The results of the political forum at Rick Warren's Saddleback Community Church are in, and according to most pundits and observers John McCain played very well to this crowd made up largely of Christian evangelicals.
On the hand hand, Barack Obama did himself no favors.
Despite the notion of Rick Warren and some within the evangelical movement that a Presidential candidate can waffle on issues such as abortion and when human life begins, the crowd that attended the forum Saturday night demonstrated that these things still matter to conservative Protestant Christians.
When asked when life beings, Obama claimed that the question is 'above his pay grade.'
That statement is simply not good enough, and most serious Christians know it.
McCain, on the other hand, answered by saying, simply, 'At the moment of conception.'
His answer is consistent with his long career in the Senate, during which McCain has demonstrated that he is as pro-life and anti-abortion as any politician in Washington.
Obama, by contrast, has proved in his short career as a state legislator in Illinois and a one-term U.S. Senator that he is one of the most extremist, militant, abortion-on-demand politicians in the country.
Further, Obama continued with his bash-America-first campaign by suggesting that the greatest mistake he ever made was living in a nation that he obviously thinks has been despicable in its policies.
In short, he never admitted to ever making a personal mistake but made some vague reference to America's failures as a nation.
McCain, however, openly admitted the failure of his first marriage and took full responsibility for it. This, he said, was his biggest mistake. With that one statement, McCain has disarmed those who would lump him in with the likes of John Edwards.
The difference between Edwards and McCain is that Edwards was unfaithful to his wife while she was sick with cancer and while he was pretending to be the 'a man of family values.' This is not to mention his numerous lies that he continues to tell about the matter even after he supposedly 'came clean.' McCain has no such baggage other than his first marriage failed, he made the mistake of having an affair as a result, and he takes full responsibility for this 'biggest mistake he ever made.'
As for the faith perspective of the two, McCain stated that he believes in Jesus Christ and is saved by His grace. Obama makes a similar claim, yet he maintained membership in a far-Left, extremist Church, in a far-Left, extremist denomination, the Pastor of which stated from the pulpit, 'God damn America.'
During the forum, McCain appeared comfortable and answered the questions in a logical, coherent fashion, while Obama's answers seemed forced, sometimes obscure, and certainly disjointed.
In fact, one political pundit has already described the Obama performance as 'a colossal failure.'
As a postscript, it is interesting to note that the candidates answered questions about oil during the forum. McCain stated forthrightly that he is for 'drill here, drill now,' in addition to developing various forms of alternative energy. This is one of the strongest statements yet from McCain concerning where his allegiance lies in the vitally important debate on the nation's energy needs.
Showing posts with label John McCain at Saddleback. Show all posts
Showing posts with label John McCain at Saddleback. Show all posts
Monday, August 18, 2008
Sunday, August 17, 2008
The Rick Warren Forum with McCain and Obama
The Saddleback Community Church in Lake Forest, California held a political forum Saturday evening. This is nothing new for the mega-church founded by nationally-known Pastor Rick Warren.
Warren often delves into politics while claiming neutrality on the matter. Yet when it comes to his much-publicized forums at the Church, he has consistently invited speakers that are clearly Leftwing in their politics while virtually ignoring conservative political leaders.
For example, Warren invited Hillary Clinton to speak at an annual forum at the Church in 2006 and followed up with Barack Obama at the same forum in 2007.
Where are the speakers with a clear conservative Christian point of view?
On Saturday evening, Warren held a so-called 'civil forum' in which he acted as a moderator by posing questions to guests John McCain and Barack Obama, the two Presidential candidates.
But Warren received help and guidance in formulating those questions from the Leftwing group known as 'Faith in Public Life.' This group is loaded to the gills with extremist liberals.
And that's not all.
Warren's position on international affairs is clearly anti-Israel yet flies under the veneer of being an 'opportunity for dialogue between religions.'
While he claims he is simply following Jesus' command of showing compassion to the poor, Warren consistently supports government programs funded through tax dollars rather than emphasizing the simple Gospel message that each individual Christian is charged with the responsibility of caring for the poor individually and by personal choice.
This is a far cry from forced participation in government programs through taxation.
Nowhere in the Christian Gospel does Jesus anoint governments to be the instruments of service to the poor. But individual Christians both personally and collectively through their Churches are certainly admonished to do so. Service to the needy is a matter of individual initiative rather than government mandate.
As Dr. Walter E. Williams of George Mason University often says, 'For me to reach inside my pocket voluntarily to help the poor is a noble and worthy gesture. But for government to reach inside my pocket and take my money to do so is stealing and should be punished by law.'
