Conservative evangelical leaders, who have been slow to warm to John McCain, met privately this week to discuss coalescing around the Republican's presidential bid.
-
(Photo: AP Images / LM Otero)Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., speaks to the National Sheriffs' Association conference in Indianapolis, Tuesday, July 1, 2008.
Mathew Staver, a conservative Christian activist, convened a meeting of about 90 conservative evangelical leaders Tuesday night in Denver. Many evangelicals have been wary of McCain's commitment to their causes and his previous criticisms of movement leaders, among other things.
"Our shared core values compel us to unite and choose the presidential candidate that best advances those values," said Staver, who heads the Florida-based legal advocacy group Liberty Counsel and originally backed the candidacy of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. "That obvious choice is Sen. John McCain. I think people left the meeting in unity the likes of which have not been evident through the primaries."
Staver said the result will be more leaders "energizing their base" and targeted efforts in battleground states and states with anti-gay marriage ballot initiatives this fall such as Florida and California.
According to Staver, those in attendance included Phyllis Schlafly, head of the Eagle Forum; pastor and "Left Behind" co-author Tim LaHaye and his wife, Beverly, founder of Concerned Women for America; David Barton, founder of WallBuilders; Rick Scarborough of Vision America; and Don Hodel, a former interior secretary and former president of Colorado Springs-based Focus on the Family.
James Dobson, the founder of Focus on the Family and a fan of neither McCain nor Democratic candidate Barack Obama, did not attend. Dobson has been in California working on a new book, aides have said.
Obama has been courting religious voters. On Tuesday, he called for expanding White House efforts to steer social service dollars to religious groups.
Staver said enthusiasm is building for McCain, in part because of the Republican senator's recent meetings with movement leaders like Phil Burress, who also attended the Denver summit. Burress helped pass an anti-gay marriage measure in Ohio that was credited with helping President Bush win the state in 2004.
Asked whether it was opposition to Obama or enthusiasm for McCain that motivated the group, Staver said: "Obama is a considerable threat to our values. At the same time, Sen. McCain recently has been reaching out to evangelicals and conservative voters that we represent."
Time magazine first reported on the meeting on its Web site Wednesday.
Comments
Yes, and who is talking about Christ, but Senator Obama. Both Senator Obama and Senator McCain are imperfect, but at least Barack has given multiple speeches about his faith for the world to see and hear. When you do that you are preaching to everyone, including Muslims. Two of my cousins are gay and they are more loving than most Christians I know. Yet, bashing gays seem to a hobby for some evangelicals. Too many Christians want to be Christ's warriors, instead of Christ's lovers. Yes it's true, sometimes saying or doing something harsh is the loving thing to do, but most times it is not.
How many millions die each year without Christ? What is the greatest need, a missed meal or trust in Christ?
There are four Gospel books and not one parable or teaching from Jesus on killing. Am I saying that killing is ok, of course not. I'm saying certan people made it the number one priority sin and it is not.
"In developing countries nearly 16 million children die every year from preventable and treatable causes. Sixty percent of these deaths are from hunger and malnutrition.
In the United States, 11.7 million children live in households where people have to skip meals or eat less to make ends meet. That means one in ten households in the U.S. are living with hunger or are at risk of hunger." Maybe that's why Christ never said that it is almost impossible for a killer to get to heaven, but he did say that about a rich man in Mark 10:17-25. We can save maybe twenty times the amount of lives lost to the horrible practice of abortion if we just spent a part of the money we spend on weapons to kill people to feed and medicate them.
I will be voting. It's my duty as an American citizen.
For the next Commander-in-Chief, McCain gets my vote.
As nominator of the next three Supreme Court justices, McCain gets my vote.
When the Founding Fathers declared their freedom from the British monarchy in 1776, they based their argument on the unalienable rights of equality and "LIFE, liberty and the pursuit of happiness"
We need to think about what that means.
From the scripture:
"What you do to the least of these you do unto me"
"Before I knit you in your mother's womb I knew
you".
May religious leaders have said that abortion was the pre-eminent moral issue.
Without the right to life all other
rights have no meaning. That precious
infant in the mother's womb deserves a chance just like all of us.
Mr. McCain had an 89% pro-life voting record in the Senate .
Mr. Obama? 0%.
In addition to being our most pro-life
president ever, Mr. Bush spent more on social
welfare programs and combatting AIDs than any
previous chief executive.
The present Pope, when he was a cardinal, said
that one could disagree over issues such as war and the death penalty and still be a good Christian. Abortion and homosexuality are always
and forever more wrong and serious evils. They
were wrong two thousand years ago and will be
two thousand years from now.
I should qualify what I wrote about(above) Mr Obama's
pro-life voting record in the Senate. He did
cast one pro-life vote (to save the life of Terri Schiavo). He now said he regrets doing that, however. So, de facto he does have a 0%.
By the way, when he was in the Illinois legislature he voted against requiring a physician to save the life of an infant who
had survived a botched abortion. This is a more extreme position than even most pro-abortion groups like NARAL have. He is as far as I know the most pro-abortion, pro homosexual candidate ever to run for president. If this man represents the new Christianity and the new America, God help us all.
This country did great things by getting rid of slavery and
segregation. But with abortion and homosexual marriage we have only
traded one set of evils for another.
Nothing sanctioned by man can have any validity or lasting if it is not also likewise sanctioned by God.
Sen. Obama received the following scores on NARAL Pro-Abortion America's Congressional Record on Choice.
2007: 100 percent
2006: 100 percent
2005: 100 percent
Mr. Obama is the first African-American to be nominated by a major party, which is hugh. No man, however can come before God or the word of God.
