CHICAGO (AP) - Barack Obama discussed Darfur, the Iraq war, gay rights, abortion and other issues Tuesday with Christian leaders, including conservatives who have been criticized for praising the Democratic presidential candidate.
-
(Photo: AP Images / Alex Brandon)Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama D-Ill. points to a questioner as he speaks to the media, Tuesday, June 10, 2008, at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis.
Bishop T.D. Jakes, a prominent black clergyman who heads a Dallas megachurch, said Obama took questions, listened to participants and discussed his "personal journey of faith."
The discussion "went absolutely everywhere," Jakes told The Associated Press, and "just about every Christian stripe was represented in that room."
Jakes, who does not endorse candidates and said he also hopes to meet with Republican presidential candidate John McCain, said some participants clearly have political differences with Obama. The senator's support for abortion rights and gay rights, among other issues, draws opposition from religious conservatives. Some conservatives have criticized Jakes for praising Obama.
Jakes said the meeting, at a law firm's offices, seemed designed to prompt a wide discussion rather than to result in commitments from either Obama or those attending. Others familiar with the meeting said some participants agreed to attend only because it would be private.
Rich Cizik, vice president for governmental affairs of the National Association of Evangelicals, an umbrella organization for evangelical churches and ministries, said Obama asked participants to share "anything that's on your mind that is of concern to you."
"I think it's important to point out this isn't a group of people who are endorsing Obama," Cizik said in an interview. "People were asked for their insider wisdom and understanding of the religious community."
Mark DeMoss, a spokesman for the Rev. Franklin Graham, said Graham attended and asked Obama whether "he thought Jesus was the way to God, or merely a way." DeMoss declined to discuss Obama's response.
Graham, who succeeded his father as head of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, found the senator "impressive" and "warm," DeMoss said.
"He feels that dialogue with someone who may be president is useful whether or not you agree with them on everything or anything," DeMoss said. Graham expects to soon meet with Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.
Joshua Dubois, the Obama campaign's director of faith outreach, said the meeting included "prominent evangelicals and other faith leaders" who "discussed policy issues and came together in conversation and prayer." Similar sessions will occur "in the months to come," he said.
About 30 people attended, the campaign said, but it released only three names: the Rev. Stephen Thurston, head of the National Baptist Convention of America, Inc., a historically black denomination; the Rev. T. Dewitt Smith, president of the Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc., which was home to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights leaders; and Bishop Phillip Robert Cousin Sr., an A.M.E. clergyman and former NAACP board member.
Two sources familiar with the meeting, but who spoke on background because the session was private, said others attending included conservative Catholic constitutional lawyer Doug Kmiec; evangelical author Max Lucado of San Antonio; Cameron Strang, founder of Relevant Media, which is aimed at young Christians; the Rev. Luis Cortes of Esperanza USA; and Paul Corts, president of the Council of Christian Colleges and Universities. Continue >>
RSS
to me it seems like meeting with your enemies to know your enemies.....he actually has to talk to people who practice a faith in order to blend in enough to look like one. I find this nothing more than a recon mission..go out find out information about the enemy and use it to your advantage
Other than the representative from Graham's organization, and another one or two, I dont see any conservative Evangelical leaders. You will note that I am now prefacing Evangelical with the word conservative because the word Evangelical has been hijacked by religious liberals (don't assume Christian). If conservative Christians think that Obama has any concern for them, were crazy. I am going to say this; I don't see anything in Obama that gives me reason to think he is a Christian. None of his actions or ideas support his claim. Infact, I bet that the answer Mr. DeMoss got from Obama when asked about Jesus being the only way to the Father, will not satisfy Mr. Graham. I know Mr. DeMoss' family. I worked with his late uncle Ted DeMoss who was one of the best one-on-one Evangelist of the 20th century.
AllenJ - Chattanooga, TN
Beware, Pastor Wright is still there in the list. He was sidelined for now. Who knows next?
