There is only ONE presidential candidate talking about faith.
There is only one candidate talking about Jesus.
There is only one candidate talking about having his sins redeemed.
In case you've been in a cave the last year, that candidate is Barack Obama, not John McCain.
And you know what? It's driving some conservative Evangelicals batty. More on that in a moment. First let me bring your attention to a speech Obama gave Sunday that hasn't gotten as much attention but really exemplifies Obama's serious faith message.
Read the words below and tell me if you ever think we'll hear these words out of the mouth of John McCain. This is Barack Obama Sunday at the A.M.E. Church General Conference in Missouri:
"I let Jesus Christ into my life. I learned that my sins could be redeemed and if I placed my trust in Jesus that he could set me on a path to eternal life. When I submitted myself to his will and I dedicated myself to discovering his truth and carrying out his works, it was that newfound faith that fortified my commitment to the work I was doing in the community. Because it taught me that I could sit in church and pray all I want but I won't be fulfilling the Lord's will unless I am doing the lord's work."
You can watch the 22 minute speech here.
Can we all have a little talk? Just between us? Great.
You understand what's going on here right? Beyond the presidential race, we are in the process of having a serious discussion in this country over what it means to be a Christian.
You have some conservative Evangelicals who couldn't care less what Obama says about his "walk with Jesus." They believe if you look deep down at his theological beliefs and his positions on the social issues, they think there's no way he can be a Christian. Yet you have more moderate Evangelicals and even some conservative ones who see in Obama the heart of a true Christian because of his work on behalf of the poor and underprivileged. Throw in the faith talk and it all flows together.
Whether or not you believe he's a "true" Christian or not, the fact of the matter is Obama wears his religion on his sleeve and therefore suffers the good with the bad. The good comes from the fact that he's not ashamed of the Gospel and sharing his Jesus story.
He has become the rarest of Democrats to open up this sort of dialogue. In the process he has been able to get a new audience to listen to him. The bad is that the attacks will come. It could get real nasty.
What say you? I will post your responses.