Some conservative Christians have drafted an Evangelical Manifesto which shares concerns about the social agenda Evangelical leaders are pushing. The documents founders are asking Christian leaders from around the country to sign the Manifesto:

The declaration, scheduled to be released Wednesday in Washington, encourages Christians to be politically engaged and uphold teachings such as traditional marriage. But the drafters say evangelicals have often expressed "truth without love," helping create a backlash against religion during a "generation of culture warring."

"All too often we have attacked the evils and injustices of others," the statement says, "while we have condoned our own sins." It argues, "we must reform our own behavior."

However, not all Evangelical Leaders are rallying behind this document:

James Dobson, the influential founder of Focus on the Family, a Christian group in Colorado Springs, Colorado, did not sign the document, said Gary Schneeberger, a Dobson spokesman. Schneeberger would not say whether Dobson had read the manifesto or had been asked to sign on.

Phil Burress, an Ohio activist who networks with national evangelical leaders, said that if high-profile evangelical leaders such as Dobson and Land don't support the document, "it's like throwing a pebble in the ocean" and will carry no weight.

While I tend to agree with Phil Burress that this isn't going to change much, it is another sign of discontent from Evanglicals toward their leaders, which you know, I always think is a good thing.

Kenneth Copeland Ministries is fighting back against Senator Grassley's investigation. In a letter responding to the investigation, Copeland's ministry states:

"The church is deeply concerned that the information Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is seeking could be used to subject the church and its members to public stigma, scorn, and obloquy,"

Yeah, I had too look up it up too; "obluquy" means "censure or blame".

Anyway, we'll see how Senator Grassley responds. It doesn't appear that Copeland is getting much help from other  ministries.

"We don't think it's the best approach to wrap yourself in the First Amendment," Kenneth A. Behr, president of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA) told Cybercast News Service. "We believe that financial transparency is one of the cornerstones of financial integrity."

It's been fun to watch this play out. My guess is that the IRS is preparing a lengthy audit of all of the churches under Grassley's investiation. And we'll likely see the results of those audits sometime in 2009.

There are two certainties in life, Death and Taxes. And while Christ cheated Death, he still couldn't get past Taxes. I think Kenneth is screwed.  

Matthew 22:21 - Give to Caeser what is Caeser's, and to God what is God's.

In our continuing effort to remain as journalistically accurate as possible, we offer the following correction:

GORBACHEV DISPELS 'CLOSET CHRISTIAN' RUMORS; SAYS HE IS ATHEIST 

Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev made clear this past weekend that he is an atheist after European news agencies last week claimed that he had confirmed his Christian faith during a visit to the tomb of St. Francis of Assisi in Italy. 

Gorbachev, the last communist leader of the Soviet Union, confronted speculations that he had been a closeted Christian during an interview with the Russian news agency Interfax. 

"Over the last few days some media have been disseminating fantasies – I can't use any other word – about my secret Catholicism, citing my visit to the Sacro Convento friary, where the remains of St. Francis of Assisi lie," Gorbachev said, according to an Interfax article posted Friday. 

"To sum up and avoid any misunderstandings, let me say that I have been and remain an atheist,” he stated. 

Rumors for decades had circulated that Gorbachev was a Christian after he moved to loosen restrictions on religious worship and expressed to a party congress a year before the communist state dissolved that “spiritual rebirth is as essential to society as oxygen,” according to the Chicago Tribune. 

As a result, media agencies had jumped to conclusions when Gorbachev visited St. Francis’ tomb last Wednesday and was seen kneeling for half an hour in silence at the tomb. 

But Gorbachev, who was baptized Russian Orthodox as a child, explained that his visit to the tomb was as a tourist and not a pilgrim. He acknowledged the important role religion plays in society and said he looks forward to visiting Orthodox churches in Russia, Catholic and Protestant churches in the United States and Europe, synagogues in Israel and mosques in the Arab world, according to Interfax. 

"But all these years, it has never occurred to anyone to list me among followers of any faith on that basis," Gorbachev noted. 

Back in Russia, the Russian Orthodox Church seemed unimpressed with Gorbachev’s visit to St. Francis’ tomb. 

