So glad to see Rev. Welton Gaddy get time on Rachel's show.

[madfloridian]

I do love that man, and I don't miss his State Of Belief on AAR on Sundays. If our church had a pastor like him, hubby and I would not have quit attending. He speaks for a compassionate, caring, and intelligent type of religion.

He has been quite critical of Barack Obama for keeping some of the aspects of Bush's Faith Based programs.

He recently had a column in the Washington Post/Newsweek in which he differed with Rev. Jim Wallis on the issue.

Discrimination With Federal Money

Speculation is as rampant as opinions are diverse regarding a final decision on the legality of religious discrimination in hiring practices funded by government money. As President Obama elaborated his vision of a faith-based and community partnership, supporters of the program debated whether to expand or narrow civil rights guarantees among recipients of "faith-based" funds.

I was a bit surprised and more than a little perplexed when I read Jim Wallis' published comments on this issue this past Thursday. The leader of Sojourners, downplayed the significance of the hiring issue, indicating it came up only once in transition meetings. According to Jim, poverty, human trafficking and the Middle East were discussed in much more detail. That certainly was not my experience. Since December of 2008, I was in numerous meetings with the Obama Transition Team both singularly as president of Interfaith Alliance and as a member of a broad-based coalition that works on issues of religious liberty. Literally, I never was in a meeting of the faith-based office in which non-discrimination laws were not discussed.

Please make no mistake about the importance of this provision in the new office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. If sectarian organizations are using their own money, they have every right to employ only persons committed to their religion. However, if taxpayers are funding a program, that program should reflect our nation's historic commitment to civil rights.

I appreciate the good work Jim Wallis does and his desire to do more, but ultimately we swap a temporary good for a long-lasting problem if we do not establish safeguards in hiring practices and direct funding of faith based groups. I agree with Jim on the importance of eradicating poverty, fostering inter-religious cooperation, and a number of other goals. But we must not weaken the Constitution that serves as the strong foundation for protecting the integrity of religion and the vitality of democracy.

If we had a pastor like that we might consider church again. But we can not handle the narrow bigotry that passes for religion in our area.

He was a breath of fresh air tonight on her show.

[patrice]

1. I dig Rev. Gaddy too. I listen to State of Belief on Air America Radio

not every Sunday, but frequently. I love his faithfulness to the Good News.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

2. Yes he is a cool guy.

One of the few preachers I have seen who is really interested in interfaith dialogue, instead of just saying so.

[madfloridian]

4. I agree.

Interested in dialogue and getting along.

[EraOfResponsibility]

3. Obama may have kept certain aspects of Bush's faith based initiatives

but that doesn't mean he's doing to do the same things.

[SeattleGirl]

5. I like Welton Gaddy too.

He's not a mindless fundy freak, and he makes a lot of sense to me.

And, as a not-so-important fact, his first name is the same as my maternal grandfather's. I never thought I'd know someone else with that same first name.

:)

[Dollface]

6. I had to pause and rerun so I could write this down quote -

From Rev Dr C. Welton Gaddy

"The religious right has measured spirituality and the authenticity of spirituality, whatever the religion, not by the criteria of religion but by loyalty that is political in nature and directed to sociopolitical issues..."

I guess I was stunned by the clarity

[bertman]

7. Excellent segment on Rachels' show!! I'm a non-believer, but with religious leaders

like Rev. Welton Gaddy and Rev. Barry Lynn of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, our republic would be a much better place for all of its citizens.

Did anybody catch the segment on Morning Edition today about the Christian Right's current foray into motion pictures? Apparently they are honing their skills as well as ratcheting up their marketing. I remember watching those classics like "The Robe" when I was a youngster. It looks like they're trying to become more contemporary with their movie making.

Recommend this thread.

[jus_the_facts]

8. His church is across town from here...I enjoyed his segments on our local news...

...back in the day...but never attended any services there.

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=C._Welton_Gaddy

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/jesus/interviews/gaddy.html

[madfloridian]

9. Here's the video from the State of Belief websitie.

http://stateofbelief.com/blog/?p=513

[Ocracoker16]

10. I am glad Rev. Welton Gaddy is part of Obama's faith based initiative

I agree that faith based programs funded by the government should be required to hire employees based on quaulifications and not on what religous group they belong to. I found this quote in an article in the LA Times.

"Nobody wants to make faith a criteria of who gets services," Wallis said. "But how do you preserve the identity and mission of faith-based organizations and yet practice nondiscrimination? There is a healthy balance in there that we'll find over time."

I found that disturbing. I am glad that the Rev. Welton Gaddy wrote an article and explained why he disagreed with his colleague, Jim Wallis, on the hiring issue. I know that Obama and others involved with the faith based iniatives will make mistakes. I know that Rev. Welton Gaddy will not be afraid to confront these problems. We don't need a yes man who will support the iniative no matter what it does.