of the anti-Christ, and another one said she was pretty sure she was voting for McCain because she was merely worried that Obama might be the anti-Christ.

Setting aside the whole question of “OMG so you really believe this stuff?!”, I find myself puzzled by this approach.

Surely, if you think Obama is the anti-Christ, then you’re likely to be a person who believes in the End Times, in the Rapture wherein all good and righteous folk will be sucked up into Heaven to sit on the right-hand side of the lord, complete with halo and harp.  And you’re likely to believe that this is preceded by the second coming of Christ, which is preceded by the rise of the anti-Christ.

So wouldn’t it be logical to, say, vote for Obama in that case?  Wouldn’t that be hastening the aforementioned series of events?  Like, almost guaranteeing it?  Sing hosanna, vote Obama, get me to the Rapture on time?

(OmegaDad, when I broached this thought to him, told me that maybe these people secretly aren’t sure they’re going to be sucked up into Heaven come the Rapture, and that’s why they don’t want to vote for him.

Hmm.  This is always possible.)

Moving on:  No doubt someone will tell me that the reason for not voting for the anti-Christ is that the rise of the anti-Christ is supposed to be a time of terrible turmoil and misery for the world, and that no-one with a kind heart would want that to happen.  But…but…I thought all of that is gonna happen anyway in that world view, no matter what you do.  One way or another, the whole row of dominoes is supposed to fall; it’s all predestined.  So surely the faster it’s done, the less turmoil and tribulation, the quicker the Rapture?

I can’t wrap my head around this stuff.  I really can’t.  Here we are, living in an amazing world filled with man-made miracles, living lives of ease due to technological advances, a world where people are taking photographs of the further ends of space and the amazing intricacies of microscopic things on our own world, where people are living longer lives through the application of science, where practically every single instant of our days is touched, in some way, by science, technology, or the rational thought process…

…and there are still people out there who (first off) really, truly believe that there is such a thing as the anti-Christ, and (secondly) really, truly believe that Obama is him.  When I come across people like this, I think to myself (and come mighty darned close to saying out loud, or typing out), “You are just bat-shit crazy.”  Whoops!  There goes any pretense to tolerance I have.  Sorry…but there it is.

It’s a Bizarro World, indeed.

This entry was posted on Sunday, October 26th, 2008 at 6:44 pm and is filed under Politics, Pop Culture, Religion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

There are currently 14 responses to “Oh noes! I’m voting for the anti-Christ!”

  1. 1 On October 26th, 2008, joann in nj said:

    Hi Omega Mom.
    First of all, I don’t think Obama is the anti-Christ. I’m not a big fan, but he’s not the Devil. (and I am not voting for McCain either!)

    However, as a Christian, I do believe in the end of the world, as forseen in the Bible.

    How can any Christian not believe in the Bible? Do you really think people who believe in the Bible are “bat-shit crazy?”

    The majority of this country define themselves as Christians (yes, even Obama) which means HE believes in the end of days as well.

    So, if you believe that Christians who believe in God and the Bible are BSC (see above) and Obama, being a Christian also believes…do you think HE’s BSC?

    And if so…you’re voting for him?

    I’d really like you to respond to this…I’ve always appreciated your blog, but I am going to start cutting my bloglines starting with people who think I am stupid/crazy.

    Right now I am just irritated. But not postal.

  2. 2 On October 26th, 2008, Lisa said:

    I’m having a hard time with the tolerance this election. When someone tells me in seriousness that they think that Obama is the Antichrist, that is when I start to think there should be some kind of logic and reason test people should have to pass in order to vote. Sure, I can’t stand what Sarah Palin stands for. But do I think she’s a supernatural being who will bring on the Apocalypse? (Well, if Apolcalypse means the end of the world by global warming, then maybe. KIDDING.)

    I’m having a hard time bridging the gap between us and them right now. I really am. Particularly after we visited an apple orchard this weekend littered with “Yes on Prop. 8″ signs (the anti-gay marriage proposition in California). I’m starting to take this election personally. Is it almost over yet?

