Pope Refutes Homosexualists: Kids Need Mom & Dad

The liberal media has virtually blacked out Pope Francis at this week's “Complementarity of Man and Woman” conference because of his opening statement supporting natural marriage.

"The [natural] family is the foundation of co-existence and a remedy against social fragmentation. Children have a right to grow up in a family with a father and a mother capable of creating a suitable environment for the child’s development and emotional maturity. . . . [Therefore, we place] emphasis on the benefits that marriage can provide to children, the spouses themselves, and to society."
-- Pope Francis 11/17/14

For background, click headlines below to read previous articles:

Pope Blasts Liberal 'christians' as Pagans

Pope Cracks Down on American Liberal Nuns, Priests

Pope Disappoints Liberals by Opposing 'Gay Adoption'

Pope Said the Gay Agenda is the Work of the Devil

-- From "Pope Reinforces Traditional Family Values" by Nicole Winfield, Associated Press 11/17/14

The three-day conference opened just weeks after Francis presided over a divisive meeting of the world's bishops who split on issues such as gay unions and divorced and remarried Catholics.

During the two-week meeting, progressive bishops sought a much broader, welcoming tone of acceptance and welcome to gays and remarried Catholics, whereas conservatives like [Cardinal Gerhard] Mueller sought to reinforce church teaching on the indissolubility of marriage between man and woman.

Conference organizers and Vatican officials have stressed that the three-day conference was in no way a response to the [above referenced two-week] synod. But the timing couldn't have been better to reinforce the conservative backlash against proposals for the Catholic Church to be more welcoming to gays.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Vatican opens conference on traditional marriage" by Michelle Boorstein, Washington Post 11/17/14

The three-day “Complementarity of Man and Woman” conference includes global faith leaders including prominent U.S. evangelical pastors Rick Warren and Russell Moore, former Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom Jonathan Sacks and Anglican, Muslim, Pentecostal and Hindu leaders. For the first time, a top Mormon leader – Henry Eyring – is in official attendance at a Vatican conference.

Also attending are Dr. Eugene Rivers, a prominent Pentecostal minister from Boston and his wife, Dr. Jacqueline C. Rivers, who leads a research center on the black church.

In the next few days participants will hear various concepts of male-female “complementarianism” from leaders coming from places including Scotland, Pakistan, Iran, Egypt, Nigeria, France and the United States. To some that term that translates into explicit roles for men and women—in society, in the family, in religious institutional life. Francis in his opening remarks used – as has become typical – less specific language.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Francis urges de-politicization of family, confirms US visit" by Joshua J. McElwee, National Catholic Reporter 11/17/14

While speakers at the event have shied away from directly addressing or criticizing same-sex unions, most left little doubt about their view of such relationships.

German Cardinal Gerhard Muller, prefect of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, spoke after the pontiff and focused his remarks on the male and female imagery found in the creation stories of Genesis.

Tying the imagery of the Adam and Eve in the Genesis story to mankind's relationship with God, Muller stated: "When we forget sexual difference, then it becomes difficult to understand the marriage bond between God and his people."

". . . our compassion for those who choose to live differently should not prohibit us from being advocates," said [Rabbi Jonathan] Sacks, referring to traditional marriage as "the best means for which we have discovered for nurturing future generations."

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Full text: Pope Francis’s opening address to Humanum conference" posted at Catholic Herald 11/17/14

Dear sisters and brothers,

I warmly greet you. I thank Cardinal Muller for his words with which he introduced our meeting. . . .

It is fitting that you have gathered here in this international colloquium to explore the complementarity of man and woman. This complementarity is a root of marriage and family. . . . Complementarity will take many forms as each man and woman brings his or her distinctive contributions to their marriage and to the formation of their children . . .

We know that today marriage and the family are in crisis. We now live in a culture of the temporary, in which more and more people are simply giving up on [natural] marriage as a public commitment. . . .

[I urge you,] Do not fall into the trap of being swayed by political notion. [Natural] Family is an anthropological fact – a socially and culturally related fact. We cannot qualify it based on ideological notions or concepts important only at one time in history. We can’t think of conservative or progressive notions. Family is a family. It can’t be qualified by ideological notions. Family is per se. It is a strength per se.

I pray that your colloquium will be an inspiration to all who seek to support and strengthen the union of man and woman in marriage as a unique, natural, fundamental and beautiful good for persons, communities, and whole societies.

