McCain's pastor a sharp contrast to Obama's
Posted: Sunday, March 23, 2008, 8:05 (GMT)
John McCain's Phoenix pastor, Dan Yeary, is a folksy patriotic Southern Baptist who opposes abortion and believes homosexuality to be a biblical sin, but says Christians have an obligation to love such sinners.
That puts Yeary, who heads the church attended for the past 15 years by the US Republican presidential candidate firmly in the US Southern Baptist mainstream, and in line with the Republican Party.
He offers a sharp contrast to Democratic contender Barack Obama's former preacher Jeremiah Wright, who has stirred controversy with his fiery comments on race and America.
Obama had been seen by some analysts as having an edge over McCain on issues of faith because of his adult conversion experience and his ease in talking about his faith. But his own preacher has proven a political liability.
In a country where religion and politics often mix, 25 per cent of American adults count themselves as evangelical Christians, giving them huge influence as the country heads to the Nov. 4 presidential election to succeed President George W. Bush.
McCain draws some support from this group but many conservative Christians are uneasy with him because of his support for stem-cell research and his past criticism of leaders in the movement.
Yeary, pastor for the 7,000-member North Phoenix Baptist Church, professes little interest in politics and prefers to focus on preaching and spiritual guidance. But McCain's affiliation with Yeary will do him no harm in wooing support from the key Republican base of evangelical Christians.
"John and I are friends, he has called on me to minister to the family in times of challenge and difficulty," he told Reuters in a telephone interview.
McCain, a former prisoner-of-war in Vietnam, was raised in the Episcopal Church but has been attending Yeary's church for about 15 years. Yeary declined to comment on McCain's reluctance to finally undergo a baptism ceremony, a key ritual of the faith.
"John and I are having continual dialogue about his spiritual pursuits," Yeary said.
In an interview last year with InsideCatholic.com, an on-line Catholic forum devoted to issues of faith, McCain said he liked Yeary's "message of reconciliation and redemption which I'm a great believer in".
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The comments below are readers' personal opinions and are in no way intended to reflect the editorial opinion of Christian Today.
Added: Saturday, October 4, 2008, 19:33 (BST)
As a baptist i think it would be wrong for this pastor to encourage John McAin to be baptised be cause according to our beliefs he is living in adultry. the bible states that if a man puts aside his wife for another woman then this adultry and eyery one knowes that is what he did. and you are not standing by the Bible teachings by trying to encourage him to be baptised. yes he can be forgiven for his sins as we all can, but that does not undo what he did
PAT, Alabama USA
Added: Tuesday, April 1, 2008, 0:04 (BST)
It's fairly easy for well known Judeo-Christians to behave like angels in public, when in private they listen to "secret" sects.
Why are so many laws and re-segregation needed if the "Skull & Bones" type leaderships and hidden codes were detrimental to the Of Color, poor and underprivileged.
Manger Borne, Columbia US of A
Added: Friday, March 28, 2008, 1:38 (GMT)
I am amazed at the irrelevant things some people pick at. In terms of his recent speech, Obamba gave an excellent address, and his comments were all appropriate, taken in context. The fact is that many black people have a hard time seeing the non black point of view and many white people don't try very hard to understand the black context either.
I attended a mixed black and white Evangelical church for 12 years and during that time learned to listen to my black brothers and sisters, without judging them. Black people historically have been through a lot. This particular church in doctrine and belief was NOTHING like Obama's, (except for the singing) more mainline, orthodox.
If we are to assess Obama, it is on the basis of what he believes, and what he would DO as president, and we have a right to believe that he and his family were under the influence of Pastor Wright. And that is something we should legitimately consider in evaluating him. Pastor Wright made it very clear that black people are "victims.", so I guess that means they, according to him are helpless and cannot change their fate and destiny by themselves. It is very hard for Obama to separate himself from that. Republicans and conservatives tend to believe, on the other hand, that in general, the cream rises to the top through effort, hard work, parental self sacrifice, emphasizing education, and delayed gratification. In my view black people may need a helping hand, but they don't need a handout. That is an important difference to make.
Galen Manapat, Lexington South Carolina
Added: Tuesday, March 25, 2008, 12:56 (GMT)
Nathan, from Vancouver (didn't know that was the US, pretty sure that's Canada(British Columbia)), if you believe that Obama is not a racist, why then, can you answer, has he made sure that his "WHITE" grandmother, who raised him, stay out of the picture and his "BLACK, AFRICAN" grandmother, who had NO place in his life as a child and did NOT raise him is up front and in our faces? A little disingenious of him don't you think? Not only does he not show (no picture ever seen) his grandmother, but dismissed the hatred spewed by his "pastor" and said it was ok because "his grandmother was afraid of black men who passed her on the street"!! You need to look closer - Mr. Obama - "please don't use my middle name "Hussein", is a racist, belongs to a church who HATES white people (right in their own literature!), hates the USA, (his wife, please don't say he never said it, has never been proud of the country she lives in, until just in the last year, do you think he doesn't hold the same beliefs? BUT, MOST IMPORTANTLY, has NOT even completed ONE TERM as SENATOR!! Just like any other job opportunity, where experience is necessary they post NO EXPERIENCE - PLEASE DO NOT APPLY!obama!! -
Mary, FL, USA
Added: Monday, March 24, 2008, 20:56 (GMT)
I would like to know why there is no focus on Rev. Hagee, whose endorsement McCain "enthusiastically" accepted. Or on Rev. Rod Parsely who is McCain's "spiritual advisor". Hagee has referred to the Catholic Church as "the Great Whore" and considers Catholics to be less than human. McCain's spiritual advisor believes that we should all seek to annihilate every living Muslim. How can these men possibly reconcile such views with a Christian concept of love? Why has the media ignored these horrid figures but focused instead on Rev. Wright?
Dan, Emmaus, PA, USA
Added: Sunday, March 23, 2008, 17:27 (GMT)
Rev. Wright is no more a Christian than he is a poached egg. Pastor Jeremiah Wright's church is apostate as are all the United Churches of Christ (UCC) in America. Long ago this institution abandoned its rich Christian heritage and responsibility to stand upon the Word of God. It now follows the god of, "...everyone does that which is right in his own eyes." Abortion, Homosexuality, Islam, and every false religion are welcome in Trinity United Church of Christ. It's one Commandment is, "Don't judge me!" Biblical Christianity is, however, not allowed.
http://christiannewswire.com/news/471836049.html
GEORGE WATTS, FLORIDA
Added: Sunday, March 23, 2008, 8:29 (GMT)
We should not be telling anyone who they should or should not be inspired by. Obama’s exposure to that church has helped him witness and be able to express with clarity the experience of the racial stalemate of which he spoke of. Reverend Wright has 20 years of sermons… a few minutes of sound bites from a small handful of sermons does not give you enough information to judge Wright or Obama on.
I am a white person. I have listened to many of his sermons… this is NOT HATE SPEECH. The MEDIA HAS LIED TO YOU.
BE WARY, Every religion has elements that could be turned into sound bites and used against anyone...when running for any office in the government. If we continue down this line of scrutiny for our presidential candidates, we will only ever be able to elect the agnostic or atheist president.
It is obvious that Barack does not harbor any hatred for America...listen to his race speech and you feel the genuine person that he is. He has never shown anything but respect to this country, and I think we owe him our constraint when having doubts about his character. Especially when it doesn’t even come from him.
Barack Obama has done more to serve our country than most of us have.
A Veteran of the US Army
Nathan, Vancouver USA
