OBSERVATION: Barak "Messiah" Obama??

Right from the onset, the Obamites have promoted their candidate with a theological mystique -- an unprecedented deification of a presidential candidate. He is not just a man of faith (the African-American Church of Liberation Theology is my best guess, so far), but the principal demigod in his own theology. He comes upon us apart from and above the confines and limitations common humanity.

His critics are dismissed without consideration as heretics and apostates. He is declared and praised in biblical proportions. The attempted canonization of the candidate is so obvious and flagrant that it is satirized in parodies of every sort, from television skits to political cartoons.

The problem is the difference between a true messiah and a politician with a messianic complex. Messiahs, meaning truly religious personalities of historic proportions, are few and far between. Those with messianic complexes appear all too frequently. They come to fame as those heads of state who engage in self-deification, such as Sadam Hussein and Haile Selassie. Those afflicted with a more secular strain of the “complex” are found among the most mesmerizing and infamous tyrants of our times, such as Adolph Hitler and Joseph Stalin. At the fringe, they are the tragic cult leaders, such as Jim Jones and Charles Manson.

Outside the example of tiny Vatican City, where the state and the church are co-joined, theocracies appear to join all other autocracies as largely dangerous institutions.

In times of uncertainty and travail, it is common for a people to turn to the charismatic orator – the spellbinder – relinquishing good judgment for … yes … blind faith. Unfortunately, it never leads to a good outcome. Granted, Americans are not living in mortal fear. Our condition is not desperate. We are not a messiah-seeking people as yet. It is still conceivable, however, to “fool all of the people, some of the time.” In the case of the Obamites, they are hoping to fool only 51 percent of the electorate through the pontification of platitudes that is now the defining characteristic of the Obama campaign.

Like all “messiahs,” Obama transcends geography. In a revealing moment, he used his speech in Germany to declare himself a “citizen of the world.” In his feigned humility, he places himself above mere head-of-state. His kingdom is larger than America. This gets reflected in his one rare legislative initiative that promises to redistribute the wealth of his people to the world in the form of the $800 billion Global Poverty Act.

The pathology of politician-cum-prophet is that it requires our surrender of rational judgment. Faith by its very blindness requires belief over analysis. In suspending judgment, we inevitably suspend our rights and freedoms. The false messiahs amass the judgmental power with the promise perpetual happiness. We need not struggle because there is a greater power that will care for us without the need of personal enlightenment, specific knowledge or even voluntary assent. We have the perceived benefit of a loving lord and master.

In the case of Obama, his appeal is a promised sovereignty over the kingdom of government, and the deliverance of its “blessings” to his people. He will use the collection plate at the great Capitol Cathedral to offer promises of healing for the ailing, comfort for the sorrowful, shelter for the homeless, food for the hungry and peace for the conflicted. He is a bit short on smiting evil, however.

Strip away the theological lamb skin and the religions allusions, and you find nothing more than the sharp-fanged wolf of extreme liberalism. Though well beyond implimention, Obama hopes that his well articulated unaccountable promises will carry him into office.

The problem with messianic leaders is that you wind up living in their church, whether you like it or not. We lose even the freedom of religious choice. In politics, when fans become followers, and supporters become disciples … be afraid, be very afraid.