To read the full statement above by Pope Francis, CLICK HERE.

Also read Pope Francis Decries Abortion; Vatican Says Media Distort Him

American Anglicans Ratify Constitution

The Anglican Church in North America ratified its constitution in Texas. The new denomination has been formed by about 100,000 Bible-believing Christians who left the Episcopal Church U.S.A. due that denomination's clear apostasy.

-- From "Dissidents finalize formation of new Anglican alliance" by Ed Stoddard, Reuters 6/24/09

The Episcopal Church, which is the main U.S. branch of the Anglican Communion with over 2 million followers, has declined to comment on the proceedings. The ACNA says four of the 28 dioceses under its roof are locked in property disputes with the Episcopal Church.

Some Canadian congregations are also fighting legal battles over assets with the Anglican Church of Canada.

The ACNA wants to formally join the Anglican Communion which numbers close to 80 million people worldwide.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Rick Warren shows support for breakaway Anglicans at Bedford gathering" by Sam Hodges, The Dallas Morning News 6/24/09

The Rev. Rick Warren used his Southern Baptist preaching skills to fire up a gathering of conservative Anglicans in Bedford [Texas] on Tuesday.

The Anglican Church in North America invited Warren to be one of the headline speakers for its first provincial assembly, which continues through Thursday at St. Vincent's Cathedral in Bedford.

Warren . . . briefly referred to lawsuits filed by the Episcopal Church against departing congregations and dioceses, over church buildings and other assets.

"You may lose the steeple, but you won't lose the people," Warren said, echoing a line he's used before.

"The church has never been a building. Christ didn't die for property."

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Rick Warren Mushy on Marriage

"We cannot, cannot back away from that mandate from our Lord . . . and every pastor ought to be publicly and privately saying, 'That is my agenda!'"

-- From "Former SBC president 'concerned' about Rick Warren's comments on gay marriage" by Bob Allen, Senior Writer, Associated Baptist Press 4/17/09

A former president of the Southern Baptist Convention said he is "deeply concerned" about comments by Purpose Driven Life author Rick Warren that a recent court decision allowing gay marriage is not part of his agenda.

Frank Page, pastor of First Baptist Church of Taylors, S.C., told the American Family News Network he believes it should be on every pastor's agenda to defend biblical marriage and lead homosexuals to Christ.

Warren, pastor of the Southern Baptist-affiliated Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., said April 7 on "Larry King Live" that he is "totally oblivious" to a recent Iowa Supreme Court decision legalizing gay marriage. "That's not even on my agenda," he said.

In a Q&A interview with Christianity Today, Warren sought to clarify what he meant when he told King he "never once" issued a statement or gave an endorsement during two years of debate over Proposition 8.

". . . Proposition 8 was a two-year campaign in the state, and during those two years, I never said a word about it until the eight days before the election, and then I did make a video for my own people when they asked, 'How should we vote on this?' It was a pastor talking to his own people. I've never said anything about it since. I don't know how you take one video newsletter to your own church and turn that into, all of a sudden I'm the poster boy for anti-gay marriage."

Warren also discussed an hour-long Beliefnet interview, during which he answered one question in a way that "made it sound like I was equating homosexuality with pedophilia and incest."

To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.

Rick Warren - another Easter denial

by Sandy Rios, President, Culture Campaign 4/14/09

"Even if others do, I will never deny you," declared the Apostle Peter some 2,000 years ago just hours before he did exactly that, three times, when the heat was on. Ten others boasted the same, but when the risk was more than theoretical, all deserted Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. Only one was seen at the cross.

A fascinating story...the "old story," as the secularists like to call it. Barack Obama alluded to this in his speech in France. We need a new story...a discovery of "new ways" of thinking. We must throw off the old, and embrace a much more enlightened, intelligent point of view, he said. By doing so, our president argued, we remove inconvenient barriers, cumbersome moral values and achieve self-determination with our new understanding of the world guiding the way. Surely we cannot be bound in this advanced new age by the old moral codes or put plainly, by what Jesus taught -- certainly not if we are to curry favor with the world in which we live.

During Holy Week, Peter's portion of the "old story" was revisited in a very contemporary way. The last instruction Jesus gave as He left earth was that His followers should tell His story of forgiveness and redemption not only in their communities, but to the "ends of the earth." And as His followers told the "old story," they should not leave out all the other things He had carefully taught them. He wanted future generations to go beyond mere intellectual understanding and move to actually living out the principles.

