Posted on 08/16/2008 11:59:35 AM PDT by XR7
LAKE FOREST, Calif. — When John McCain and Barack Obama appear on the same stage today, they will vividly demonstrate the reach that has made the Rev. Rick Warren among the most significant evangelists of his generation.
He's a megastar who leads the nation's fourth-largest church and reaches thousands of ministers through the Internet and crusades against poverty and AIDS. That globe-trotting work and his successful book — "The Purpose-Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For?" — puts him at the vanguard of a movement that inspires young, socially conscious Christians.
But his willingness to soft-pedal political issues once central to U.S. evangelicals, such as opposition to abortion, has opened him to criticism that he has strayed from his calling to spread the Gospel.
Today's forum also is a sign of religion's importance in the 2008 presidential campaign, and the emergence of a new style of evangelical leadership on the national stage that is not tied to a single party and has broadened its social agenda beyond that of the religious right.
"This is absolutely a changing of the guard, and it suggests that the new guard of the evangelical movement is able to generate the attention and focus of both parties," said D. Michael Lindsay, a sociologist at Rice University and author of "Faith in the Halls of Power: How Evangelicals Joined the American Elite."
Warren personally invited the two candidates — "friends of mine" — via their cellphones. His event at the Saddleback Church will be broadcast live on CNN and Fox News Channel and streamed on the Web. It has among its aims "helping the church regain credibility and encouraging our society to return to civility," he said.
It's likely that fans and critics will be watching closely...
(Excerpt) Read more at seattletimes.nwsource.com ...
She and her brother, Bahney, speak franktalk .. needs translation.
I still feel that my vote was the right one...
But now we have Mccain...
I can only hope his VP pick is the right one ...
Duncan Hunter has not been mentioned , YET...
Eric Cantor has though...
Both candidates were quizzed for their views on same-sex marriage and abortion, Obama sidestepping when asked directly to give his view on when a baby began to enjoy human rights.
“I think that whether you’re looking at it from a theological perspective or a scientific perspective, answering that question with specificity is above my pay grade,” Obama said.
McCain, who is opposed to abortion, replied bluntly to the same question. “From the moment of conception,” McCain said. “I will be a pro-life president and this presidency will have pro-life policies.”
From AFP
What did you think of that 6 to 1 mil donation lie they put out this week? Shameless.
CNN said Antichrist?!?!
yes, that’s why I put the time up too, so researchers could find it easily
Yeah, strange how we who oppose abortion are ‘anti-abortion’, but those who support it are ‘pro-choice’. Weird!
Sorry
Silly me
you gave me the link
I’m getting sleepy...
Worn out with exitement...
:)
How can you stand to listen to him for
more than 10 minutes? Great resume ..
annoying, stiff and preachy speaker.
CNN hires some idiots?
Re: Miss Didi’s post #1609
Let’s all contact McCain and tell him to pick a pro-life, conservative VP.
Even those of you who will vote for McCain regardless of who he picks, if you want him to win, encourage him to do he right thing.
McCain needs to be FReeped. That’s what FR is all about - A-C-T-I-O-N
I’m so sorry, I forgot to add you to my prayer request in post #185, earlier tonight. But I’m sure you were praying without my prompting.
And I think our prayers were answered, don’t you?
Great reviews, thanks and keep it up!
Add to that completely irrational last time I heard him on radio.
I am so proud of McCain tonight. I could only watch about 2 minutes of Obama. All I saw from him was uhhh, ahhh, and what was with his head slanted so far over? Sorry if this has been covered in this thread already.
Ann Lewis thinks Obama should pick Bidden. Why so they can plagiarize each other speeches? Does Obama not commit enough gaffes by himself?
13,000,000 dead black babies...
How does Obama explain that to the black community ????
The stench is mightier than the shine ...
Sounds like a great American grandson...
:)
OT: 52 seats on a bus?
Obama to General Wesley Clark: Your Services Not Needed
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steve-clemons/obama-to-general-wesley-c_b_119342.html
(psyop, he’ll be there... trust me, he needs every ex-mil head he can get)
Among the points they made:
-Their greatest moral failure.
“The failure of my first marriage,” said McCain. “It’s my greatest moral failure.”
Obama said he experimented with drugs and drank during a “difficult” youth when his father had left and he himself was overly selfish. “I couldn’t focus on other people,” he said.
-Most gut-wrenching decision
McCain said it was when he refused early release from a North Vietnamese prison camp because it would have put him ahead of fellow American prisoners in violation of their code of conduct. “It took a lot of prayer,” he said.
Obama said it was opposing the war in Iraq at a time it was politically risky and he believed that Saddam Hussein did mean to harm the United States. However, he said he did not believe that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction.
-On the meaning of their own Christianity
“It means I’m saved and forgiven,” said McCain.
He told how his faith sustained him while a prisoner of war in Vietnam, telling how one of his captors treated him humanely and once secretly drew a cross in the dirt to signal his own faith. “It was just two Christians worshipping together,” he said.
“It means I believe that Jesus Christ died for my sins and that I am redeemed through him,” said Obama. “That is a source of strength and sustenance. ... I know that I don’t walk alone.”
He said that influences his belief that people should think about helping the needy.
-The three wisest people they would consult as president
McCain listed Gen. David Petreaus, the architect of the surge strategy in Iraq; Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., a veteran of the civil rights movement; and Meg Whitman, the CEO of eBay, who created more than a million jobs.
Obama named two, his wife and grandmother. He also said he would consult bipartisan sources such as former Democratic Sen. Sam Nunn and Republican Sen. Richard Lugar.
-Supreme Court justices they would not have nominated
McCain named Stephen Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, David Souter and John Paul Stevens.
Obama said he would not have appointed Clarence Thomas because he wasn’t smart enough or Antonin Scalia because he disagreed with him.
-On sending troops to stop genocide
“Our obligation is to stop genocide wherever we can,” McCain said. He added that the United States can provide material and support, not just troops.
“I don’t think there is a hard and fast line at which you say we are going in. It is always a judgment call,” Obama said. “If we have it within our power to prevent mass killing and genocide and we can work in concert with the international community to prevent it, then we should act.”
-On when a child secures human rights
“At the moment of conception,” McCain said. “I have a 25-year pro-life record. ... I will be a pro-life president.”
“Answering that question with specificity is above my pay grade,” Obama said.
He said he supports limits on late-term abortions if there is an exception for the health of the mother. But ultimately, he said, he supports abortion rights. “I am pro choice,” he said.
-On marriage
McCain said marriage should be between a man and a woman. He said he’d leave it to the states to regulate, but that he would support a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage if a federal judge ordered all states to recognize one state’s gay marriages.
Obama also said he believes marriage is between a man and a woman. But he said he would not support a constitutional amendment to define marriage that way, saying that marriage historically is left to the states to define.
For more on the church, go to www.RickWarrenNews.com.
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