"We are attempting to inject faith into policy."

[Occam Bandage]

"For me, the Social Principles of the Methodist Church have been as much a description of our history as a prod to my future actions...we can find direction, if we look to the church's call to strengthen families and renew our schools and encourage policies that enable each child to have a chance to fulfill his or her God-given potential."

"The commitment that you demonstrate both to our faith in God and to doing His work here on earth is exemplary and that is one of the many reasons that I wanted to be here today."

"I’ve often been asked if I’m a praying person and I have always responded that I was fortunate enough to be raised to understand that the power and purpose of prayer...It’s wonderful to know that the sustaining power of prayer is there for so many of us."

"Twenty-five years ago, when men - mostly young gay men - began dying from a disease that had no name, we could not have, and certainly did not, talk about it in church. It would not have been proper."

"I will build on the funding levels in PEPFAR and on the leadership that the President and Mrs. Bush have shown, to demonstrate that the fight against HIV/AIDS, TB, and malaria is an American commitment that exemplifies what we can do if we seek bipartisan solutions to nonpartisan problems. If we start acting not as Republicans and Democrats but as Americans again."

"I would add that churches also must tend to the spiritual side of this crisis. Because AIDS is not just a medical emergency.

Who will comfort the orphan dying alone after losing both parents to AIDS? Who will heal the emptiness that leads thousands of girls to be trafficked for a satellite television or a few dollars into prostitution and modern-day slavery each year? Who will provide stability and hope in communities devastated by AIDS? Who will welcome the drug addict using dirty needles or the gay teenager seeking safety and guidance?

Just as in my own life I need both faith and work to be whole - healing the world will take both faith and work as well."

"Now, I know this won’t be easy. But I also know the power of America at our best, and I know the power of faith and of people of faith, when we heed Isaiah’s call to lift up our voices like trumpets."


http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1220/p01s02-uspo.html?page=4
http://www.hillaryclinton.com/news/speech/view/?id=4455

Am I offended by this? Hell no. Candidates pander to religious audiences. They have to, if they want to win. Let's not pretend Sen. Obama is somehow different.