Moderator Rick Warren of the Saddleback Civil Forum said presidential hopeful Barack Obama needed to be more specific in his answer to the question of when life begins.
-
(Photo: AP Images / Alex Brandon)Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., talks with Pastor Rick Warren during the Saddleback Forum in Lake Forrest, Calif. Saturday, Aug. 16, 2008. -
(Photo: AP Images / Alex Brandon)Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., shakes hands with Pastor Rick Warren during the Saddleback Forum in Lake Forrest, Calif. Saturday, Aug. 16, 2008.
Obama, the putative Democratic nominee, had glibly responded that “it’s above my pay grade” to answer specifically when asked the question on life.
“I think he needed to be more specific on that,” said Warren in an interview following the forum with Beliefnet.com. “I happen to disagree with Barack on that.
“[T]o me, I would not want to die and get before God one day and go, ‘Oh, sorry, I didn’t take the time to figure out’ because if I was wrong, then it had severe implications for my leadership if I had the ability to do something about,” Warren explained.
The influential megachurch pastor wished Obama would have stated clearly that he did not believe life begins until “X” point or that it is a human being at “X” point.
“But to just say ‘I don’t know’ on the most divisive issue in America is not a clear enough answer for me,” Warren, who refused to say who he will vote for, said.
Other evangelical leaders, such as Janet Folger, president of Faith2Action, also were dissatisfied with Obama’s answer to the abortion question.
She said the question could be interpreted as “when does a baby get human rights?” in which Obama’s voting record would reply “never.”
“He’s the only Senator in the entire Senate in Illinois who actually stood on the floor and spoke against protecting babies that were completely severed from the mother, that had survived the assault of an abortion,” Folger said during a teleconference with other evangelical leaders following the forum. “That answer should have been ‘never.’ He tried to avoid it, and it tells me that he shouldn’t be getting the pay grade of President.”
During the interview with Beliefnet, Warren reaffirmed what he and many others have said in the past - that evangelicals are not monolithic and he cannot predict who this group will vote for.
But he did say that evangelicals will vote based on their priority in values, and for many, the abortion issue could be the “deal breaker.”
“If they think that life begins at conception, then that means that there are 40 million Americans who are not here [because they were aborted] that could have voted,” Warren said.
“They would call that a holocaust, and for them it would like if I'm Jewish and a Holocaust denier is running for office. I don't care how right he is on everything else, it's a deal breaker for me. I'm not going to vote for a Holocaust denier …”
Polls show that young evangelicals are more pro-life than their parents' generation. Although these young faith voters are looking at other topics such as poverty, AIDS, climate change, the issue of abortion remains at the top for many, according to surveys.
The Saddleback Civil Forum, which took place last Saturday evening, drew massive media attention because it was the first time presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama shared the same stage this election year.
Warren followed up the forum with a sermon, which was streamed lived on the Internet, on Sunday, preaching on the qualities of a biblical leader. He purposely avoided naming names of candidates, but said the purpose of the special sermon, titled “The Kind of Leader America Needs,” was to simply teach Christians the characteristics of a leader, as taught in the Bible, who will be blessed by God and let Christian voters make up their own political decisions.
"Don't just look at issues, look at character," Warren told Saddleback congregants and those watching on the Internet. "Look at the candidate and say, 'Does he live with integrity, service with humility, share with generosity, or not?'"
RSS
Im against abortion because God is; why?
No child is a mistake before birth or inside the womb. We as followers of Christ need to back our opinions with facts. These facts are in the Bible. Abortion is against Gods will! Read Jeremiah 1:5, psalms 139.
It is evident that even before we are born, we are sawn together in our mothers womb. We are perfectly made to do our calling as Christians which is better explained in Jeremiah 1.
The main thing is the most powerful gift given when we are born. "Love". Its not the mother of a new-born that makes her child attracted to her, its Love between them two. "God is Love". Its the shortest scripture in the Bible but the most powerful.
Taking this gift from a "prophet" is by far the most cruel thing you can do and anyone who supports this act of selfishness, is just as cruel. This is not a judgement but a stated fact. Anyone who supports this cruelty is clearly not following Christ and following His walk.
Its clear that it is Gods will a child be born. When Adam and Eve ate the apple..this opened our ability of choice here on earth. Anyone would have done it. Following this act, we as believers or non-believers have the ability to choice between good and evil. Abortion is evil and this cruelty will for sure be judged on Jesus return.
You can call yourself a christian all the days of your life but a true Christian is a believer in faith not ignorance. Christians have God as their footstool not morality or common understanding. God tells Christians that our believe in Him will shine so that all will see so that no label should have to be placed.
Are you shining or following your understandings? God tells us not to "lean on our own understandings" In all respect to all who post debates, please use scripture not other peoples opinions. God Bless.
Michael Etheridge,
Myspace.com/michaeletheridge622
I think Sarah palin would be a cool VP!
Do your research:
- -Obama voted to kill babies born alive (voted against infant protection)
- - Obama and Hillary push for partial birth abortion which is cut the skull, suck the brains out of a human being, and throw them in the trash. Obama is sick!
Why is my family so concerned about the deception of Obama? He is not a decent man, has no experience and has ties with ACORN, AYERS, WRIGHT, some are voting for Obama only because of skin color and so many other bad reasons...
*** Families for McCain - Palin ***
I could never vote for Obama.
Sarah Palin is a real Christian. Where are the articles of her faith? SHe is not perfect, but will keep America safe!
*** People of faith are voting McCain - Palin ***
Some facts on Obama's voting and speaking against the teaching of Christ:
- Obama votes to kill babies born alive. These are people Jesus loves.
- Obama calls traditional marriage, which Jesus ordained, "divisive".
