Michael H. Cottman, BlackAmericaWeb.com
Black ministers and political activists had mixed reactions to Barack Obama’s recent proposal to broaden President Bush’s faith-based intitiatives. Some hailed Obama’s plan as a savvy strategic idea to help the nation’s poor while reaching out to conservative Christians — and others were more skeptical.
“It should be no surprise that candidate Obama is reaching out to the conservative religious community,” Dr. David Anderson, pastor of Bridgeway Community Church in Columbia, Maryland, told BlackAmericaWeb.com.
“He is an expert at building bridges to those who may indeed disagree with him and seek common ground for the greater good,’ Anderson said. “Obama is not theologically opposed to the tenants of the Christ faith. He is a believer in the same Lord and savior, Jesus Christ, as I am. Therefore, the real distance in political positions is the way in which compassion is expressed through government. That is definitely a discussion worth having. I’m grateful that Obama invites the discourse.”
