I finished today the Saddleback Civil Forum that Rick Warren held more than a month ago with the two presidential candidates. I highly suggest anyone who has some religious faith to watch the video interviews between the two candidates. It’s interesting to see both candidates talk about their faith candidly. Very very interesting. Are the facades lifted away, and the pandering thrown out the door, being that this was a closed forum with no outside media access?

Both men claim to be believers, and I’ll leave it at that. I thought that Obama did a better job in his responses and articulating his points. McCain really does not have the same charisma, though there’s still something raw, real, straight to the point about the guy. He tends to explain less but lean on antidotes, storys.

I was really deeply moved by the story he gives when he answers the question about how faith works out in his daily life.

Here’s bit:

[Faith] MEANS I’M SAVED AND FOREGIVEN AND WE’RE TALKING

ABOUT THE WORLD. OUR FAITH ENCOMPASSES NOT JUST THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA BUT THE WORLD. CAN I TELL YOU ANOTHER STORY REAL QUICK?

VIETNAMESE KEPT US IN PRISON IN CONDITIONS OF SOLITAIRY CONFINEMENT
FOR TWO OR THREE TO A CELL.

THEY DID THAT BECAUSE THEY KNEW THEY COULD BREAK DOWN OUR RESISTANCE.
ONE OF THE TECHNIQUES THAT THEY USED TO GET INFORMATION WAS TO TAKE
ROPES AND TIE THEM AROUND YOUR BICEPS, PULL YOUR BICEPS BEHIND YOU,
LOOP THE ROPE AROUND YOUR HEAD, PULL YOUR HEAD DOWN BETWEEN YOUR KNEES
AND LEAVE YOU IN THAT POSITION. YOU CAN MANAGE, IT’S VERY
UNCOMFORTABLE.

ONE NIGHT I WAS BEING PUNISHED IN THAT FASHION. ALL OF A SUDDEN THE
DOOR OF THE CELL OPENED, THE GUARD CAME IN, A GUY WHO WAS JUST WHAT WE
CALL A GUN GUARD. HE JUST WALKED AROUND THE CAMP WITH A GUN ON HIS
SHOULDER. HE WENT LIKE THIS AND THEN HE LOOSENED THE ROPES. HE CAME
BACK ABOUT FOUR HOURS LATER, HE TIGHTENED THEM UP AGAIN AND LEFT. THE
FOLLOWING CHRISTMAS, BECAUSE IT WAS CHRISTMAS DAY, WE WERE ALLOWED TO
STAND OUTSIDE OF OUR CELL FOR A FEW MINUTES, AND THOSE DAYS WE WERE
NOT ALLOWED TO SEE OR COMMUNICATE WITH EACH OTHER ALTHOUGH WE
CERTAINLY DID. AND I WAS STANDING OUTSIDE FOR MY FEW MINUTES, OUTSIDE
MY CELL. HE CAME WALKING UP. HE STOOD THERE FOR A MINUTE AND WITH
HIS HANDLE ON THE DIRT IN THE COURTYARD HE DREW A CROSS AND HE STOOD
THERE AND A MINUTE LATER, HE RUBBED IT OUT AND WALKED AWAY. FOR A
MINUTE THERE, THERE WAS JUST TWO CHRISTIANS WORSHIPPING TOGETHER.

I’LL NEVER FORGET THAT MOMENT SO EVERY DAY —

Talk about character under pressure this man was POW resisting the enemy.

I am very moved by this story. It is so amazing to find God and worship him in a very very dark place in life. There is incredible potential for compassion and love in the middle of human suffering, where in times of war humanity is at its worst.

I hope to one day be apart of this potential for love and compassion in the middle of humanity’s worst. It won’t be easy.

Anyhow, I don’t want to say who I’m voting for for this election, its still all very confusing for me. I’m learning to always find God in all the things that happen to use and the things that we do.

Here are the transcripts from the interviews, do check them out.