ABC News reports that Rudy Giuliani spoke to a Hispanic evangelical congregation this morning in Miami, apparently his first church visit of the race:
Saying that “faith can transform lives,” Giuliani told parishioners that running for president of the United States “is a marathon, not a sprint. And in may ways it’s a test of strength and a test of faith. The Bible reminds us, Joshua 10:25, ‘Fear not, be strong, and of good courage.’ That is the way to face the future.”
(Giuliani, who is facing off against five major Republican challengers, did not quote from the next verse in Joshua, which describes Joshua smiting five kings, slaying them, and hanging them on five trees until the evening.)
“So I am not coming here to ask for your vote,” Giuliani said. “This is not the right place. I am coming here to ask you of something, very special, very important: I am asking for your prayers.”
Three months ago, Giuliani might have thought that the greatest threats to his candidacy were former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and former Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn., none of whom have been embraced en masse by conservative Christian voters.
But then came the Huckaboom. According to an Associated Press poll from the end of December, 54% of conservative evangelicals who attend church weekly switched their preference of candidate in November and 61 percent of the switchers moved to former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a fellow evangelical and Baptist minister.
God-o-Meter is declining to raise Giuliani’s reading only because it realizes he shouldn’t have been as high as seven for so long.
7
posted January 15, 2008 at 8:52 am
How long has he been going to church? And why is he speaking in hispanic churches? I don’t buy that it isn’t for the votes. I agree that becoming a Christian is what it’s all about, but there are alot of hypocrits out there that USE God to get what they want, and this is a good example. If the US wasn’t concerned about thier faith, he would have been having lunch with illegals.
posted January 23, 2008 at 11:25 am
I doubt Rudy’s sincerity, and I find it hard for Beliefnet to give him a 7. Since when do Bible-believing Christians (*note, not Bible-quoting Polticians) support abortion and homosexual rights?
posted January 23, 2008 at 11:28 am
Also, I find this entire ‘scientific measure’ a load of bologna. Unless it is based on a count of specific key words spoken by the candidates…and then, it’s not evaluating the candidates behavior or actions (by their fruit ye shall know them), but rather their lip service. The very fact that Time magazine is involved should raise concerns over the validity of this ‘scientific’ study. I’ll stick to quantifiable data.