Indeed, based on his public statements, it seems that Obama's Christianity is stripped of its unique claims and diluted into a universalistic, pluralistic hodgepodge of meaninglessness. For Obama, Jesus isn't the only way, but just one of many ways to God.

All but the fringe left will realize that Obama's faith overtures are the fulfillment of the left's dream to win back values voters, who have been voting Republican at least since Ronald Reagan.

Obama's efforts represent the culmination of the Democrats' grand scheme, engineered by linguistics professor George Lakoff, to repackage their policies in values terminology to appeal to Christian voters without really changing those policies they find objectionable.

It was Lakoff who suggested that Democrats spin "out in a new morality play in which everything, from Social Security to the driest spending cuts, is cast in terms of right and wrong," and "Democrats are freely quoting the Bible."

I suppose we can say then, with no small irony, that "the messiah" has become a disciple -- a disciple of George Lakoff's, en route to accomplishing what liberal columnist E.J. Dionne described as "a New Reformation that is disentangling a great religious movement from a partisan political machine." Or to put it another way, trustbusting the GOP's reputed monopoly on values voters.

Christian conservatives have plenty of cause for concern over these developments, but there is a hint of a silver lining to this story. The Washington Times has reported that pro-life black pastors are becoming wary of Obama's policies, especially on abortion.

Perhaps the pastors' disenchantment could lead to greater scrutiny of Obama's calculated strategy to win over Christian voters, along with eye-opening revelations about what he really believes and what values he is actually trying to promote. We can only pray.