One of those principles was marriage. "For this reason shall a man leave his parents and join with his wife and the two shall become one flesh," Jesus instructed. One man...one woman...for a lifetime; no sex outside of that union. His clear moral teaching applied to homosexuality and never entertained a discussion of same-sex "marriage," because it would have been unthinkable. "I have come to fulfill the law, not to destroy it," Jesus said in regard to Old Testament moral standards.

Fast forwarding to November 2008, California voters of various religious persuasions -- in a ballot measure called Proposition 8 -- held to the Judeo-Christian teaching that marriage should only be between a man and a woman. Pastor Rick Warren -- author of the multi-million selling book The Purpose Driven Life; pastor of Saddleback, one of the largest churches in the country; deeply influential -- rightly told his congregation just weeks before the election: "...if you believe what the Bible says about marriage, you need to support Proposition 8. I never support a candidate, but on moral issues I come out very clear."

Until last week...Holy Week.

"Though others may turn away, I will never deny you," promised Peter. But then in the chill of night in a courtyard just outside the place of Jesus' trial, as others around the fire began to probe his relationship to Jesus, he denied even knowing him. No one was threatening his life, but the derision increased, until Peter's denial escalated to a curse to more emphatically deny he had ever known Jesus.

Peter was worried about his reputation. He didn't want to be the odd man out in the courtyard over the fire...it wasn't a Roman soldier with a sword who challenged him, it was a servant girl.

"On moral issues I come out very clear," declared Warren when speaking in the safety of his church last October. But when confronted by homosexual friends and by CNN's Larry King, he folded like Peter. He told a national television audience that he had "apologized" to his homosexual friends for making comments in support of Proposition 8. He "never once gave an endorsement" of the marriage amendment, he declared in that much larger, electronic courtyard. "I never once issued a statement." But that was not true. He had given an impassioned plea on camera for support of Proposition 8...a plea worthy of a Christian leader...a plea to follow Jesus' teaching on marriage. Then in one CNN moment, he not only backed away from the hard teaching, but lied in the process. On camera...both times...for all to see.

Seduced by the pressure of fame? Driven by the desire to please his friends? Afraid to be seen as bigoted to a national television audience? Whatever the motivation, the denial is no less significant.

After Peter finished his denial, he went out and wept bitterly. Jesus later forgave him in a personal exchange, and Peter became one of the greatest examples of Christ following of all time...crucified upside down for his faith...fearless to the end.

But he repented. If Rick Warren does not, he has lost his moral authority as a Christian leader.

Without repentance, he joins the apostate ranks of others who declare Jesus' teaching when it is expedient and deny it when it interferes with choice or reputation.

Another Easter denial -- but we pray Warren will not let his story end there.

Obama's 'Pluralistic Christian' Reign?

Barack Obama will be giving platform to Pastor Rick Warren's pro-life, traditional marriage message, and to Episcopal Bishop Gay-Gene Robinson, as well as to Rev. Sharon E. Watkins, who believes everything (or nothing).

-- From "Gay NH bishop to offer prayer at inaugural event" Associated Press, 1/12/09

The first openly gay Episcopal bishop will offer a prayer at the Lincoln Memorial at an inaugural event for President-elect Barack Obama.

The selection of New Hampshire Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson for Sunday's event follows weeks of criticism from gay-rights groups over Obama's decision to have the Rev. Rick Warren give the invocation at his Jan. 20 inauguration.

Robinson said last month the choice of Warren was like a slap in the face. In an interview with the Concord Monitor, he said he doesn't believe Obama invited him in response to the Warren criticism but said his inclusion won't go unnoticed by the gay and lesbian community.

Clark Stevens, a spokesman for the inaugural committee, said Robinson was invited because he had offered his advice to Obama during the campaign and because of his church work.

. . . Robinson said he doesn't yet know what he'll say, but he knows he won't use a Bible [saying,] "This is a prayer for the whole nation."

-- From "Obama Names Minister to Lead Prayer Service" by Laurie Goodstein, New York Times 1/11/09

President-elect Barack Obama has selected the Rev. Sharon E. Watkins to deliver the sermon at the national prayer service that is held the day after the inauguration.

