Is Hussein Your Middle Name?
2008 June 28
Mark Elrod, a political science professor at Harding, is featured in a New York Times article with the headline “Obama Supporters Take His Middle Name As Their Own.” Would that be Mark Hussein Elrod?
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Here is a shot of the Library of Celsus in Ephesus:
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Love it!
AlHusseinGuy
Not a Muslim
Silliness in light of the seriousness of this election. But then, that’s jmho.
I guess they’re all serious. This time it’s refreshing because there seem to be two good candidates. I could live with either one. But the students are making an important point: that slandering one of the candidates because his name isn’t one we’re used to IS silly.
I don’t care for either as a presidential candidate. Obama is an extreme liberal, dare I say socialist, and while I have respect for McCaine, he is not a conservative. He also puts a person to sleep.
I didn’t know about the New York times thing, but when I saw your group on facebook, I thought, “that’d be a good news story.” ! As the more conservative younger sister to J Valentine, (smile) I appreciate your take on things. I’m reading even though I don’t comment all the time. Have a good week.
I’m not big on bandwagons, so I won’t be jumping on the Hussein name change, but it’s a good idea. Obama’s middle name is treated like a curse word or indication of his status as a terrorist-in-disguise. Maybe this effort will help mainstream it, or at least take off the negative edge.
I’m sorry, I’m really slow. That’s Mark “Hussein” Elrod, political science prof at Harding. Wow. I wasn’t in the regular program when I was there (I was in the Omega class of HSBS, now CAMT), but was always under the impression that Harding was a Republican stronghold. Young Republicans and all that.
Either things have changes, or (more likely) I really needed to get out more when I was at Harding.
Obama is an extreme leftist and McCain is not much better. The country can’t afford either.
Speaking of Obama, he just hired an ACU grad, Shaun Casey, as his “religious affairs adviser.”
Thanks, Steve. You can read about it here. Shaun is a member of the Fairfax Church of Christ.
Mike – it was great to be at Highland yesterday – it had been way too long – sorry I didn’t get to shake hands with you again.
Wonderful to see our college kids developing their own political ideas and leanings.
It seems that people are making too much of a big deal over his name. It does not sound American enough for some people. But we must remember it is just a name, not a political position.
http://www.matthewsblog.waynesborochurchofchrist.org
Matthew Moore – “It seems that people are making too much of a big deal over his name.”
Exactly my point!
I cannot believe the support you are giving to Obama. He is pro-death (abortion), he is pro-homosexual. He is the most liberal member of congress. We are members of Christ’s church and you are outright supporting someone that goes so much against what Christ preached. This is a sad day for Harding and The Church.
Is there a reason you are deleting my response? All that I said was the truth. Obama is pro-death (abortion) & pro-homosexual which both go against Christ’s teaching. I am assuming that as member’s of The Church, you would care. This is a sad day for Harding and for The Church.
Thank you for putting my original response back.
Why did you take the last two posts of Chris #2 off? They were on 10 minutes ago.
Please ease up on the paranoia. I haven’t touched anyone’s comments. I didn’t take them off; I didn’t put them back on. You’re welcome to say what you want to.
About the comment, though: “You are outright supporting . . . ?” To whom is that addressed? I haven’t outright supported anyone.
My apologies with the 2nd posting. The message went away but then I refreshed a few minutes later and it was posted.
Chris – Your comments are flippant and hardly worth engaging, but I’ll bite anyway:
Would a “pro-war” stance also fall into the “pro-death” category? Where does your candidate stand on the issue of war?
My impression is that both candidates support going to war when justified, despite the inevitable high number of civilian casualties war causes. (43,000 Iraqi deaths just since 2005!)
Does “life” start at conception and end at birth, or do the lives of Iraqis matter just as much as those of the unborn?
Saying someone is “pro-death” because they don’t think turning the abortion industry into a black market is the best solution to reducing their number is pretty shortsighted, IMHO.
Chris,
If you’re upset over this wait till you read Dr. Elrod’s views on gay marriage.
Get ready for the ensuing comments:
-Jesus never said anything about homosexuality
-Jesus never said anything about abortion.
-Paul was a homophobic bigot
-We don’t worship the Bible
-The Bible isn’t our final authority and can’t be trusted
And so on.
Let the fun begin!
However, to those who do not care for the poor he will say: “Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food,..” Matt. 25:41-42.
When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” Luke 18:22
Chris, we support political parties who murder the poor (and Jesus) every day…
“Jesus didn’t speak at all about homosexuality. There are about 12 verses in the Bible that touch on that question. Most of them are very contextual. There are thousands of verses on poverty. I don’t hear a lot of that conversation.” – Jim Wallis
I want to see a majority of Christians out there adopting babies before they gripe about “respecting the sanctity of life.” Right now, I see a lot of Christians legislating abortion and doing nothing about protecting life on their own… Adopt or be silent!
Daniel “Hussein” Gray
I thought it was a given that God loves Americans more than others. And, is “Harding and the Church” a new religion? I missed the memo, but, then again I haven’t been through Arkansas in five years.
gt-
I love you.
Daniel,
Of course I do realize that no person who opposes abortion would ever adopt a child. And I am sure that Chris does not help the poor in any way. After all only liberals give to charity even though studies show that conservatives give a higher percentage of their income to charity. Look it up.
All you know of Chris is that he opposes abortion and feels homosexuality is sinful. You know nothing of his views on war, or if he gives genoursly to the poor, or if he has adopted a child.
All we get from you are judgements, arrogance and condacension.
