The Democratic Convention on August 28th, 2008, was presented in a stadium that held 85,000 people. Senator Obama's acceptance speech was made in an ancient Greek temple set right out of Hollywood. With fireworks at the end and the figure of a giant horse at the top of the Greek Temple, it was a democratic celebration worthy of the heydays of Athens in pagan times three hundred years before Jesus came to the world.
It was ironic that the name of Jesus was not mentioned in the entire Democratic Convention of 2008. There were references to God, but not to Jesus. I think this is a first in American history.
The Democrats even brought a Greek Orthodox priest to pray at the second day of the Convention and he also didn't mention Jesus. He mentioned God and Lord, but in the context of God, not Jesus.
Obama would like to get the Christian vote and Senator Joe Biden is Catholic, but that doesn't seem to make any difference. Neither of them is invoking the name of Jesus during their campaign. I'm waiting for Senator Obama to declare himself to be a follower of Jesus. If he won't do that, I don't know what he's doing running for President of a predominantly Christian nation.
It seems to me that the whole Greek Temple theme is a way to capitalize on the Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. At the Olympic closing ceremonies we saw a great spectacle with Greek music and the glorification of pagan Greece from where the Olympic Games have come to us. The whole atmosphere of the Chinese celebration was an emphasis on peoples, diversity, and democracy, with neon-lit figures flying around all painted up and bejeweled like creatures of light. They were hoisted on wires that carried them above the giant stadium. There were dragons and thousands of dancers writhing in spectacular choreographic forms. It was amazing, as many people remarked.
The Democrats didn't go as far as the Chinese, but they clearly wished to carry over the theme of a secular humanist celebration of the Olympic Games in Beijing as they were in ancient Greece. It was not strange to see that there was no mention of Jesus during the Communist China hosting of the Olympic Games, but it was strange not seeing any manifestation of Christianity at the Democratic National Convention of 2008. Perhaps amazing is too charitable a term to use, but I'm going to leave it at that until the final debates commence between the candidates.
Now that the Democratic Convention is history, Senator John McCain announced that he was choosing a woman, the Governor of Alaska, to be his running mate. It is thrilling to see a Christian woman being picked to run as the Republican candidate for Vice-President. With the Republican National Convention coming up, I'm hoping to see a difference in the way the Republican Party approaches the subject of Christianity in America.August 19th, 2008