Make no mistake, Rick Warren has an agenda, and it certainly isn't the standard evangelical model based upon the New Testament.
Although he is often referred to as 'the most powerful evangelical leader in America today,' Warren's vision has inflicted a dangerous, festering wound upon the Christian evangelical movement that has split the Church as never before.
At one time evangelicals were clear about certain things--abortion is wrong and politicians who support it are wrong; liberty does not mean we must place a muzzle on Christians in the marketplace, in the government, and in the schools in order to avoid 'offending' someone; as Christ has made us free so should we work for the freedom of all people, particularly from the shackles of oppressive governments--even our own; if lying is wrong then there is no adequate, moral defense of a politician who lies; if stealing is wrong then there is no justification for government doing it through the confiscation of personal property and funds from the citizens; and on and on I could go listing the basic convictions of the evangelical movement when it comes to politics.
Due to the fuzzy and vague views of leaders such as Warren, evangelicals have begun to exhibit
some shocking waffling on issues that were previously viewed as settled matters.
Rick Warren has not given the views of traditional Christianity and its concomitant conservative political agenda an adequate hearing at the Saddleback Community Church. And this is precisely why many Christians view him and his Church will great skepticism and suspicion.
For more information on this issue, click on the links below:
Gateway Pundit
Fox News
CNN
The Liberty Sphere--previous post 1
The Liberty Sphere--previous post 2
The Liberty Sphere--previous post 3
Warren often delves into politics while claiming neutrality on the matter. Yet when it comes to his much-publicized forums at the Church, he has consistently invited speakers that are clearly Leftwing in their politics while virtually ignoring conservative political leaders.
For example, Warren invited Hillary Clinton to speak at an annual forum at the Church in 2006 and followed up with Barack Obama at the same forum in 2007.
Where are the speakers with a clear conservative Christian point of view?
On Saturday evening, Warren held a so-called 'civil forum' in which he acted as a moderator by posing questions to guests John McCain and Barack Obama, the two Presidential candidates.
But Warren received help and guidance in formulating those questions from the Leftwing group known as 'Faith in Public Life.' This group is loaded to the gills with extremist liberals.
And that's not all.
Warren's position on international affairs is clearly anti-Israel yet flies under the veneer of being an 'opportunity for dialogue between religions.'
While he claims he is simply following Jesus' command of showing compassion to the poor, Warren consistently supports government programs funded through tax dollars rather than emphasizing the simple Gospel message that each individual Christian is charged with the responsibility of caring for the poor individually and by personal choice.
This is a far cry from forced participation in government programs through taxation.
Nowhere in the Christian Gospel does Jesus anoint governments to be the instruments of service to the poor. But individual Christians both personally and collectively through their Churches are certainly admonished to do so. Service to the needy is a matter of individual initiative rather than government mandate.
As Dr. Walter E. Williams of George Mason University often says, 'For me to reach inside my pocket voluntarily to help the poor is a noble and worthy gesture. But for government to reach inside my pocket and take my money to do so is stealing and should be punished by law.'
Make no mistake, Rick Warren has an agenda, and it certainly isn't the standard evangelical model based upon the New Testament.
Although he is often referred to as 'the most powerful evangelical leader in America today,' Warren's vision has inflicted a dangerous, festering wound upon the Christian evangelical movement that has split the Church as never before.
At one time evangelicals were clear about certain things--abortion is wrong and politicians who support it are wrong; liberty does not mean we must place a muzzle on Christians in the marketplace, in the government, and in the schools in order to avoid 'offending' someone; as Christ has made us free so should we work for the freedom of all people, particularly from the shackles of oppressive governments--even our own; if lying is wrong then there is no adequate, moral defense of a politician who lies; if stealing is wrong then there is no justification for government doing it through the confiscation of personal property and funds from the citizens; and on and on I could go listing the basic convictions of the evangelical movement when it comes to politics.
Due to the fuzzy and vague views of leaders such as Warren, evangelicals have begun to exhibit
some shocking waffling on issues that were previously viewed as settled matters.
Rick Warren has not given the views of traditional Christianity and its concomitant conservative political agenda an adequate hearing at the Saddleback Community Church. And this is precisely why many Christians view him and his Church will great skepticism and suspicion.
For more information on this issue, click on the links below:
Gateway Pundit
Fox News
CNN
The Liberty Sphere--previous post 1
The Liberty Sphere--previous post 2
The Liberty Sphere--previous post 3
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