Krattenmaker sees a trend "across the religious and political landscape" where more evangelicals are moving toward the center -- or "'common hope' as Barack Obama is given to calling it," he said. The "emerging church" is not being "bound by the old Christian right's playing style," he said. Plus, "more and more born-again believers are emphasizing their religious calling to care for the planet and the poor."
Judy Naegeli, 25, says her generation is worried about social justice. "Each generation chooses their cause, and ours is AIDS in Africa, or poverty or social justice," she said.
But 24-year-old Nathan Johnson thinks differently. "Once the primary is over, and we get into a head-to-head contest, Obama's voting record will come to light. Then there will be conservative voters who won't be able to tolerate what he's stood for in terms of abortion and other socially conservative values."
Both Obama and Clinton espouse this social gospel. In November 2007 Hillary Clinton spoke at Pastor Rick Warren's fourth annual AIDS conference. Warren is the author of "The Purpose Driven Life." Clinton pledged if elected president, she would spend $50 billion on prevention, treatment and care for HIV/AIDS globally by 2013.
Obama spoke in 2006, sparking many protests because of his strong pro-abortion beliefs. "While we will never see eye to eye on all issues, surely we can come together with one voice to honor the entirety of Christ's teachings by working to eradicate the scourge of AIDS, poverty and other challenges we all can agree must be met," he said.
While the Bible has always addressed caring for the poor and oppressed, it advocates personal charity as opposed to the leftist view of directing large amounts of government funding to ease social ills. Conservatives are not against helping the sick and needy. However, they also will not abandon the defenseless unborn to the grinder of modern secular abortion mills. The abortion fight takes guts and because of that, the most vulnerable (the unborn) are deserted.
Obama's talk about "social justice" is just another way of saying socialism. It may sound more amenable to the public, but it is the same thing. To paraphrase Shakespeare: A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.