  3. 3 On October 27th, 2008, Kaz said:

    The power of religion in this world worries the hell out of me. It’s astonishing the amount of people who hand over all reason and free will on the basis of stuff written by Middle Eastern desert dwellers over 2000 years ago. It’s like the Enlightenment never happened. While I admit there’s wisdom in the Bible (and other religious texts such as the Torah, the Bhagavad-gita, the Koran, etc), it was all just invented by people. To me, ‘God’ is just a mythic figure, created at a time when people didn’t understand the natural world and needed a simple explanation. I’m sure Christians agree that Zeus, Osiris, Odin etc are myths and legends, so I don’t understand why they then believe that their ‘God’ exists! There’s no difference, people. And, while I’m here, I would like to point out that just because people like me don’t believe in any god(s), it doesn’t mean we’re not kind, considerate, caring people without a moral code - I can still be a humanitarian without having to prove it to a mythic supposedly all-powerful being or a bunch of people who will judge me. You may not be aware of this but, rather wonderfully, the British Humanist Society has raised enough money to have large adverts placed on a handful of London buses. The advert says, “There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy life”. While there’s been debate about using the word ‘probably’, I think we can all understand the sentiment which, for me, says it all really. Put ‘Atheist London Bus’ into Google and you can read all about it.

  4. 4 On October 27th, 2008, Johnny said:

    If you squint your eyes really hard, “Anti-Christ” can be read “Auntie Chris”. Well, okay, not really.

    Why can’t they say:

    1) I don’t want to vote for him because he’s too liberal

    or

    2) I don’t want to vote for him because I don’t know what a black man will do in the white house

  5. 5 On October 27th, 2008, lizard said:

    I totally agree with Kaz, up there.

    and for Joann, though you didn’t ask me, I would like to say that there is a difference among christians. actually, there are a lot of differences.

    there are christians who believe the bible as literal truth (batshit crazy/ BSC to me for sure) and there are christians who think it’s a bunch of educational and illustrative stories that are very useful and talk about the events on which they base their faith.

    there are christians who believe that if you believe differently from them that you will go to some mythical hell (BSC) and those who believe or understand that there are many paths to enlightenment and good, moral behavior, and that not all of them lead through their particular religion. There are even some christians who believe that the path can lead through no religion, though they fully admit that they are different and they have a faith. This kind seem to be to be the closest followers of christ.

    christians get a bad name because of course there are the BSC christians out there, there are people like Sarah Palin who says that she thinks the End of Days is coming in her lifetime and that it will look just like it says in the bible. There are loonies who believe that the bible is the literal truth, that everything in it happened exactly as it says, and that it is a good and right and true predictor of the future, not just a nice bunch of stories that try to illustrate good behavior. People who don’t know that there are many books of the bible that have been omitted (because not only was the writing down part done by men, but the choices of what is in and what is out was also done by men. Look for the apocrypha. There are other books that were excluded for various reasons).

    it is possible to be christian and not be BSC, and it is definitely possible to be BSC and not a christian. but in american politics, I have to say that christian and BSC come together an awful lot.

  6. 6 On October 27th, 2008, GrannyJ said:

    Hey — I’m all confused — I thought that Obama was the second coming!

  7. 7 On October 27th, 2008, Jean said:

    If the Anti-Christ is supposed to come first and do all this nasty stuff, to be followed than by the return of Jesus Christ (Jeshawa ben Joseph to his Apostles) who will scoop up all his believers for a life ever after of bliss in Heaven. than wouldn’t that be George W. Bush as the first and Obama as the savior???? I bet those bsc’s also are died in the 1860’s Creationist World.

    A good book by noted Christian scholar, Bart D, Ehrman is Lost Christianities, The Battles for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew. It’s an eye opener on how the Bible as we know it came to be.

  8. 8 On October 27th, 2008, preTzel said:

    Girl, you’re going to get the BSC squad knocking on your blog.

    Here is what confounds me about the religious: Predicting that Obama is the anti - Christ and predicting that Rapture will begin in 2012 (that’s the latest date) is much akin to being a prophet, a seer, and those, from what I recall, were all seen as devil worshippers and not true Christians.

    I have a cousin that believes if Obama is voted in to office the white people will be suppressed, white children will not get a “fair education”, and that we will see some white folks become white “slaves” to the black folk. Did I ever tell you about the one straight branch on our family tree?