Ms. Watkins, the first woman ever selected to lead the service, is the president and general minister of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), a small, liberal-leaning Protestant denomination with 3,754 congregations and about 690,000 members in the United States and Canada. Ms. Watkins was elected to the post in 2005, the first woman ever chosen to lead a mainline Protestant denomination.

Linda Douglass, the chief spokeswoman for the inaugural committee, said the choice of Ms. Watkins was not an attempt to mollify critics of Mr. Obama’s decision to have the Rev. Rick Warren give the invocation at the inauguration.

“She was chosen before the inaugural program was even announced,” Ms. Douglass said of Ms. Watkins. “Her appeal is that she delivers a message of unity and inclusivity and tolerance and hope — and those are all central themes we’ve heard from the president-elect.”

Like many mainline Protestant churches, the Disciples is not unified on the issue [of same-sex marriage]. As a congregational church, each church in the denomination is free to set its own policies.

Ms. Watkins said in a telephone interview that the church in Bartlesville, Okla., where she served as minister before becoming president, could not reach a consensus on whether to allow gay union ceremonies and decided to hold off on a decision.

“We really emphasize the responsibility as well as the freedom of individuals within the church to study Scripture to prayerfully pursue their own spiritual journey,” Ms. Watkins said. “That means we end up being incredibly diverse politically, theologically and socially.

The sermon will be 10 to 15 minutes and will not be vetted by the Obama team, Ms. Watkins said. She added that she would preach in a way that was authentic to her Christian tradition but did not exclude people of other faiths.

To read the entire New York Times article, CLICK HERE.

Rick Warren Counters the Media, 'Addresses the Nation'

Rick Warren, the evangelical preacher chosen by Barack Obama to deliver the inaugural invocation, has posted a three-part video to his church's website responding to the furor that has erupted over his selection.

-- From "Rick Warren loves gays, and more" posted by Michael Paulson on The Boston Globe 12/23/08

In the video, Warren criticizes the media, and, in particular, bloggers, for fueling the controversy. And he says the criticism of him in the wake of his selection has been characterized by "a lot of hate speech" and by "Christophobia -- people who are afraid of any Christian.''

"Our nation is being destroyed by the demonization of differences," he says. "The fact that an evangelical pastor believes in keeping the historic definition of marriage -- that’s not news. The fact that the gay community would disagree with me -- that’s not news either. The real story is that a couple of different American leaders have chosen to model civility for the rest of the nation."

"Free speech has to be free speech for everybody," he says. "Some people feel today if you disagree with them that’s hate speech...I’m neither afraid of gays, nor do I hate gays. In fact, I love them, but I do disagree with some of their beliefs, and I have that constitutional right."

Over at Christianity Today, Sarah Pulliam has an interview with Franklin Graham (Billy Graham's son) who praises Warren, and says, "The news is mostly all about nothing. It's a few people on the far left who feel that Obama should not have any evangelicals or Christians involved in the inauguration. Millions of Christians voted for Obama, and they have every reason to be at the table. This is his inauguration, and Obama has every right to do that. Those that are making noise have forgotten that it's not their inauguration. It's Obama's inauguration."

CNN's The Situation Room has an interview with Pat Robertson today. Robertson also praises Warren, and says, "All he's been asked to do is give an invocation. He isn't asked to endorse Obama. He's going to stand up there on the steps of the Capitol and he's going to say, God, please bless this country. And he will do that very well."

To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.

Rather than allow the media to filter Rick Warren, CLICK HERE and watch his video.

Pastor Rick Warren Interview with Beliefnet

In mid-December, Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., spoke with Beliefnet Editor-in-Chief Steven Waldman concerning many topics, including abortion and same-sex marriage (prior to the latest liberal uproar) -- excerpts, follow:

Beliefnet question: Now that Barack Obama has been elected, are you going to work with them to achieve an abortion reduction agenda or do you think that’s really just a charade?

Pastor Rick Warren: . . . to me it is kind of a charade in that people say we believe abortions should be safe and rare. Why do you believe it should be rare? If you don’t believe life begins at conception, it shouldn’t be rare. That’s an illogical statement. Don’t tell me it should be rare. That’s like saying on the Holocaust well maybe we could save 20% of the Jewish people in Poland and Germany and get them out and we should be satisfied with that. I’m not satisfied with that. I want the Holocaust ended.