"In Italy, he spoke in emotional terms, rather than in terms of faith," a spokesman for the Russian Orthodox patriarch Alexei II told the Russian media. 

"He is still on his way to Christianity. If he arrives, we will welcome him." 

Sorry, Gipper.

Will Hillary make a similar clarification in August after she loses?

Rumor has it that may not be the only thing she'll clarify.

-joebib   

This one's just in from The Christian Post:

OBAMA SUGGESTS JESUS CHRIST NOT THE ONLY WAY TO HEAVEN 

Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama suggested Wednesday that Jesus Christ is not the only way to heaven during a campaign event in North Carolina. 

Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama D-Ill., speaks at a town hall meeting in Greensboro, N.C., Wednesday, March 26, 2008. While answering a question about his Christian faith, Obama said he believes that Jesus Christ died for his sins and through God’s grace and mercy he could have “everlasting life,” according to the Los Angeles Times. 

But he also believes Jews and Muslims and non-believers who live moral lives are as much “children of God” as he is, according to The Associated Press. 

As an example, he spoke about his late mother who was “not a believer.” 

"[S]he was the kindest, most decent, generous person that I have ever known," Obama said, according to the Times. "I'm sure she is in heaven, even though she may not have subscribed to everything that I subscribe to." 

Obama’s response came amid the recent controversy surrounding his former Chicago pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, who made inflammatory remarks about race and America in sermons he delivered many years ago. 

The Illinois senator, who has made religion a cornerstone of his campaign, has denounced the comments – which included “God damn America” for its racism – but refuses to distance himself from the pastor, whom he compares to an uncle. 

During his response on Wednesday, Obama praised his church, Trinity United Church of Christ, especially its choir, and said it was very warm and welcoming and is like any other church in America in that it exists to praise God. 

Obama also said he believes in putting the Gospel to action here on Earth and treating people with “dignity” and “respect” as children of God, according to the Los Angeles Times. 

Currently, Obama is leading the Democratic race with 1,622 delegates compared to Hillary Clinton’s 1,485, according to CNN.

That's just great.

(And just when I thought I had this whole thing figured out…)

-joebib  

I just read the following article on the web this fine Easter morning, and was wondering what thoughts everyone might have on it.

I found particularly interesting former President Reagan's suspicion — apparently gleaned from their various closed-door tête à têtes — that Mr. Gorbachev could have actually been a Christian all along during those tension-filled days in the 80s, when I for one followed very closely the unfolding (almost nuclear) showdown between the US and the USSR.

I realize that the media labels all sorts of people as "Christians," and while I had never heard these rumors about Gorby before, still — if true — who wudda thought?

Here are the main points:   

EX-SOVIET LEADER GORBACHEV ADMITS HE IS CHRISTIAN

Mikhail Gorbachev, the last communist leader of the Soviet Union, admitted publicly for the first time on Wednesday that he is a Christian. 

Rumors had circulated for decades that Gorbachev was a “closet Christian,” but it was only confirmed yesterday when he made a surprise visit with his daughter Irina to pray at the tomb of St. Francis of Assisi in Italy. The former communist leader spent half an hour on his knees in silent prayer at the tomb. 

Until now, Gorbachev had only expressed pantheistic views such as “nature is my god,” according to the U.K. newspaper. 

Gorbachev, 77, was baptized into the Russian Orthodox Church and his parents are Christians. Moreover, the parents of his wife, Raisa, were devout Christians who died during World War II for having religious icons in their home. 

Many had suspected that Gorbachev was forced to hide his faith because of the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics)’s official stance as an atheist state. 

Former President Ronald Reagan had allegedly told close aides that he suspected that his opponent during the Cold War was a “closet believer,” according to the Telegraph. 

Besides praying at the tomb, Gorbachev during his Assisi visit also toured the Basilica of St. Francis and asked the monks there for theological books to help him understand the life of St. Francis. 

“He seemed a man deeply inspired by charity, and told me that he was involved in a project to help children with cancer,” reflected (Father Miroslavo) Anuskevic. 

 -joebib

In a blog on the Huffington Post, Frank Schaeffer wonders why it is offensive for a black pastor to criticize America, but it is acceptable when a white pastor does it. Frank shares quotes from his own father, Francis Schaeffer, where his own father justifies the overthrow of the U.S. government. 

