Bruce Feiler - Where God Was Born, Abraham, Walking The Bible

The Latest Star of the Stump: The Bible
Wednesday, July 11, 2007

A whole lot of thumpin' goin' on.

When asked earlier this year how Matthew factored into Obama's political thinking, the Illinois Democrat told me:

"It's powerful, and I think it's one that's important for all of us to pray on. One of the things that I'm always interested in when it comes to politics is making sure I can continually translate values that are grounded in my religious faith into universal values that appeal to all people. If I'm in church I might quote some Scripture. If I'm outside a church I might quote FDR. Hopefully, they both lead to the same place."

Other candidates have adopted other Scripture to define their message. U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton's (D-N.Y.) campaign staff said she often draws from James 2:26 -- "Faith without deeds is dead" -- a sign of her Wesleyan upbringing. The verse has become a running theme in the campaign of the senator, who grew up a United Methodist. She attended a church in Park Ridge and as first lady addressed the United Methodist denomination.

In interviews, former U.S. Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina has attributed his commitment to alleviating poverty in part to Scripture.

"If you took every reference to taking care of the least of these out of the Bible, there would be a pretty skinny Bible," he said.

Labels: God in Politics

Posted by B Feiler at 7:03 AM
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