Posted on 03/31/2007 6:03:17 AM PDT by FairOpinion
Is Fred Thompson a member of the Church of Christ?
As the 64-year-old former Tennessee senator reportedly mulls a bid for president, a number of readers have e-mailed The Christian Chronicle with that question.
The 106th Congressional Record listed Thompson’s religious affiliation as “Church of Christ (Stone Campbell).” In an interview with the U.S. News and World Report this week, Thompson spokesman Mark Corallo said: “Thompson is indeed a Christian. He was baptized into the Church of Christ.”
Corallo did not immediately return calls from the Chronicle seeking additional information about the politician and Law and Order actor’s religious background.
David Pinckley, treasurer of the Pulaski Street Church of Christ in Thompson’s hometown of Lawrenceburg, Tenn., said the two grew up together.
“We went to school together, played football, went to church for many years here in Lawrenceburg,” Pinckley told the Chronicle on Friday.
“I don’t know his religious status right now, but we were both baptized around 1951 … 1952 maybe,” Pinckley added. “We were either 10 or 11 years old then. He was baptized at the First Street church in Lawrenceburg. It’s a non-institutional church now, but it wasn’t then.”
Thompson spoke in 1997 at a fund-raising event at Freed-Hardeman University, a Henderson, Tenn., college associated with Churches of Christ. Thompson used his speaking fee to create an endowed scholarship at Freed-Hardeman for history and political science students, said Stephen Morris, assistant professor of political science and university counsel.
The Robert and Ruth Thompson academic scholarship – named after Thompson’s parents – offers freshman scholarships worth between $2,500 and $5,000. His father is deceased, but Ruth Thompson lives in Franklin, Tenn., and remains a member of the Church of Christ, Pinckley said.
Thompson’s faith became an issue in the national media when Focus on the Family founder James Dobson appeared to throw cold water on a Thompson candidacy in an interview with U.S. News.
“Everyone knows he’s conservative and has come out strongly for the things that the pro-family movement stands for,” Dobson said of Thompson. “(But) I don’t think he’s a Christian; at least that’s my impression,” Dobson added, telling U.S. News that such an impression would make it difficult for Thompson to connect with the Republican Party’s conservative Christian base and win the GOP nomination.
Focus on the Family later issued a clarifying statement, saying that in the U.S. News interview, “Dr. Dobson was attempting to highlight that to the best of his knowledge, Senator Thompson hadn’t clearly communicated his religious faith, and many evangelical Christians might find this a barrier to supporting him. Dr. Dobson told (the reporter) he had never met Senator Thompson and wasn’t certain that his understanding of the former senator’s religious convictions was accurate. Unfortunately, these qualifiers weren’t reported. … We were, however, pleased to learn from his spokesperson that Senator Thompson professes to be a believer.”
According to U.S. News, Thompson has said he is leaving the door open for a presidential run and has won plaudits from conservatives who are unenthusiastic about the Republican front-runners. A Gallup-USA Today poll, released Tuesday, showed Thompson in third place among Republican and Republican-leaning voters, behind former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Arizona Sen. John McCain.
Divorced since the mid-1980s, Thompson married Jeri Kehn, a political and media consultant 24 years his junior, at First Congregational United Church of Christ in Naperville, Ill., in 2002. They have two young children. Thompson also has two grown sons and five grandchildren.
All the discussion about Thompson’s possible Church of Christ ties prompted a humorous challenge on the blog of Mark Elrod, a Harding University political scientist, at http://www.markaelrod.net.
In a post titled “The ‘I Saw Fred Thompson at a Church of Christ’ Challenge,” Elrod offered Web immortality to the first person to provide him “with a somewhat believable Fred Thompson sighting at an assembly of the Church of Christ (Stone-Campbell) in the last 20 years.”
Elrod asked specifically for any information on Thompson teaching a Bible class, presiding at the Lord’s table or leading singing.
“If it was 728b and you can prove it,” Elrod said of Thompson leading singing, “I’ll give you $100.”
Meanwhile, a few readers have contacted the Chronicle asking if Democratic president candidate Barack Obama, an Illinois senator, is a Church of Christ member.
The answer on that question is a bit clearer: Obama belongs to the United Church of Christ, a liberal denomination that ordains women and gays and supports same-gender marriage equality. The mainline Protestant demonination was formed in 1957 when the General Council of Congregational Christian Churches and the Evangelical and Reform Church merged.
I too am baptised Church of Christ. Was 13 when I was saved. The Church of Christ split to lose it autonimity.Not two branches, the original and the New Testiment's intent and the second, chasing followers with basketball and church kitchens and man voting for man things in stead of following God and being reverent autonomiously.
Bingo!
No he's not, and no, he isn't.
"We aren't electing a pope, and America doesn't want a king--the head of the national church.
I want a leader who can take us through these current troubles without destroying our nation."
Well, that's Rudy Giuliani.
The churches are all over the U.S, but in the northeast- where the main media outlets tend to be, they are very scarce. When driving in New England, you are much more likely to see the United Church of Christ than a (restoration) church of Christ.
I'm not buying it. It sounds like your idea of compromise is giving over entirely to the SoCons. Amazingly like the liberal view of "compromise."