Frank concludes:

The hypocrisy of the right denouncing Obama, because of his minister's words, is staggering. They are the same people who argue for the right to "bear arms" as "insurance" to limit government power. They are the same people that in the early 1980s roared and cheered when I called down damnation on America as "fallen away from God" at their national meetings where I was keynote speaker, including the annual meeting of the ultraconservative Southern Baptist convention, and the religious broadcasters that I addressed.

Christians love to lament the fall of America, and they speak glowingly of the 1950's: back when it was okay to pray in school, keep homosexuals in the closet and treat blacks as second class citizens. To many fundamental Christians, our founders were Godly Christian men who knew that the Bible belonged in Government and blacks belonged in the field picking cotton.

For once, I'd like to hear a white Christian Evangelical praise America for how much we have improved in our treatment of minorities. And I'd love to hear a white Evangelical preacher ask forgiveness for how America has treated it's black people. But that won't happen, because to white Evangelicals, slavery was just an unfortunate incident but "gays getting married" is the worst abomination known to man.

America isn't perfect. And it's acceptable to say this. But we're still a lot better country than we were fifty years ago. I'm proud of how this country has developed. And when we vote in Barack Hussein Obama as our next President, it will be another step in showing the world, that we are the greatest country in the world.

I have had a request for a comment thread on Eliot Spitzer. I can't really think of any way to tie this into Religion/City Bible/Prosperity Doctrine, but that doesn't mean we can't talk about it.

My take, I feel very badly for his wife and children. And I'm not sure why the wives always go up to the podium while their husband admits making mistakes. Let 'em twist up there alone. I did catch Governor McGreevey's ex-wife on Larry King the night the Spitzer story broke, and she said when the story broke about her husband, she did it for their daughter.  She wanted to show their daughter that she still loved her father. And I guess I can respect that.

Other questions we could talk about:

- Should prostitution be legal? If it's legal to pay two people to have sex on film, (pornography), then I'm not sure why it's illegal to just pay for sex because you want it. I understand the moral implications, but I'm not sure as a publicy policy reason, what the difference is.

- Would you stay with your spouse if they cheated on you? I'm not married, so my take is no. But, I assume it's different if you are married with children.

- Why do seemingly smart people, make such dumb decisions? Spitzer was brilliant and he had everything to lose by going to a prostitute. So why did he do it? Stupidity? Arrogance? Lust?

- Who can't wait for the in-depth Barbra Walters interview with Ashley Alexandra Dupree aka "Kristen"? (raises hand)

 So, has anyone seen the latest on Obama?

Here are the highlights. Pretty interesting stuff…

Barack Obama defended same-sex civil unions Sunday by referring Christians against the practice to look at Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, which he contends supports gay civil unions. 

"I believe in civil unions that allow a same-sex couple to visit each other in a hospital or transfer property to each other," Obama said, referring to unions that provide all the legal benefits of marriage but the title, according to Christian Broadcasting Network. "I don't think it should be called marriage, but I think that it is a legal right that they should have that is recognized by the state. 

“If people find that controversial, then I would just refer them to the Sermon on the Mount, which I think is, in my mind, for my faith, more central than an obscure passage in Romans,” the Democratic presidential candidate contends. “That's my view. But we can have a respectful disagreement on that." 

Media agencies speculate that Obama was referring to Matthew 7:12: “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you.” 

Obama was responding to a question posed by a local pastor during an appearance in Nelsonville, Ohio. Pastor Leon Forte had asked the candidate how he plans to win the support of evangelical voters who disagree with him on moral issues. 

But not all Christians were happy with Obama’s use of the Bible to defend civil unions.  Pastor John Barner, manager of pastoral care at Focus on the Family, said: 

"We are always saddened as evangelical Christians when others who identify themselves as Christians do not have the high view of Scripture that we believe is so important. We believe isolated portions of Scripture should not be used to justify a personal preference or a social position that goes in a different direction than the overall message of Scripture.” 

The FOTF pastor said the Scripture is “pretty clear” in defining and affirming that marriage is “an exclusive, lifetime relationship between a man and a woman.” 

