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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2009
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6

Obama Religious Adviser Steers Clear of Politics

Innovative Republican minister turned down Christian Coalition

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(Newser) – Having idolized Martin Luther King Jr. as a child, Joel Hunter felt especially proud when America's first black president tapped him as one of his top spiritual advisers. Never mind that the Rev. Joel Hunter is an evangelical Republican: He has taken an Obama-like approach to ministering without polarizing, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports in a profile of a man who has publicly criticized the "cottage industry of hostility."

Hunter's method is to focus not on culture wars and religious rhetoric, but on "compassion issues." That tack has brought him into alliances with Catholics, Jews, and Muslims, and led to an innovative closing benediction at last summer's Democratic Convention in Denver. Hunter drew evangelicals' ire by encouraging the attendees to employ the blessings of their own faiths. Said a fellow Florida pastor: "Jesus said the way is narrow."

In this Dec. 14, 2006 file photo,Rev. Joel Hunter poses in the sanctuary of the Northland, A Church Distributed in Longwood, Fla.
In this Dec. 14, 2006 file photo,Rev. Joel Hunter poses in the sanctuary of the Northland, A Church Distributed in Longwood, Fla.   (AP Photo/John Raoux)
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Hunter talks to PBS's Religion & Ethics program about religion's role in the 2008 presidential election and the political and religious interests of a new generation of young evangelicals.   (andrescik)

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6 comments
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TerrifiedCitizen
Apr 12, 09 4:45 PM CDT
That's an interesting thought... he's not dallying in politics, but he's Republican. You either are, or you aren't, there's no degrees like in karate. Reply
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Rob
Apr 12, 09 8:01 PM CDT
Well, you either are a dan or you aren't. Now bow. Reply
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riffran
Apr 12, 09 8:17 PM CDT
hmmmmm I bet THIS guy won't be screaming "GODDAMN AMERICA"......and THE U.S. of KKKA.....but he never heard that... Reply
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shonangreg
Apr 12, 09 10:47 PM CDT
Yeah, calling America a racist country is pretty judgmental. It's great that the party followers on the right have exempted the Republican party from such harsh criticism. Those people might as well apply for Historic Preservation protection from development. A museum is where they belong -- thanks in part to Reagan's 11th Amendment, "Speak no ill of another Republican." Reply
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sache
Apr 13, 09 10:08 AM CDT
Rev. Joel Hunter sounds okay to me. Reply
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