Here's the rest of the Ministers whom Obama is counting on:
The Rev. Alvin Love
President
National Baptist General State Convention of Illinois
Rev. Dr. Joseph E. Lowery
Civil Rights Icon
Founder, Former President, and Chair, Southern Christian Leadership
Conference
Bishop Cody V. Marshall
Presiding Bishop, Illinois Northern District
Church of God in Christ, Inc.
The Rt. Rev. E. Earl McCloud
Office of Ecumenical & Urban Affairs
African Methodist Episcopal Church
The Rt. Rev. Vashti Murphy McKenzie
Presiding Bishop, 13th Episcopal District
African Methodist Episcopal Church
Rev. Dr. Otis Moss, Jr.
Senior Pastor
Olivet Institutional Baptist Church
Rev. Otis Moss, III
Pastor
Trinity United Church of Christ
Chicago, IL
Rev. Dr. Craig Oliver
Senior Pastor
Elizabeth Baptist Church
Atlanta, GA
Rev. Joel R. Peebles
Jericho City of Praise
Landover, MD
Rev. Bertha Perkins
Senior Pastor, New Fellowship Baptist Church
Manchester, NH
Rev. Dr. Paul H. Sadler
Senior Pastor
Mt. Zion Congregational Church
Cleveland, OH
Dr. Kenneth L. Samuel
Senior Pastor
Victory for the World Church
Stone Mountain, GA
Rev. Dr. Barbara Williams Skinner
Co-founder and President
Skinner Leadership Institute
Rev. Dr. T. DeWitt Smith, Jr.
President
Progressive National Baptist Convention
Rev. Dr. J. Alfred Smith
Senior Pastor
Allen Temple Baptist Church
Oakland, CA
Rev. Dr. E. Dewey Smith, Jr.
Senior Pastor
Greater Travelers Rest Baptist Church
Atlanta, GA
Rev. Dr. Susan K. Smith
Senior Pastor
Advent United Church of Christ
Columbus, OH
Rev. Edward L. Taylor
Senior Pastor
Emmanuel Baptist Church
San Jose, CA
Bishop Walter Scott Thomas
Senior Pastor
New Psalmist Baptist Church
Baltimore, MD
Rev. Dr. Frank A. Thomas
Senior Pastor
Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church
Memphis, TN
Rev. Dr. Robert Thompson
Exeter Academy
Exeter, NH
Rev. Dr. Stephen John Thurston
President
National Baptist Convention of America
Bishop Larry D. Trotter
Senior Pastor
Sweet Holy Spirit Church
Chicago, IL
Rev. Albert D. Tyson, III
Senior Pastor
St. Stephen A.M.E. Church
Chicago, IL
Rev. Dr. C.T. Vivian
Civil Rights Icon
Pastor Lance Watson
Senior Pastor
The St. Paul's Baptist Church
Richmond, VA
Rev. Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr.*
Senior Pastor
Trinity United Church of Christ
Chicago, IL
Senator Barack Obama's Pastor
Here is a list of Churches and their leaders supporting Obama, as published:
NATIONAL
Rev. Dr. Claude R. Alexander, Jr.
Senior Pastor
University Park Baptist Church
Charlotte, NC
Rev. Dr. Willie Barrow
Co-founder, Rainbow PUSH Coalition
Dr. Michael Battle
President, Interdenominational Theological Center
Atlanta, GA
Bishop Dr. Arthur M. Brazier
Senior Pastor
Apostolic Church of God
Chicago, IL
The Rt. Rev. E. Lynn Brown
Presiding Bishop, 2nd Episcopal District
Christian Methodist Episcopal Church
The Rev. Dr. Grainger Browning, Jr.
Senior Pastor
Ebenezer African Methodist Episcopal Church
Ft. Washington, MD
Dr. Iva E. Carruthers
General Secretary
Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference
Dean Lawrence Edward Carter
Dean, Martin Luther King, Jr. International Chapel
Morehouse College
Dr. E.T. Caviness
Greater Abyssinian Baptist Church
Cleveland, Ohio
Rev. Dr. Delman L. Coates
Senior Pastor
Mt. Ennon Baptist Church
Clinton, MD
Rev. Dr. Marcus D. Cosby
Senior Pastor
Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church
Houston, TX
The Rt. Rev. Philip Robert Cousin, Sr.
