The Rev. Rick Warren is so prominent and respected that just being seen with him is a boon for any presidential candidate.
For Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama, their appearances at a forum Saturday night at Warren's evangelical California megachurch bring risks along with rewards.
The event will play to one of Obama's strengths, talking about his Christian faith, but it will also underscore the gulf between his views and those of the most conservative Christian voters.
Many of McCain's positions are more in line with the evangelical worldview, but he is uncomfortable — and some critics say unconvincing — while talking about his personal beliefs.
The candidates will appear separately, spending one hour each with Warren, before coming together on stage for a handshake. The pastor, who does not endorse candidates, will be the only one asking questions.
Warren is an anti-abortion Southern Baptist who is nonetheless part of a shift away from the religious right's strict focus on abortion and marriage. The environment, poverty and education have also become pressing concerns, especially for younger evangelicals.
Warren is best known for building Saddleback Church into a 23,000-member megachurch in Lake Forest, Calif., and for writing the multimillion-selling book "The Purpose-Driven Life."
But he and his wife, Kay, are also leading advocates for HIV/AIDS victims worldwide. They have invested enormous resources in their PEACE Plan, now under way in Rwanda, which aims to combat corruption, illiteracy and other social problems through church partnerships with government and business.
Older-guard evangelical leaders who oppose broadening the agenda have been leaning on Warren. In a stream of statements in the days leading up to the forum, they implored him to press the candidates about their positions on abortion.
Larry Ross, who represents Warren, said the pastor has been consulting with other clergy and with experts in different fields to develop questions for the candidates about leadership, the Constitution, human rights and "sin and righteousness issues."
"The more liberal camp just assumes that Pastor Warren is going to make this a Christian litmus test of the presidency. Others, who are more conservative, fear he is going to wimp out on some of the issues," Ross said. "He says, 'Neither group understands or knows me.' He's going to ask tough questions, fair questions, not gotcha questions."
Obama has proven adept at explaining how his Christian faith has shaped his policies. The church forum also gives him a perfect setting to counter the misperception that he is Muslim. A recent poll by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press found that 12 percent of respondents believe the Illinois senator is Muslim.
"It's a great way for him to do what he can to make connections with not only moderate evangelicals, but also the many people out there who read 'The Purpose-Driven Life,'" said Mark Silk, who specializes in religion and public life at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn.
However, Obama will inevitably be asked to explain his support for abortion rights and other issues that clash with conservative Christian theology. Continue >>
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And I'd love to hear how gays getting married will suddenly make a straight family unstable. Must not be that stable to begin with, ya know?
"This is one more example of the national Democratic party
embracing policies that threaten the stability of families," Focus
on the Family Action's Carrie Gordon Earll said. "Voters should
remember this donation advocating for homosexuals to marry in
California when Democratic candidates attempt to woo evangelicals with
talk of faith and values. This donation does not line up with biblical
truth."
im still waiting to hear how the parents of the same gender provide a less nurturing less ;loving environmemnt for raising children.
history is filled with people wjho excelled in my body and spirit who were raised by a single relative.......grandmother, aunt, father, concerned neighbor,etc. where is the indication they were limited by being raised by a single gender.
there was none, because caregiver having received the love of god in his heart( he loved us believers first) in the SPIRIT of that love, loved themselves and those they were parenting.
how is it that a believer could possibly put such limitations on that love that is credited with everything, and when 1cor13 says that anything without love is nothing and gains nothing.
1cor13:4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8LOVE...........NEVER FAILS.
where in scripture does it put limitations on the agape love that is god?
where does it say, that even if a child is raised in the love that is god, there is something else that is required to be god's best
"The person with the most at stake may be Warren himself. The impression he makes Saturday will shape his reputation, the public view of his church and his position among evangelicals for a long time to come"
What I find really interesting about all of this is that Warren has already stated that church leaders should not endorse candidates.
Neither McCain or Obama are officially Party nominess. That happens at the conventions.
This event, being held in a church setting, endorses the idea that these two candidates will be the nominess.
This event should wait until after the conventions.
How Obama deceives non-discerning Christians
Barack Obama knows he does not believe that Jesus is the only way to eternal salvation. "For there is no other name under heaven by which men can be saved." This is the cornerstone of true Christianity. All other "Jesus believers" who don't embrace this biblical truth are not "true Christians." Neither Obama's former church nor his former pastor for over 20 years embrace this foundational fact. Yet Obama uses Christian lingo, such as "I came to Jesus" or "I committed my life to Jesus" or "I knelt before the Cross," which gives the impression that he is a true believer.
Secondly, "true Christians" know that the task of taking care of the poor is their responsibility, not the government's. The Bible makes it clear that "justice" is the government's task, but "mercy" is God's and His children's. Yet to alleviate the guilt of semi-religious people, Obama detracts the attention of the unsuspecting from his position on killing babies in their mother's womb and the recognition of sodomy as an alternate lifestyle, and centers their focus on the so-called "poor."
Thirdly, his calling himself the Joshua of the "Joshua generation" is the ultimate in the deceiving of the uninformed and the biblically illiterate generation. This is to say nothing of desecrating the entire plan of salvation of God's people.
When God delivered His people from the slavery of Egypt, they reached the land that God promised them through the Sinai Desert. God asked Moses to take them out of Egypt and Joshua to bring them into the land. Even a nonreligious person can see the fallacy in Mr. Obama's comparing himself to Joshua the prophet.
Dr. Michael Youssef
Democratic National Committee Funds California Push for Same-Sex 'Marriage'
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) has given $25,000 to fight
California's marriage-protection amendment. The measure, which goes to
the voters in November, would amend the state constitution to define
marriage as the union between a man and a woman.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the DNC and other activist groups
have raised more than $6 million to keep same-sex "marriage"
legal in the state.
The DNC has been quick to follow the lead of Sen. Barack Obama, who
opposes California's marriage amendment and has promised to repeal the
federal Defense of Marriage Act, if elected president.
"This is one more example of the national Democratic party
embracing policies that threaten the stability of families," Focus
on the Family Action's Carrie Gordon Earll said. "Voters should
remember this donation advocating for homosexuals to marry in
California when Democratic candidates attempt to woo evangelicals with
talk of faith and values. This donation does not line up with biblical
truth."
im still waiting for you moralists to explain the influence of the philandering on presidencies of fdr and kennedy. and while you are at it include the leadership of mccain and gingrich before it was public.
What is morally incorrect can't be politically correct.
How far Americans have gone in the opposite direction, even
to think " let the President have any kind of morality,
it is alright, as long as he or she is a president who
can lead the country into prosperity". It is like the family
members telling " as long as the father brings the bread to the
table, let him have an affair with the next door woman".
The politicians are excellent actors, and at the eve
of the election, they will act religious because majority
of the people of America are religious. Nobody can dig
down to know the exact thinking pattern of both candidates, and both of them act more pious and religious
as the election gets closer. The people of America has
to pray very earnestly for this election.
how incredibly screwed everything has becoome. if you were owner of a corporation and hiring your next ceo would you send him to rick warren to find out if he was the right candidate for the job.
has anyone ever indited fdr and kennedy on how their philandering made them sub standard presidents.
and then there is george. mr lilly white in the philandering departmrent, born again christian, believer of the faith, clings to every conservative value there ever was.
do you suppose that george will get one tenth the kudos for way he conducted his presidency that those two ever got.
well Fred, perhaps Westboro should have extended an invation.
Rick Warren is a charlatan who does not believe in the Word of God. No wonder both of these Godless candidates agreed so readily to meet with him.