    Hang in there K, I’ve got your back and I *am* BSC and don’t deny it. ;)

  9. 9 On October 27th, 2008, noreen said:

    The rise of the Christian right is the scariest thing that has happened in politics, in this country, in my lifetime. My biggest problem with a lot of the religiosity I encounter is that it’s not backed up with spirituality and to me, spirituality is what counts. This was a great post.

  10. 10 On October 27th, 2008, Elaine said:

    I don’t claim to completely understand the ‘logic’ at work here, but I’m guessing that the mark against you for voting for the Anti-Christ would probably mitigate against your chances of being swept up in the rapture. Even if you want the rapture to come, you can’t sully your morality by voting for evil.
    Or something like that.
    Yeah.
    I’m a Christian and believe that the Bible is inspired scripture - not literal, not inerrant, not historical - but still some good stuff. The ‘end of the world’ stuff, methinks, is metaphorical and prophetic not to be taken as a guidebook to the apocalypse. And if someone, like Joann perhaps, wants to take it all so literally, I’d recommend caution. For we are pretty clearly told that NO ONE knows the day or the hour that the end will come and that to claim to know that? Dangerous territory. Dangerous.
    Further, I’m pretty well convinced that neither ticket is headed by the Anti-Christ or by the Messiah. But I’m voting for the liberal black guy who seems to value the same principles of care for the poor and avoidance of violence that I find in the Bible. That’s my brand of batshit crazy.

  11. 11 On October 28th, 2008, Spacemom said:

    Ah yes.
    Joann-in-NJ
    Although the majority of this country is Christian, that doesn’t mean everyone believes the Bible is literal truth. There is no reason to assume that every person who is Christian believes exactly what you do. What does “believe in the Bible” mean any way? Does it mean you believe it exists? as in “I believe in ghosts”? Does it mean you take it literally? How do you reconcile the two forms of genesis? If they both are true what does that mean? Many Christians DO NOT BELIEVE THE BIBLE IS LITERAL. Many Christians simply try to live as Jesus lived and follow his teachings alone.

    If you’ve ever really read the accounts of the apocalypse, you would realize that John was seriously taking something when he wrote this.It was clearly written to scare people into a belief. The text is so incredibly crazy that it make an LSD trip sound like a walk in the park. Caompared to all other texts about Jesus, this one is the one that doesn’t fit. In fact, all of John’s writing doesn’t fit with the rest.

    Anyway, what I am saying, this is the part of the Bible that describes the anti-Christ. And it doesn’t fit with the rest. Did G-d already promise not to destroy the Earth again after the flood with Noah?

    Anyway, I am digressing here. To assume that ONE religion would dictate our election is a bit bat-shit crazy. America and the world are not all Christian. My family and I could care less what the majority believes because we believe Ben Franklin and that we need to avoid the tyranny of the majority! (I think it was Ben who said that!)

  12. 12 On October 28th, 2008, B mama said:

    I don’t have anything further to add - I agree wholeheartedly with Kaz and others above. But I’m glad you’re blogging about this Omegamom.

  13. 13 On October 29th, 2008, Kaz said:

    Spacemom - I’m afraid I don’t agree with your last paragraph and, seemingly, neither does the rest of the American public. According to the First Amendment Center: “Sixty-five percent of Americans believe that the nation’s founders intended the U.S. to be a Christian nation and 55% believe that the Constitution establishes a Christian nation, according to the “State of the First Amendment 2007” national survey released Sept. 11 by the First Amendment Center.” (http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/news.aspx?id=19031&loc=interstitialskip).

    Also “Polling data from the 2001 ARIS study, described below, indicate that: 81% of American adults identify themselves with a specific religion: 76.5% (159 million) of Americans identify themselves as Christian. Source: . I’m sorry but that seems to me to suggest that the vast majority of Americans class themselves as Christian of some form or other and 55% believe the US should be a Christian nation. How is this NOT going to affect their voting?

  14. 14 On October 29th, 2008, Kaz said:

    Whoops, sorry, managed to cut off the reference for the second paragraph - it’s http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_prac2.htm

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