“The compromising positions of these candidates are a disappointment to us as evangelical Christians,” he added. 

Sen. Hillary Clinton has also expressed her support for civil unions. 

“It’s a personal position,” she said in August, according to FOTF. “I am absolutely in favor of civil unions with full equality.” 

Denny Burk, professor of New Testament at Criswell College in Dallas, also criticized Obama for insinuating that the Sermon on the Mount should be given greater emphasis than the teaching in Romans about homosexuality. 

"The fact is that Jesus appointed Paul to bear his name before the Gentiles (Acts 9:15), many of whom were living in homosexual sin (1 Corinthians 6:9-11)," Burk said, according to the Baptist Press. 

"The passage in Romans condemning homosexuality was not obscure to first century readers living in the Roman Empire. It’s only obscure to modern readers when they are looking for biblical grounds to justify that which God condemns,” the New Testament professor argued. 

“As a matter of public policy, the best way to honor God’s intention for marriage and human sexuality is to keep monogamous, heterosexual marriage privileged in law,” he said. “Unfortunately, the policies of Senator Obama fall far short of the biblical ideal." 

Amid ongoing questioning about his religion, Obama defended his personal faith while responding to the Ohio pastor, saying: 

“I am a Christian. I am a devout Christian. I’ve been a member of the same church for 20 years. I pray to Jesus every night and try to go to church as much as I can.” 

The Illinois senator explained that he hasn’t been home on Sunday for several months now.

-joe 

I give you the modern day, Martin Luther King Jr. My hero and yours,

Barack Obama!

(Oh yeah, I'm not giving up. If JP and JoeBib can write 8000 words on the meaning of Matthew 8. Then I can spend a few words discussing Obama!)

Here is a great story from Obama's speach at Ebeneezer Baptist Church in Atlanta!

There is a young, twenty-three year old white woman named Ashley Baia who organizes for our campaign in Florence, South Carolina. She’s been working to organize a mostly African-American community since the beginning of this campaign, and the other day she was at a roundtable discussion where everyone went around telling their story and why they were there.

And Ashley said that when she was nine years old, her mother got cancer. And because she had to miss days of work, she was let go and lost her health care. They had to file for bankruptcy, and that’s when Ashley decided that she had to do something to help her mom.

She knew that food was one of their most expensive costs, and so Ashley convinced her mother that what she really liked and really wanted to eat more than anything else was mustard and relish sandwiches. Because that was the cheapest way to eat.

She did this for a year until her mom got better, and she told everyone at the roundtable that the reason she joined our campaign was so that she could help the millions of other children in the country who want and need to help their parents too.

So Ashley finishes her story and then goes around the room and asks everyone else why they’re supporting the campaign. They all have different stories and reasons. Many bring up a specific issue. And finally they come to this elderly black man who’s been sitting there quietly the entire time. And Ashley asks him why he’s there. And he does not bring up a specific issue. He does not say health care or the economy. He does not say education or the war. He does not say that he was there because of Barack Obama. He simply says to everyone in the room, “I am here because of Ashley.”

I really encourage you to read the whole thing. Even if you don't agree with his policies, you have to admit, he is inspiring!

Did anyone else see the article in the Oregonian last Friday discussing Karen Minnis's large donation of Republican fundraising money to City Bible Church?

Here are some quotes:

For Rep. Karen Minnis, unusual political circumstances have added up to an unusual donation: She has given $15,000 in campaign money to her church…

"It's just a way to give back to the community," Minnis said. "People are always saying things like, 'Why don't they take some of that money they raise and use it to help poor people?' "

What is unusual about Minnis' contribution is the size. Charitable contributions from campaign accounts are typically measured in hundreds of dollars, not thousands.

Minnis' donation also comes just as her fellow Republicans are gearing up for the election this fall, when they hope to win back some of the House and Senate seats that Democrats hold as part of their majorities in both chambers.

Watchdog organizations said they see no problem with Minnis giving campaign money to her church.

"It's unusual, but there's nothing wrong with it," said David Buchanan, state board chairman for Oregon Common Cause.

Tithing Campaign Donation money??? Sounds like Karen just locked up the next election for the Republican party. With the kind of blessing God is sure to send them, how can they possibly lose?