Sorry for the harshness but it irritates me when someone feels strongly about abortion for example and the only comeback is “war is murder and you support that”.
gt – read Chris’ 10:03 post and ask yourself if it is condescending. I find it very condescending, because it forces the belief that Christians should monolithically not support the Democratic party, because of one or two viewpoints. I merely respond in the way I do, because Chris has posted her similarly intolerant comments on other blogs. The people who claim a “pro-life” platform are incredibly selective about its application. I merely challenge people to back up their political beliefs with word and action. Is that too much to ask or should be go on debating faith rather than living it?
I’m embarrassed — I do check your blog all the time, Mike, but when I commented I thought I was on Mark’s blog.
I do enjoy your take on things also! and your pictures, too.
There are two different “Chris” persons who are posting, however I agree with the other one.
Since somebody else cracked open the abortion door, I’ve got a question (actually, probably more than one). If Roe v. Wade is overturned and your state votes to criminalize abortion, who gets punished? Just the person who performs the abortion, or do you also punish the woman who voluntarily undergoes the procedure? Aren’t they equally culpable? And, what is the punishment? If we really believe abortion is “murder,” shouldn’t it the death penalty, or at least life imprisonment without parole? Just asking.
your right
chris is right
If Nancy Grace finds out Obama has a CoC adviser, Obama will not get the women’s vote.
I’ll change my middle name to Millhouse. For Barack Millhouse Obama.
Mike Lewis got me thinking. Millhouse is a middle name FAR worse than Hussein. Give me Hussein any day.
I’ll grant that outlawing abortion raises some pertinent questions–who should be charged? Should it be death penalty, etc? One thing is clear, however–the baby will not be sentenced to death, which is the current situation.
I know this isn’t the point of this post but something occurred to me reading some comments about abortion.
I don’t get why a 3rd position on abortion doesn’t come about and rival the other 2. I’m thinking something along the lines of pro-life as far as belief (which I think most Americans are pro-life) but believe in combatting abortions in a different way. What if our government threw some serious weight behind adoption initiatives and churches got out there and really encouraged it members to take on adoption as a new mission. To me right now, the two primary postions are only willing to talk about what the law should say. And while I’d prefer abortion to be outlawed, I agree with some of those on the left who point out some alternatives to abortion that aren’t being pursued enough. Personally, I think most of the religious left are using this stance to defend themselves on an issue that is problematice. But I would come closer to embracing a left wing candidate if they came out with a more aggressive and passionate solution to abortion (even if they defend Roe Wade) rather than just a defensible position.
Not sure if any of that made sense.
Kyle – it makes perfect sense. Sadly, people would rather legislate something than actually do something about it with their own lives. It’s a lot easier to tell people what to do rather than lead by example. Some Christians have it right, many do not.
There are mnay Christians that are against abotion and know that scripture is very clear that the homosexual lifestyle is sinful and also adopt children and others who are very generous in supporting numerous good works and also are engaged in a many good works of compassion. There some things we must always be against but there is also the balance of being involved in good works and proclaiming every positive command and truth found in the the scriptures.
Adoption is, no doubt, the solution. As to why Christians don’t adopt more… its the same reason this is even a discussion… the government!
My wife and I would adopt 2 kids TODAY (we already have 3) if we didn’t have to deal with a process which is often anti-christian. Can I love them as I do my own children and discipline them the same way? If not, how is that fair to them??? But a social worker who has most likely never had children is going to monitor how I raise them?
Just some thoughts.
“Mike Lewis got me thinking. Millhouse is a middle name FAR worse than Hussein. Give me Hussein any day.”
All y’all got me to thinking – I like my middle name and plan on keeping it!
M. Kathryn – otherwise known as ‘Kathy’
I love the pic of the Library in Ephesus. Seeing ancient architecture in person is such a pleasure, isn’t it?
Kerry — You said, “Can I love them as I do my own children and discipline them the same way? If not, how is that fair to them??? But a social worker who has most likely never had children is going to monitor how I raise them?”
I’m not following you here. I think you’re thinking about restrictions on FOSTER parents. I’m an adoptive parent, and I can assure that no social worker is monitoring how we raise our son. I’d hate for anyone reading this to be scared off from adoption by a myth. The government hasn’t made being an adoptive parent difficult for us. We received a huge tax credit, in fact!
Matt
Thanks for the info… I am probably a little jaded by the time we lived in California. Many Christian parents there were paranoid because a simple swat in the grocery store sometimes resulted in a visit by the authorities. I actually know a case in which a child was given back to an abusive family because a Christian parent spanked him.
You may indeed be right. I am not trying in any way to discourage adoption, but simply ranting about a secular goverment trying to infringe upon our families.
While there are many reasons to agree/disagree with presidential candidates, one reason I appreciate McCain (appreciate does not mean automatic endorsement) is the fact that the McCains did adopt their daughter. By example, a good way to emphasize pro-life.
Let’s give equal billing here. Cindy McCain’s Phoenix area pastor – Dan Yeary – graduated from Hardin Simmons, and spent time growing up in Abilene. Senator McCain attends, but apparently is not a member. Take that Hussein.
http://www.reporternews.com/news/2008/jun/28/pastor-to-mccain-has-abilene-ties/
“Jesus didn’t speak at all about homosexuality. There are about 12 verses in the Bible that touch on that question. Most of them are very contextual. There are thousands of verses on poverty. I don’t hear a lot of that conversation.” – Jim Wallis
Wow! Let me see if I can find a way out of Mr. Wallis’ inescapable logic here.
Well, how many verses are there on cannibalism?
This type of nonsensical thinking drives me crazy.
Somebody pass me the ketchup for ole Uncle Virgil’s thigh.
Wake up people!
but cannibalism is murder… pretty sure Jesus condemned that.
Not if it is road kill.
On a more serious note, Anna C., Jesus also condemned sexual immorality and I’m pretty sure that includes homosexuality.
but . . . . . . I’m not dead yet.
(with apologies to Monty Python)