- Biden's church has told Biden not to take communion.
Let's vote for McCain - Palin beacuse they care for all babies and marriage - instead of voting because
someone is black or speaks well.
*** People of faith are voting McCain - Palin ***
"A vote for McCain is a vote to tell our young people that adultery in its most blatant forms is OK. THAT is a threat to marriage. "
A vote for Obama tells our children that we think we should reserve the right to have aborted them if we so desired and that they should have the right to abort our grandchildren so that it won't "ruin" their life.
Our choices are hard indeed. Adultery on one hand and abortion on the other hand. No doubt both are sins and both provide a bad example to young people, but what we don't know is whether John Mc Cain has repented and asked God and his family for forgiveness.
If he has done so we cannot hold it over his head any longer as God has forgiven him. I also see a difference in the extent of the evil they both have participated in directly or indirectly. Mc Cain's was a choice that affected his family directly; hard and painful but God has given us the capacity to get on with our lives even after suffering that kind of betrayal.
Obama's take on abortion jeopardizes the lives of thousands of people everyday, people who will not get the opportunity to make a mistake because they are viewed as something that can be just thrown away if the moment just isn't right.
Our society loves utilitarianism and though I don't subscribe to the idea, those who defend it should see that this case does offer a choice for the greater good of a greater number of people.
I for one, am not comfortable electing someone who repeatedly cheated on his first wife, left her for his wealthy mistress, and awkwardly uses his POW status to cover over his discomfort with discussing his faith and other difficult topics, and has lived a life of luxury and privilege, aside from his years of service.
A vote for McCain is a vote to tell our young people that adultery in its most blatant forms is OK. THAT is a threat to marriage.
stanz said:
"First of all, Senator Obama did not personally kill anyone"
anyone who supports abortion is a murderer. And i mean the whole "industry" that is out to make money on the innocent and helpless. Then they sell the little bodies that have been cut up to so-called research companies. There are price lists for our children. For example $1000 for an eye, $500 for a brain, $100 for an arm etc...
Anyone who supports this is damned.
And i follow the Spirit too, it is he that gives understanding when we dont have "specific verses" on abortion industry.
ty and have a nice day.
"many of you talk and think the same and hang out with people who think the same. Me, I've read my Bible alone every day for 13-14 years and 8 years on and off. I listen to preachers as a supplement, like a person who takes a vitamin, but my meals or the meat of my learning comes from the Holy Spirit."
Um, I don't think this is the first time I've read you write this, and I'm sure you did not mean it to come out this way, but it sounds like a bit of pride. Kind of like in Matthew 6:5.
Preach it, wbmoore! Preach it!
msnchris70
"Senator Obama did not personally kill anyone."
Didn't say he did. I said he did not vote to protect children who survived abortion. Then I said it looks like he lied about his position.
"Second of all, why do Republican leaders advocate personal responsibility when it comes to income, but ignore personal responsibility when it comes to abortion? "
I'm not a republican leader, but as for me, when the innocent baby can protect itself, I'll expect it to take personal responsibility. Until then, we need to protect it if possible.
As for the mother who wants the abortion, aborting a baby is NOT taking personal responsibility - it is attempting to abdicate it. I say attempting because while the baby may die, there are still negative consequeces to abortion.
Many people ARE working to end hunger and disease. This does not mean we should not work to end infanticide.
Many of us who are against infanticide are also against adultery and divorce; I wouldn't mind find a way to end those too.
stan,
"and do very little to open up the minds of the young people getting the abortions to the fact that even developing life is precious"
Wrong. We do. But people still view pregnancy as inconvenient rather than a life. We tried to get Planned Parenthood to do ultrasounds for pregnant mothers so that they could see the baby growing, which would make it more real to them. PP refused to do that because they knew it would sway clients to not get to procedure. There are alternatives to PP, but they are not as prolific for two reasons.
PP gets government funding. Many of these other places do not.
As I said before, many young people continue to view pregnancy as being inconvenient, and do not want to take responsibility for their actions.
I would like to say that the overall responsibility falls upon the parents of the pregnant teen, but the government wants to even take that away as well.
First of all, Senator Obama did not personally kill anyone. Second of all, why do Republican leaders advocate personal responsibility when it comes to income, but ignore personal responsibility when it comes to abortion? They blame the Democrats every four years so they can get the "evangelical vote" and do very little to open up the minds of the young people getting the abortions to the fact that even developing life is precious . Republicans controlled the White house and Congress for six years and there have been seven Republican appointments to the Supreme Court, but nothing done on abortion. There are four different Gospel authors, but not one religious teaching exclusively on killing, much less abortion. There are many verses denouncing greed (idol worship) and some are a quarter of a chapter and more long such as Mark 10:17-27. Almost the entire chapter of Luke 16:9-31 is a parable and parables denouncing greed. Why, because tens of millions of people(including children) are starving to death slowly and slowly dying from lack of medicine and food and from treatable diseases. Meanwhile people are buying seven houses and ignoring them. All life is precious to the Lord and he looks on the elderly as you do the young. They are still children in His eyes! We can save far more lives from disease, starvation and sickness, including far more children than are lost to abortion, with a fraction of what we spend on an unjust war. By the way, both those chapters I cited also contain warnings against adultery and you can be left out of heaven for adultery as easily as you can for killing. It's so sad how many people don't understand scripture. But many of you talk and think the same and hang out with people who think the same. Me, I've read my Bible alone every day for 13-14 years and 8 years on and off. I listen to preachers as a supplement, like a person who takes a vitamin, but my meals or the meat of my learning comes from the Holy Spirit.
"It looks like Obama lies...."
In following his campain he seems to represent every possible position on all subjects. You would think one of them would be right. :D