Hi davidt and all...
George Bush calls Himself a Christian too, but he is a universalist.
A universalist? Do you have a source for this? From what I have heard and read, President Bush claims to be a Methodist with strong Baptist leanings. It is important to remain somewhat resistant of the things that we hear concerning men in political office. The worst thing to do is to go around quoting hearsay, goosip, rumors or conspiracy notions as FACT. In fact, we might find ourselves guilty of bearing false witness against a person.
Barack Obama, in an [url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/30/us/politics/30obama.html?ex=1186372800&en=a78a7170c91a4a91&ei=5070]exclusive interview with the New York Times[/url], mentioned the extent of his religious faith in April. In the article, he states that his "Christian faith" does not lead him to embrace a belief in the "afterlife" nor the "diety of Christ" or "existence of miracles." However, Mr. Obama is not a Muslim. While some members of his family (including his grandmother, Sarah Hussein Obama) are Muslims, Mr. Obama switched to Christianity in 1988 under the pastorship of Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. A quick Google search about Rev. Wright will yield interesting articles about his controversial social and political views. The same is true of all of the political candidates. There are organizations (on ALL sides of political/social/religious issues) that gather information into the stances each candidate has on important issues. When reading these, we must remember to take them with "a grain of salt" and realize that many are often skewed against a person according to his beliefs. However, when an individual publicly questions the deity of Christ, or a belief in Heaven, we have a strong indication that his/her faith might not be rooted very deep.
And, to run in politics one of the best things is to call yourself a Christian "it seems".
This is probably due to the fact that most Americans still identify themselves with the Christian faith. While we could openly question the validity of their claims, it is still a good thing that they openly make such a proclamation. At least they are willing to identify with Christ -- regardless of whether or not they truly love Him. As Christ told us when someone who is not one of us proclaims His Name, "
[i]Rejoice[/i]."
:-)