If President Obama has his way, you'll soon be hearing about his health care package when you go to your church or synagogue to pray.
Thousands of religious leaders got a call from on high Wednesday when Obama reached out to Jewish and Christian clergy, urging them to push health care reform from the pulpit.
Obama spoke to about 140,000 people of faith in a conference call and webcast Wednesday evening. He and a White House official discussed the moral dimension of health care, telling the mostly Christian audience that "this debate over health care goes to the heart of who we are as a people."
But earlier that day, Obama went much further, asking about 1,000 rabbis to preach his political agenda in their sermons on Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year -- one of the holiest days of the year.
The conversation was supposed to be off the record but was captured on the Twitter feeds and blogs of some rabbis who took part in the call, which was organized by the Union of Reform Judaism and included rabbis from other denominations.
"I am going to need your help in accomplishing necessary reform," Obama said, according to Rabbi Jack Moline of Virginia, whose Twitter feed has since been scrubbed of the information.
Obama told the rabbis that "we are God's partners in matters of life and death" and asked them to "tell the stories of health care dilemmas to illustrate what is a stake" in their sermons, Moline wrote.
Critics say Obama's message seemed to "cross a line" and imply a kind of "scriptural or holy support for the program."
"I can't imagine why it would be appropriate for a president even to suggest a partnership with God somehow was connected to his ideas for health care," said the Rev. Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State.
I waiting for the moral outrage and the condemnation from the left for having religion brought into the public sqaure. Anyone willing to bet against me that it doesn't come from the big 3 networks or the aclu?
Where is the aclu at now
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