Re: "Any pastor who lets a political speech occur from the pulpit needs to rethink what their church is for." But shouldn't political discussion be at least part of church life? Isn't this at heart "WWJD?" I am an agnostic and possibly I'm missing something crucial here.

But suppose it's the 1950s again and segregation abounds. I would think there would have been great value in a church group discussion of the morality of segregation and what wisdom Scripture could bring to the debate. Out of those discussions church members could try to shape the values of their community through support of various politicians whose values agree with the church members' values. It seems like the very embodiment of a "WWJD?" ("What would Jesus do?") approach to life. I would think it would be the same with issues like gay marriage or many social programs. The theme would be to use an understanding of the Scripture tell us about how we should use government---whether Republican or Democrat, Liberal or Conservative, etc.---to shape our community.

(P.S.--All us Dems wear bracelets "WWJCD?" so whatever the situation---political, moral, or otherwise---we can ask ourselves "What would Jimmy Carter do?")

There's a difference between discussing issues and going for votes. Let's just guess which one John F. Kerry was doing :).

"The Scriptures say, 'Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, neither has it entered into the mind of man what we can build.'"

Bill Clinton, in his 1992 inauguration acceptance speech. I still haven't forgotten it, after twelve years.

re: "There's a difference between discussing issues and going for votes. Let's just guess which one John F. Kerry was doing :)."

Okay, okay! LOL. I think I see your point. I meant that a church would be a good place for a sincere discussion of the moral basis of public policy matters. When you say, "going for votes" I interpret that to mean you feel that glib, insincere candidate speeches for the sole purpose of winning an election have no place in a church. I would agree with you completely.

There are reports that Kerry is a relatively observant Catholic, but the fact that he disagrees with church teaching on abortion is an inconsistency. Unfortunately, a lot of Catholics in America disagree with the teaching of the church. I'm sure that Kerry is just waiting for the Pope to smack him down so that he can play the victim and show he's not the Pope's puppet like a lot of people though John Kennedy was.