I don't buy every argument Randall Terry et al brought forth in the Schiavo mess. I don't buy that the husband was dirt, and I REALLY don't buy that further rehab would have done her diddly squat. I don't buy any of the purported videos. The husband was legally her guardian. Who was to know what they'd shared together in private times. By all accounts he was extremely caring, above and beyond the call during the first couple of years, to the extent of traveling with her to places for experimental techniques. I've worked a lot of rehab and I have yet to see any significant gains more than 2 years out from brain injury.
Whatever, legally it was the husband's decision to make and the feds didn't like it and intervened. Yeah, he'd probably have been a better guy if he let the parents take care of her, but maybe he really did feel that she wouldn't want to live in that condition. I've met several families torn apart by such decisions. It's sad to watch. In one case, the father was so unreasonable he felt that someday his boy would be able to receive a brain transplant.
Autopsy came down on verification of the medical opinion that she was vegetative (not the hired quack brought in by the parents).
All in all, it was interference at the Federal level in a family court situation, and yes, it scared me. If my community, city, and state have laws that reinforce my husband's and my wishes not to be kept alive in a vegetative state, I'm not going to appreciate any agency stepping in on the urging of church groups of any sort.
You worry about the nanny state - so do I, but to me the SoCons want a nanny state as well... just a different kind of one. Remember the Blue Laws? Want stores closed on Sundays again? Want to be forced to attend the Second Evangelical Church of What's Happening Now?
The Article is relevant to me, a devout Christian. Dobson's have valid points. Fred is NOT a professing Christian, and sending a aide to say He is, is a joke. This issue is the number one qualifier for my vote come election time.
BTW... Rudy/McCain will never see my vote (even if in final election) and Fred unless he changes (stops hiding his faith) is pretty close to the same.
Duncan Hunter supporter in case you wondered.
Thank you FairOpinion for posting this article.
I was confused about the United Church of Christ until I finally read the part in the article about Obama's church.
That is where I first heard of the United Church of Christ.
Sure is getting crowded with the many versions of that name.
What really gets me is that these other ones - the International and the United churches of Christ are so far out there and our reputation gets sullied by them.
When I first heard that Obama was 'church of Christ' I was interested until I looked up the beliefs of the "united churches of Christ". Not us in the least.
Some of these churches live in a parallel universe I think. The stray as far as possible from Biblically truths as possible and make a mockery of out God's church.
They do it stealthily by mimicking a good denominations name, like a web site that uses slightly spelled differences to steal from a good site's reputation.
Thompson's aide said, “Thompson is indeed a Christian. He was baptized into the Church of Christ.” What actual knowledge do you have of Fred Thompson's religious status? Specifically, how do you know whether Thompson is a professing Christian, or not?
Very simple Clara Lou, Google a direct quote of him saying He is. There ain't one and you know it. His fruit (which we are to judge) is barren on the subject of Jesus Christ.
If something this important is only taken so very lightly that your spin doctor trys to blow it off with a direct quote to show.. then you don't care about Jesus IMHO...
Jesus is the light, you don't hide it when you have it. You shout it from the rooftops.
Thompson has heard the cock crow twice now. He better not take it lightly.
So, in other words, Fred Thompson doesn't meet your personal standard? Isn't it a blessing that God is the judge and not a mean-spirited, presumptuous, holier-than-thou Pharisee on the corner like you? It is indeed. Goodbye, Pharisee.
The Rudy campaign pays us bots per line on FR, but they don't pay us for articles posted.
Cheap bastards.
Plus, my last check is overdue.
The water has no redemptive quality but the following of what we are told to do sure does.
If they were told so many times to repent and be baptised for the remission of sins - apparently, God meant it. Accepting Jesus as our Saviour is wonderful and we must believe to do that.
However, the Devil "believes" also and he is not saved. Many people believe - but never bother to follow.
God told us to do this for a reason. Many times in the Old Testament God gave specific instructions to get a result. The result did not happen unless the instructions were followed. An ex. The walls of Jerico. Joshua 6
God told Joshua "I have given Jericho into your hands." (note Jericho was his). Then Joshua 6:3 "March around the city once with all armed men. Do this for six days." This was followed with instruction that on the seventh day, march around the city seven times with trumpets. Then have the people give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the people will go up and in.
We know that going around a city 7 times will not bring down walls but following God's instruction is what brought the wall down.
This is the same with other instructions - like baptism. The water has no power but the act of following the instruction, the faith shown of following Jesus and the professed belief, sure will do wonders.
Hm.....you may be right about that - I had not thought of that.
How better to work against the Lord than to try and corrupt the reputation of those seeking to follow His will?
Hm.....hope we don't sound paranoid - but I wonder.
Ignorant is the people that claim Christians are not to judge.. Yet all the while they judge by calling you names..
Take it to the source Clara Lou... Christians are definately to judge.. and judge rightly. My tagline is a simple enough example, yet to Abhor evil, you have to be able to judge it. Otherwise your love is with Hypocrisy.
Any child versed in just a few Bible verses knows this..
However, the Devil "believes" also and he is not saved. Many people believe - but never bother to follow.
The devil and his demons believe in Him, they just don't trust Him to be their personal Savior.
Jesus also said in Mark 10:38-39, But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? And they said unto him, We can. And Jesus said unto them, Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized:
You don't think He's talking about baptism with water here do you? We could probably discuss this all night, but I don't think either of us would change the other's mind. But, I appreciate the civil and Biblical debate with you.
In Christ,
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