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We Stand with Rick Warren and Barack Obama

We Stand with Rick Warren and Barack Obama

Last updated on: May 9, 2013 at 6:10 am by Faithful Democrats

We Stand with Rick Warren and Barack Obama 2013-05-09T06:10:20-06:00 Faithful Democrats

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94251484_b3e5461f2e Right-wing religious leaders are attacking the purpose-driven Pastor Rick Warren for inviting Senator Barack Obama to speak at a seminar about AIDS. Why the attacks? Because they disagree with Obama’s politics. Well, we’re hitting back. Check out the letter that we’ve helped organize. About 30 religious leaders are standing up for the notion of — imagine this — people working together to save lives.

An open letter to pastors across the country

November 30, 2006

Dear Pastor:

Several right-wing religious organizations, including the National Clergy Council, recently blasted Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church for inviting Senator Barack Obama to speak on World AIDS Day this Friday, December 1. It’s unfortunate that these groups would exploit the Christian faith to advance their divisive agenda — an agenda that gives almost exclusive attention to a few wedge issues while ignoring the diversity of problems plaguing American communities.

We reject the creation of an unbiblical litmus test to exclude believers from the body of Christ. We are called to the ministry of reconciliation and the liberation of all people, spiritually and socially.

We also wonder why any organization claiming to represent believers in Jesus Christ would choose to play what amounts to partisan politics instead of encouraging our leaders to address the scourge of AIDS.

AIDS has claimed the lives of 25 million people since 1981. Forty million people across the globe, including 2 million children, live with this wretched disease. And nearly 7 million people are now in desperate need of life-saving drugs, without which they will die. In the face of this crisis, it boggles our minds and offends our God-given sense of justice that these groups would choose to attack Senator Obama and Reverend Warren — Christians both — for working together to stamp out AIDS.

It is time for believers to unite under the banner of truth and work to address our society’s most pressing problems. The time for scare tactics and divisiveness is over. As leaders in the Christian community, we will not stand silent in the face of these attacks, but will instead serve as voices for equality, fairness, and justice for all people.

Sincerely,

Rev. Romal Tune

Co-Chair, FaithfulDemocrats.com

President, Clergy Strategic Alliances

Washington, D.C.

Dr. Randall Balmer

Professor of American Religion, Columbia University

New York, New York

Rev. Amos Brown

Pastor, Third Baptist Church

San Francisco, California

Rev. Tony Campolo

Founder & President, Evangelical Association for the Promotion of Education

Professor Emeritus, Eastern University

Saint Davids, Pennsylvania

Reverend Jean-Luc S. Charles
Director, Mission and Evangelism Ministry
White Rock Baptist Church

Durham, North Carolina

Rev. William Chrystal

Pastor, First Congregational Church

Former Military Chaplain

Reno, Nevada

Rev. Marcus Cosby

Senior Pastor, Wheeler Ave. Baptist Church

Houston, Texas

Dr. Wayne Croft

Professor of Preaching, Easter Theological Seminary

Pastor, Church of the Redeemer

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Rev. Fredrick A. Davis

Pastor, First Calvary Baptist Church

Durham, North Carolina

Dr. Paul de Vries

President, New York Divinity School

New York, New York

Frederick Douglass Haynes III

Senior Pastor, Friendship-West Baptist Church

Dallas, Texas

Rev. Dr. Floyd Flake
Pastor, the Greater Allen A.M.E. Cathedral
New York, New York

Rev. Dr. James A. Forbes Jr.

Senior Minister, Riverside Church

New York, New York

Dr. Robert M. Franklin
President, Regional Council of Churches of Atlanta
Professor, Emory University

Atlanta, Georgia

Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy
Pastor, Northminster Baptist Church
Monroe, Louisiana

Rev. Dr. Obery Hendricks Jr.

Professor of Biblical Interpretation, New York Theological Seminary

New York, New York

Rev. Dr. Ken Brooker Langston
Director, Disciples Justice Action Network
Convener, Protestant Justice Action

Annapolis, Maryland

Rev. Dr. Robert L. Maddox

Minister of Discipleship, Westmoreland Congregational United Church of Christ

Executive Director, The Briggs Center for Faith and Action

Bethesda, Maryland

Bishop Earl McCloud
Ecumenical Bishop, African Methodist Episcopal Church
Atlanta, Georgia

Rev. Lester A. McCorn
Senior Pastor, Faith A.M.E. Zion Church

Atlanta, Georgia

Rev. Timothy McDonald III

Chairman, African American Ministers In Action

Pastor, First Iconium Baptist Church

Atlanta, Georgia

Bishop Vashti McKenzie
Presiding Prelate, 13th Episcopal District
African Methodist Episcopal Church
Nashville, Tennessee

Rev. Dr. Robin Meyers

Minister, Mayflower Congregational UCC

Professor of Rhetoric, Oklahoma City University

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Rev. Otis Moss III
Pastor, Trinity United Church of Christ
Chicago, Illinois

Rev. Frank Raines

Pastor, Dexter Ave. Baptist Church

Detroit, Michigan

Rev. Daniel Schultz
United Church of Christ Minister
Co-Founder, Street Prophets weblog

Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Dr. Ron Sider
President, Evangelicals for Social Action

Wynnewood, Pennsylvania

Rev. Tim Simpson

Executive Director, Christian Alliance for Progress

Jacksonville, Florida

Rev. Ron Stief

Director, Justice & Witness Ministries, United Church of Christ

Washington, D.C.

Rev. Steven Thurston

President, National Baptist Convention of America

Chicago, Illinois

Rev. Jim Wallis
President, Sojourners/Call to Renewal
Washington, D.C.

Dr. Lauren Winner

Visiting Lecturer, Duke Divinity School

Christian author

Durham, North Carolina

Rev. Dr. Rolen L. Womack Jr.

Pastor, Progressive Baptist Church

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright Jr.

Senior Pastor, Trinity United Church of Christ

Chicago, Illinois

Photo of Rick Warren taken from a public photo from a user at Flickr.

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