Why Obama's Faith-Based Initiatives Matter
Tuesday July 1, 2008
Categories: Barack Obama
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About God-o-Meter
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The God-o-Meter (pronounced Gah-DOM-meter) scientifically measures factors such as rate of God-talk, effectiveness—saying God wants a capital gains tax cut doesn't guarantee a high rating—and other top-secret criteria (Actually, the adjustment criteria are here). Click a candidate's head to get his or her latest God-o-Meter reading and blog post. And check back often. With so much happening on the campaign trail, God-o-Meter is constantly recalibrating!God-o-Meter blogger Dan Gilgoff is Beliefnet's Politics Editor. A former political correspondent for U.S. News & World Report, he is author of The Jesus Machine: How James Dobson, Focus on the Family, and Evangelical America are Winning the Culture War.
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Beliefnet may not endorse political candidates but they sure seem to favor the BO.
BeliefNet favors no candidate. But as a spiritual/faith-based website whose mission is to help believers walk a "spiritual path that will bring comfort, hope, clarity, strength, and happiness", it is only natural for it to tout the faith-based activties of the presidential candidates.
If the Republican Party had not nominated an angry old man who reportedly curses even his wife, divorced his loyal first wife and married the pretty millionaire he was having an adulterous affair with, called leading evangelical leaders "agents of intollerance", threw 2 spiritual leaders (Hagee and Parsley) under the double-talk-express, and does nothing to promote faith-based initiatives, perhaps Evangelicals like us who supported George Bush would not have taken interest in Barack Obama. Now, there's no turning back.
Besides, this website says "The God-o-Meter scientifically measures factors such as rate of God-talk ....". And Obama seems to be leading on that. John McCain just doesn't even know how to pretend to talk about faith - it's just not his thing. It's one of the reasons he lost the GOP nomination to Bush in 2000. This year, the GOP was simply about who they felt had the slimmest chance of winning.
Well, there's only one candidate talking about God. When the other actually begins to use the Almighty's name without looking awkward, he'll be written about also.
Have not found this part of the site until today. I like the posts. I'm wondering about your juxtaposing secularist with theocrat. Surely one can have a deep faith without being a theocrat, and so I'm wondering if you've intentionally created a scale that's only about where a person is on the issue of how much religious expression there should be in public policy. And if so, you seem to discount McCain's wish to appoint judges that would overturn Roe v. Wade, which is surely a theocratic position. (I'm an Obama supporter, BTW)
I would love to be in the Senate with a stopwatch to see how many seconds a Judge who promised to overturn Roe v Wade would survive in a Democrat controlled chamber.
Tax the churches. It's the right thing to do, considering.
I've never been much for speeches. I'm much more interested in action. Obama has participated in a hate-filled racist church and consorted with terrorists. That's pretty much all I need to know.
There's an old saying: "I can't hear what you're saying, what you're doing is too loud."
frg
You been watching FOX"news" again, haven't you.
Don't beleieve them or any of the internet garbage. The church is neither racist nor hate-filled, and I think you will discover he has not been consorting with terrorists. But if you look hard for hate you will find it anywhere.
Sad, sad, sad..... I thought Rove style politics was starting to end. Quick question.....
I worship a rare South American tree frog and was wondering if the faith based initiatives would help me fund my volunteer organization overseas. See, as a former Peace Corps Volunteer during the Bush administration, I am well aware of how Bush's faith based funding went to popular NGO's who refused to provide condoms to Africans while instead pushing the "Christian" abstinence approach.
That said... This is not the tree frog worshiper approach to ending the spread of HIV. Will I still be funded???? or..... Is this just a sad attempt to appeal to the ethnocentric Christian conservatives that have helped promote Bush's ideals over the past eight years???
Obama had me until yesterday. He appeared to be a true patriot that although was religious, was able to respect the boundary of church and state. Although he will undoubtedly win the election, now he is just another sleazy politician.
I never thought I would say this but.......
TIME TO SUPPORT NADER
This is a program that should be abolished, not expanded. So many dollars have been wasted already; it is time to get back to programs that work. I worked at an HIV prevention organization that lost it’s federal funding under Bush's current policy because we gave out condoms and taught young people about safer sex practices. Now our tax dollars are given away by the millions to anybody that will say the word 'Abstinence' – which is just not a reality for most of our youth today.
Quick question… Since Obama's faith based initiative will give money to his Chicago Church, could the money be used to infect white people with syphilis?
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