How any bible-believing loving Christian, African-American or otherwise can even consider voting for this man is beyond me.
The day will come for each of us when we will have to stand before God and justify our every action,
including voting for someone like this.
There is a picture at the bottom of the National Right to LIfe web page(nrlc.org). Go there and
take a look and think long and hard about how you're going to vote.
I'm a Democrat and I'm asking other Democrats and Republicans and Independents to please tone down the language. You can make your point without becoming so very angry.We as Christians get to pick from other sinners a president. That is the chioce we have. We have to weigh everything and not just one or two issues. I'm with Conservatives only on abortion. But just look at the tens of millions of children who die every year due to poverty and disease. We as the richest country allow that to happen. We poured hundreds of billions of dollars into a war that turned out to be unjustified and that could have saved many tens of millions of innnocent children. Never mind the women and men. They are still children in the eyes of the Lord.
My friends in Christ, we have to vote pro-life and John McCain is the only pro-life candidate we have. Let's get behind him now, then take a fresh look in 2012.
God may choice to pick on America because To much is given, much is required. God gave us a wonderful nation that has typically been very faithful to His Word. Just like there were worse nations Than Isereal when it was condemned by God. When freedom to worship the one true God is given freely like in the US then He expects us to use that freedom, when freedom of speech is given he epexcts us to be vocal, when freedom of press is given, He expects us to use it for His gain, and finally when ther is little persucussion He expects us to be rigourous at defending His word
who gives a 2 bit rats tail what that frustrated old biddy Schlafly or Lahaye et al or the rest support. They have supported the mess we have now.
God choses rulers (Romans 13:1-2). David was a man after God's own heart who did everything God wanted (Acts 13:22), and still he did terrible things (2 Samuel 11) that God called sin (2 Samuel 12).
Paul exercised his rights as a citizen (Acts 22:23-30).
We have the responsibility to be good citizens (Romans 13), as such, we should pray (Ephesians 6:18), vote for the best choice, pray, and leave the results to God.
I personally believe the best choice is the one who does not support abortion, and supports protecting marriage, and does not want to strip churches and religious organizations of the right to hire based on religious convictions.
Now it's one story story.....I am a sorry that a lot of evangelicals have such a narrow view of this election, I come from another country and had to endure the operation brought about by a "Christian" government you Americans need to value your freedoms and understand the President of the USA is the leader of more than America, everything we buy is US Dollar based, and most of the missions and feeding around the world is paid for by American Christians, the next President will be responsible for at least two and maybe three Supreme Count Justices that can change the America and the world as we know it so to say I will not vote or I will vote for a third party is rubbish, we learned at great pain that no vote is a vote, and throwing your vote at someone who cannot be elected is tossing your freedom to the wind. I beg you to consider what you do. God will hold you responsible for what you do in November and the World you leave to the next generation
Oh!!!! by the way to say that somehow America is under the Wrath of God!!!! Please!!!! why would God pick on America when there are a bunch of European countries that should be ash heaps using that logic, like France, Sweden, UK, Belgium, etc. and a huge number of Asian counties, India, China, and a host of other, at least America is doing some good in this world, relax and stop being so hard on yourselves at least In God we still trust here in America.
Oh!!!! by the way to say that somehow America is under the Wrath of God!!!! Pleaseâ¦â¦why would God pick on America when there are a bunch of European countries that should be ash heaps using that rational, like France, Sweden, UK, Belgium, etc. and a huge number of asian counties, India, China, and a host of other, at least America is doing some good in this world, relax and stop being so hard on yourselves at least âIn God we still trustâ here in America.
I am a sorry that a lot of evengelicals have such a narrow view of this election, I come from another country and had to endure the oppretion brought about by a "Christian" government you Americans need to value your freedoms and understand the President of the USA is the leader of more than America, everything we buy is US Dollar based, and most of the missions and feeding around the world is paid for by American Christians, the next President will be responsible fot at least two and maybe three Supreme Count Justices that can change the America and the world as we know it so to say I will not vote or I will vote for a third party is rubbish, we learned at great pain that no vote is a vote, and throwing your vote at someone who cannot be elected is tossing your freedom to the wind. I beg you to consider what you do. God will hold you resposible for what you do in November and the World you leave to the next generation
I find it absolutely unbelievable that church leaders can be so naive. If John McCain isn't 100% acceptable now, there is no magic wand that will make him so before november. And face it, Mike Huckabee will not be on any ballot this fall.
It seems that our (church people) always voting for the republican, even though they're usually pukes, has gotten us into the dilemma we face this fall. There will never be another presidential candidate who talks and acts like GWB did and look where it got us. I'm voting third party from now on. And yes I have 100% peace and sleep well at night.
Diana626 - While I agree with your premise (America is under God's judgement) I don't agree with your assertion that sodomy is the final straw. God was pretty clear about what He hates and the shedding of innocent blood is at the top of His list.
When the Church sewed to the wind when we decided to play nice and not defend the truths of God's revelation in the marketplace of ideas, and now are reaping the whirlwind.
Human life is more than a gift from God. Life is sacred because we are the only creatures that bear His image. Yes, God hates sin, including sodomy, lying, gossip, and slander. But the hotest fires of Hell are reserved for those who slaughter the innocent. Therefore, we must vote for McCain to keep the Democrat party from controlling the White House, Congress, and the Supreme Court.
Don't confuse civil government with the Church, Diana626. God established both institutions, civil society is inclusive, while the Church is exclusive. Therefore, we should pray AND vote.
Otherwise, you can stick a fork in America, 'cause we are done.