And if you truly believe that life begins at conception --which I do because of my commitment to the scripture -- then that means 40 million Americans are not here who should be here. That’s a Holocaust.

Beliefnet question: One controversial moment for you in the last election was your support for proposition 8 in California. … Just to clarify, do you support civil unions or domestic partnerships?

Pastor Rick Warren: No American should ever be discriminated against because of their beliefs. Period. But a civil union is not a civil right. Nowhere in the constitution can you find the “right” to claim that any loving relationship identical to marriage. It’s just not there.

The issue to me [is,] I’m opposed to redefinition of a 5,000 year definition of marriage. I’m opposed to having a brother and sister being together and calling that marriage. I’m opposed to an older guy marrying a child and calling that marriage. I’m opposed to one guy having multiple wives and calling that marriage.

Beliefnet question: Do you think those are equivalent to gays getting married?

Pastor Rick Warren: Oh, I do. For 5,000 years, marriage has been defined by every single culture and every single religion – this is not a Christian issue. Buddhist, Muslims, Jews – historically, marriage is a man and a woman. And the reason I supported Proposition 8, is really a free speech issue. Because first the court overrode the will of the people, but second there were all kinds of threats that if that did not pass then any pastor could be considered doing hate speech if he shared his views that he didn’t think homosexuality was the most natural way for relationships, and that would be hate speech. We should have freedom of speech, ok? And you should be able to have freedom of speech to make your position and I should be able to have freedom of speech to make my position, and can’t we do this in a civil way.

Most people know I have many gay friends. I’ve eaten dinner in gay homes. No church has probably done more for people with AIDS than Saddleback Church. Kay and I have given millions of dollars out of Purpose Driven Life helping people who got AIDS through gay relationships. So they can’t accuse me of homophobia. I just don’t believe in the redefinition of marriage.

Written clarification/addition from Pastor Rick Warren 12/15:

BOTTOM LINE:

1. God, who always acts out of love and does what is best for us, thought up sex. Sex was God’s idea, not ours. Like fire, and many other things God gave us, sex can be used for good, or abused in ways that harm. The Designer of sex has clearly and repeatedly said that he created sex exclusively for husbands and wives in marriage. Whenever God’s parameters are violated, it causes broken hearts, broken families, emotional hurt and shame, painful memories, and many other destructive consequences. There would be [no] STDs in our world if we all played by the rules.

2. God gives me the free choice to follow his commands or willfully disobey them so I must allow others to have that same free choice. Loving, trusting, and obeying God cannot be forced. In America, people already have the civil right to live as they wish.

3. If anyone, whether unfaithful spouses, or unmarried couples, or homosexuals or anyone else think they are smarter than God and chooses to disobey God’s sexual instructions, it is not the US government’s role to take away their choice. But neither is it the government’s role to classify just any “loving” relationship as a marriage. A committed boyfriend-girlfriend relationship is not a marriage. Two lovers living together is a not a marriage. Incest is not marriage. A domestic partnership or even a civil union is still not marriage.

4. Much of this debate is not really about civil rights, but a desire for approval. The fact that 70% of blacks supported Prop 8 shows they don’t believe it is a civil rights issue. Gays in California already have their rights. What they desire is approval and validation from those who disagree with them, and they are willing to force it by law if necessary. Any disapproval is quickly labeled “hate speech.” Imagine if we held that standard in every other disagreement Americans have? There would be no free speech. That’s why, on the traditional marriage side, many saw Prop 8 as a free speech issue: Don’t force me to validate a lifestyle I disagree with. It is not the same as marriage. And many saw the Teacher’s Union contribution of $3 million against Prop 8, as a effort to insure that children would be taught to approve what most parents disapprove of.

To read the entire interview transcript, CLICK HERE.

For the links to video of the interview, CLICK HERE.

Rick Warren, Once Loved by Hollywood, Now Cursed

The liberal elite loved the Orange County mega-pastor when he joined them at Al Gore's global warming premiere, and led the way on HIV/AIDS in Africa, but now he's "thrown under the bus" for his support of Prop 8.

-- From "Obama's choice of Rick Warren to lead prayer dismays Hollywood liberals" by Tina Daunt, LA Times 12/20/08

Obama's selection of Orange County mega-pastor and bestselling author Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at his swearing in has hit liberal Hollywood in one of its sorest spots: the passage of Proposition 8, California's ban on gay marriage, which Warren strongly supported. In fact, he has compared same-sex nuptials to approving polygamy and pedophilia.