Senior Bishop of the A.M.E. Church
Presiding Bishop, Fourth Episcopal District
African Methodist Episcopal Church
Rev. Dr. Gerald Durley
Senior Pastor
Providence Missionary Baptist Church
Atlanta, GA
Pastor Michael Eaddy
Senior Pastor
People's Church of the Harvest Church of God in Christ
Atlanta, Georgia
Rev. Dr. Cynthia Hale
Senior Pastor
Ray of Hope Christian Church
Atlanta, GA
Rev. Dr. Freddie D. Haynes, III
Senior Pastor
Friendship-West Baptist Church
Dallas, TX
Dr. Obery M. Hendricks
New York Theological Seminary
Rev. Dr. Arthur L. Hilson
Senior Pastor
New Hope Baptist Church
Portsmouth, NH
Rev. Dr. John Hunter, Sr.
Senior Pastor
First African Methodist Episcopal Church
Los Angeles, CA
Rev. Dr. M.L. Jemison
Former President, Progressive National Baptist
Senior Pastor, St. John Missionary Baptist Church
Oklahoma City, OK
Rev. Dr. Charles Jenkins
Senior Pastor
Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church
Chicago, IL
Rev. Dr. Matthew Vaughn Johnson
Senior Pastor
Christian Fellowship Baptist Church
Atlanta, GA
The Rt. Rev. T. Larry Kirkland
Presiding Bishop, 9th Episcopal District
African Methodist Episcopal Church
DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE THAT OBAMA CAN EASILY CHANGE HIS RELIGIOUS BELIEFS IN LESS THAN ONE MONTH?
For Obama, religion is a fair game just to win the White House.
Hodge podging on the race and color is too dangerous. Obama thinks that many Black Christian ministers and pastors will convince their churches to vote for him.
That is his strategy in most Christian-dominated States.
Communist and Socialist groups that now have invaded America. The connections of these groups are tricky because they are based on the "Fusion Theory" of Michael Harrington of New Party, a Chicago based party of Obama in 1996 who gave him his first election win.
ACLU is affiliate of Communist Party of USA, Democratic Socialists of America, Progressive Movement, Progressive Alliance, CODEPINK, the Working Families Party, AFL-CIO, ACORN, AAAN, MoveOn, RAINBOW/PUSH, Progressive Women, and the so-on. They are all Anti-War and champion of Civil Liberties. Note that these groups belive that Arabs and Blacks are the most deprived people in America. Obama partly helped the establishment of AAAN of Khalidi.
After the fall of Communism in 1991, the communists and socialists have reinvented themselves and they now become champions of Anti-War, anti-racism and pro-immigrants, freedom of religion (including no religion), pro-labor, pro-poor, pro-welfare state, and anti- US soldiers.
Many of these people were part of that Anti-War Movement led by UN NGOs in late 2001 which spread around the world the Anti-Iraq War sentiment of Bush Administration. Treason but no one wanted to admit. These people have succeeded so much many of traditional and religious groups in America are so silent about their own doubts against the War. The new brand of communists have successfully gotten the sympathy of the people and made the people hate their own Government.
After destroying the original principles of Democratic Party and put their own ideologies as cornerstone of this Party.... there is only step to complete the victory....Marginalise the Republican Party by winning 2008 Election by November. If unopposed, Obama's win will declare victory of Communist Party and start of a new American Socialist Era.
The fate of American Future now is in hands of Jews and Christians, if you don't join together and consolidate, Communist America will be born.
This election is not about war or economy, as the Socialists are trying to make Americans believe, it is about the birth of new Socialist America.
Glad to see that our christian leaders are taking every opportunity to meet the candidates.