Mara Vanderslice: November 2008 Archives

Over 750 emails now have been sent to Focus on the Family, rejecting the 2012 fear mongering letter!  Please help us keep them coming!

Here are some of the highlights from the emails we've received of letters that have been sent to James Dobson and Focus on the Family Action.  You can view many more on the Matthew 25 website.

You have, for many years now, served as a trusted voice of and for Christian witness in our country. I am deeply saddened, even disgusted, at the fear that you instilled in innocent and less informed members of the Church in our country when writing the letter from 2012. I believe strongly that we are called to action in the politics of our nation, but we must do so in the light of a living and loving God, One who I believe calls us into dialogue and reconciliation, one who gave us minds to think through difficult issues and not simply to make assumptions and "prophecies."

I am deeply disappointed and offended by your letter and have great hope that you will consider posting a public response to the droves of people who sit in disagreement with your tactics.

I am an evangelical Christian, active in an evangelical church, wife of a youth pastor. Please encourage your listeners to ask God to bless our country and its people. Please encourage your listeners to seek God's will as they cast their ballot. Please stop encouraging your listeners to hate those who think differently than themselves. This is what you are doing. You are vilifying Sen. Obama, a fellow Christian. You are giving Christian people permission and encouragement to speak out against Sen. Obama as if he were the antichrist. This is wrong. I'm living with the result of your encouragements. I'm hearing hateful things out of mouths that ususally speak the truth in love and they often reference your publications! Please steer your readers to love and good works, faith in God's soverignty and hope that God can bless us as a people, as a nation. Stop encouraging people to personalize their worst fears in the face of Sen. Obama. This is neither the faith that we are called to nor the hope that we have been given. If you differ, speak out. But with God's love and hope that He is still in control.

I am a believer in Jesus Christ, served on the mission field and have appreciated your books and ministry. After receiving 2012, I am pulling out my support for Focus on the Family not because I have gone "liberal", but because I am very disappointed with the direction you are taking. I love the church and desire unity whole heartedly, and 2012 seeks to divide the church, which is what the enemy wants. Christ transcends partisan, Dr. Dobson. Grace and peace to you, because I abhor slander, esp. in the body of Christ.

I just have to let you know that I am very disappointed in the letter you have published about the ramifications of Obama being elected president. The things you say in this letter do nothing but continue to alienate Christians from from the hurting world that we have been called to reach. You are taking a stand on an issue (homosexuality) to the exclusion of all others, and I have a hard time understanding why you believe that this one particular sin will be the one that will "ruin" our America. Sin is sin. You and I are just as sinful. I have had a stellar Christian education both as an undergraduate and graduate student, and I work in the field of mental health. So many people are afraid to come to the church and to the counseling clinic, to approach pastors and Christian counselors because of the approach you take to this issue in a public manner. Being a Christian is not about self-preservation or the preservation of an elite group, it is about sacrificing self to meet the needs of others - ALL others, whether we agree with them or not. Please, please, please be careful with the power you have.

For years I have been using Focus On The Family videos and materials in my church programs for young parents and families. I have always found you and your organization to be a great asset to our Christian churches.

However, I am appalled at the recent letter sent out by Focus On The Family Action which I understand to be an offshoot of Focus On The Family and its ministries. We have had too much anger, hate, and malevolence spread in this campaign. I can not believe this is the way God would have us act as Christians. Our God is not a God of fear; rather a God of hope, love and forgiveness. I am sure that whatever the outcome of the upcoming election our God is BIG enough to handle it, and to continue to help us work our way through our problems and difficulties should they come.

My prayer for you is that you help us by continueing to preach a gospel of hope. Also by helping us to be proactive in our Christian witness by taking the high road rather than sinking to the levels of fear-mongering.

I am very grateful for the support and inspiration that I received from your program as a young stay-at-home mother. I was saddened when I had to quit listening to your program because of the increased political partisianship that was not in the spirit of Christian love. But I am shocked by the contents of the Letter from 2012! This letter not only appears to be an act of political despiration but seems to proclaim the idea that God is somewho limited by a single election. The letter is also hateful and appeals to a great number of human instincts that are not Christian--prejudice, fear, and self-protection. Not to mention the fact, that unless you are claiming prophetic powers, there is no way you can make the claims in the letter. Most, if not all of the claims, are not even a part or even hinted at in Obama's platform.

Quite honestly, I think Focus on the Family should be ashamed and owes not only Obama but the American people an apology. THe church is losing a generation of people thanks to these kinds of hateful tactics. I know that God won't allow this to happen but as a supposed Christ-based organizaiton, I would think you would be concerned.

Proverbs 6:19 states in part that God finds detestable "a man who stirs up dissension among brothers." You are doing this very thing. I urge you to take down this hateful, fear-filled letter and ask Mr. Obama for forgiveness for maligning his character in this manner.

It's not too late to send your message to James Dobson and Focus on the Family. To send a message, click here.