Bloomberg delivers the latest iteration of the "John McCain keeps his faith to himself" story. Most of it's rehash, but there's a new interesting fact up top:
John McCain's pastor ends his sermons with an altar call, beckoning any stirred souls to the front of his 3,500-seat``worship center'' to publicly dedicate their lives to Jesus Christ. In McCain's 15 years of attending Dan Yeary's North Phoenix Baptist Church, the pastor says, the Arizona senator has never made that walk.``All I can tell you is that John and I have had some interesting conversations'' about faith, said Yeary, a 69-year- old Texan. ``And we'll have more.''
Not answering the altar call. Could become a metaphor for McCain's attitude toward the Christian Right and wider evangelical universe.
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I don't believe that "taking the walk" makes you less of a christian. Belief in our savior is, in my view, a very personal journey. All that matters is if your heart has "made the walk".
Consider that John McCain has gone through more bad stuff than anyone who has answered that altar call and it is obvious that he will never feel a need to.
Remember, this is politics. Just because you need people to stuff envelopes and pass out flyers does not mean that you like them.
At least McCain is not being a hypocrite like Huckabee. At least McCain appears to be a dishonest SECULARIST most of the time. Some of you may wonder, "How has he been dishonest?" If you wonder that, ask me for the evidence rather than rejecting what I say. I go through bouts of fear for the future of the US, but God is bigger than the propaganda machine that gave us three Marxist-leaning people.
If I recall my upbringing (which I've largely blocked,) the altar call in some churches (namely the Pentecostal variety) aren't just for people wishing to accept Jesus. Rather, they include a more generalized call for members (or visitors) who need prayer for whatever reason.
I've seen grown men praying with their pastors or deacons - folks who accepted Jesus many years ago - weeping like babies over whatever issue for which they needed prayer.
I wonder what that experience of the altar call is like for someone who constantly has everyone's eyes on them. What is it like for the local celebrity - the weather presenter, the city council member, the senator - to be able to receive prayer at an altar call? I suspect it must be very difficult to "get with God" when everyone and his brother is watching.
Worse, I suspect, are those poor folks who have unfortunate circumstances that make them the subject of the local gossip mill - the teenage girl who finds herself pregnant, the man who had the affair with his co-worker, or the woman who enjoys a few-too-many drinks after work - what must that altar call experience be like?
In a way, I almost think the RCC's confession box is an idea more conducive to people being honest about their need.
IF EVERYTHING PASTOR YEARY SAYS IS TRUE, MR MCCAIN'S FAITH COULD BE GENUINE, BUT SEEMS NOT TO BE A PRIORITY IN HIS LIFE. HE WILL, PROBABLY, KEEP HIS RELIGIOUS BELIEFS -FOR PERSONAL OR POLITICAL REASONS- "IN CLOSET", AND WILL PROBABLY POSE AS A MODERATE CHRISTIAN, ONE WHO WOULD FOLOW JESUS 'FROM A DISTANCE', LIKE NICODEMUS WHO WAS ALSO A FOLLOWER OF JESUS, BUT NEVER A MARTYR. THE RESPONSE TO THE ALTAR CALL IS CRUCIAL, BECAUSE IT MEANS THAT ONE WHO 'DID IT' HAD COMMITTED HIS LIFE TO JESUS FOR GOOD OR FOR WORSE, AND IS COMMITTED TO LIVE HIS HOLLY LIFE IN THE OPEN AND TO DEFEND JESUS AND HIS FOLLOWERS WITH ANY PRICE, WITH ALL HIS MIGHT, IN SPITE OF ANY REPUDIATION OR PERSECUTION FROM THE PART OF HIS NON-CHRISTIAN FRIENDS, OR FAMILY, OR CO-WORKERS. WILL MR MCCAIN PROCLAIM HIS CHRISTIAN BELIEFS IN FRONT OF THE HOST OF UNBELIEVERS IN THIS SECULARIST GOVERMENT OF THE UNITED STATES? THIS IS THE TEST, AND TIME WILL PROVE HIM A GENUINE CHRISTIAN -ONE READY TO DIE FOR JESUS, OR ONE WHO LOVES JESUS AND HIS PRINCIPLES BECAUSE OF THE BEAUTY OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH, BUT NOT NECESSARILY BECAUSE OF A GENUINE LOVE FOR JESUS AS HIS PERSONAL SAVIOR. I HOPE, HOWEVER, THAT YES, MR MCCAIN IS A DEVOUT CHRISTIAN, WHO WILL BRING AMERICA BACK TO GOD.
AFTER ALL, ISN'T THIS THE HOPE OF US ALL?
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