Reaction in the entertainment industry -- where interestingly, Warren has his own powerful ties -- has been swift, angry and bitter.

The passage of Proposition 8 galvanized activist Hollywood in a way that the campaign had not.

Democratic political consultant Chad Griffin, who this week was named by the Advocate, America's leading gay publication, as one of its People of the Year, thinks that it's up to Warren to let Obama off the hook and withdraw.

Griffin said he planned to ask for a meeting with the pastor to make the case that Obama should pick someone else to do the invocation.

[Kathryn Kolbert, same-sex marriage advocate, and] the head of People for the American Way -- a group founded by Norman Lear -- said she was "profoundly disappointed" that Warren was asked to play a key role in the inauguration. ". . . the sad truth is that this decision further elevates someone who has in recent weeks actively promoted legalized discrimination and denigrated the lives and relationships of millions of Americans."

To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.

To read about Rick Warren's August 2008 interview with Obama and McCain, CLICK HERE.

Pastor Rick Warren Interviews Sens. Obama & McCain

For Christians, in this election year, understanding the faith of the candidates cannot be taken lightly. Posted below are excerpts of an article from MSNBC followed by excerpts from National Review Online concerning last night's event.

-- From "Obama talks religion at forum" by Mark Murray from MSNBC 8/17/08

Obama talked about Iraq, abortion, the Supreme Court, and his greatest moral failure during an hour-long televised talk on faith and politics with pastor and best-selling author Rick Warren here at Saddleback Church.

McCain also attended the event, but he spoke with Warren separately.

Obama has been able to appeal to some religious voters in part, because he seems more open to talking about his faith than McCain does. He has written about finding his faith as a young man and about his work with churches while a community organizer on the streets of Chicago’s South Side. Still, for many conservative Christians, the senator’s views on issues like abortion make him a tough sell.

Two interesting moments came when the pastor asked Obama to define “rich." After joking with Warren about the pastor having sold over 25 million books, Obama said families making up to $150,000 were middle class, if not poor -- depending on where they live -- while those with incomes of $250,000 or more were well off, though he did not use the word “rich”.

When asked which sitting Supreme Court justice he would not have nominated, Obama named first Clarence Thomas and then Antonin Scalia, saying he disagreed with both ideologically and that Thomas had not been a "strong enough jurist or legal thinker" at the time of his nomination.

Warren told the audience at the beginning of the event that the senators would be asked identical questions so that the audience could “compare apples to apples” and said they had “safely placed Sen. McCain in a cone of silence” to prevent his receiving any advantage by being second.

-- From "How McCain Won Saddleback" by Byron York, National Review Online 8/17/08

Lake Forest, Calif. — It’s fair to say that in the hours before John McCain appeared with Barack Obama at the “Saddleback Civil Forum on the Presidency,” here at Pastor Rick Warren’s famed southern California mega-church, there were at least a few McCain insiders who were a bit nervous about their candidate’s prospects. Obama can be remarkably polished in this sort of situation. Unlike other Democrats, he’s not afraid to hang out with evangelicals. McCain, on the other hand, can at times be cranky and take pleasure in irritating his base. Could he come out ahead in this one?

[The format] brought out something we don’t usually see in a presidential face-off; in this forum, as opposed to a read-the-prompter speech, or even a debate focused on the issues of the moment, the candidates were forced to call on everything they had — the things they have done and learned throughout their lives.

The contrast was striking throughout each man’s one-hour time on stage. When Warren asked Obama, “What’s the most gut-wrenching decision you’ve ever had to make?” Obama answered that opposing the war in Iraq was “as tough a decision that I’ve had to make, not only because there were political consequences but also because Saddam Hussein was a bad person and there was no doubt he meant America ill.” But Obama was a state senator in Illinois when Congress authorized the president to use force in Iraq. He didn’t have to make a decision on the war.

McCain bested Obama . . . when Warren asked for an example of a time in which he “went against party loyalty and maybe even against your own best interest for the good of America.”

“Well, I’ll give you an example that in fact I worked with John McCain on,” Obama said, “and that was the issue of campaign ethics reform and finance reform.” But it turned out that was an issue on which Obama had briefly allied with McCain and then jumped back to the Democratic mother ship, causing McCain to write Obama an angry note about the abandonment of what had been a principled position. As far as bucking your party goes, it wasn’t very big stuff.

McCain’s [response] was his story of opposing Ronald Reagan’s decision to send a contingent of Marines to Lebanon as a peacekeeping force. “My knowledge and my background told me that a few hundred Marines in a situation like that could not successfully carry out any kind of peacekeeping mission, and I thought they were going into harm’s way,” McCain said. But he deeply admired Reagan, and wanted to be loyal to the party; it was a difficult decision.

“At what point does a baby get human rights, in your view?” [Warren] asked Obama.

“Well, I think that whether you are looking at it from a theological perspective or a scientific perspective, answering that question with specificity, you know, is above my pay grade,” Obama answered. “But let me just speak more generally about the issue of abortion because this is something obviously the country wrestles with. One thing that I’m absolutely convinced of is there is a moral and ethical content to this issue. So I think that anybody who tries to deny the moral difficulties and gravity of the abortion issue, I think, is not paying attention. So that would be point number one.” Obama went on to say that he is pro-choice. Even for people who agreed with him, it wasn’t a terribly impressive answer.

An hour later, when Warren asked McCain the same thing, he got this: “At the moment of conception. I have a 25-year pro-life record in the Congress, in the Senate, and as president of the United States, I will be a pro-life president and this presidency will have pro-life policies.”

Nietzsche Would Laugh

Morality without God?

From "Nietzsche Would Laugh" by Chuck Colson, posted 12/26/07 at Breakpoint.org

One of the biggest obstacles facing what's called the "New Atheism" is the issue of morality. Writers like Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, and Christopher Hitchens have to convince people that morals and values are possible in a society that does not believe in God.

It is important to understand what is not in doubt: whether an individual atheist or agnostic can be a "good" person. Of course they can, just as a professing Christian can do bad things.

The issue is whether the secular worldview can provide a basis for a good society. Can it motivate and inspire people to be virtuous and generous?

...Being unable to account for human altruism is not enough for Sam Harris, author of Letter to a Christian Nation. In a recent debate with Rick Warren, he complained about Christians "contaminating" their altruistic deeds in places like Africa with "religious ideas" like "the divinity of Jesus." Instead of rejoicing at the alleviation of suffering, he frets over someone hearing the Gospel.

In response, Warren pointed out the inconvenient (for Harris, that is) truth: You won't find many atheists feeding the hungry and ministering to the sick in places like Africa or Mother Teresa's Calcutta.

Read the whole commentary.

Megachurches Targeted for Pro-Gay Campaign

From "Megachurches Targeted for Pro-Gay Campaign" by Nathan Black, posted 12/3/07 at christianpost.com

Two homosexual groups plan to launch a national campaign targeting the most influential megachurches and its leaders in an attempt to change their views on gays and lesbians.

Soulforce, which promotes "pro-gay" interpretations of Scripture, and COLAGE (Children of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere) are currently recruiting LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) parents and their children along with other supporters for "The American Family Outing" in 2008. Selected families will visit six major megachurches to "educate" the public on the issue of homosexuality.

"Through our visibility we hope to peacefully challenge the false stereotypes about LGBT people and same-gender families, and educate the public through authentic and personal conversations - real parents sharing their stories and describing the hurtful effects of prejudice and religious condemnation," said a statement describing the national campaign, which will run from Mother's Day weekend in May through Father's Day weekend in June.

Churches being targeted are those led by Joel Osteen, Bishop T.D. Jakes, Dr. Rick Warren, Bishop Harry Jackson, Jr., Bill Hybels and Bishop Eddie Long. Along with most Christian leaders, all have expressed to some degree an opposition to the homosexual lifestyle.

Soulforce contends that these younger generation evangelical leaders "are striving to change the tone of the national political debate with messaging that is less punitive, therefore making religion-based discrimination seem more palatable to the mainstream American public."

The upcoming campaign comes at a time when more evangelical churches are showing compassion toward the homosexual community. While still rejecting homosexual behavior as sin, Christians are increasingly welcoming and loving homosexuals, departing from the hateful and homophobic labels often attached to churches.

Read the rest of this article.

It will be interesting to see how these churches respond. Let's pray they will be unapologetically faithful to the Word of God.