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Have you seen this video? At first, I thought it was a “Saturday Night Live” parody. But it’s not. Stuart Shepard, digital media director of a political arm of James Dodson’s Focus on the Family, is asking for viewers to pray for heavy rains of “biblical proportions” to shower down on Sen. Barack Obama and 75,000 spectators during his acceptance speech at Denver’s open-air Investco Field.

After a rain of criticism, Focus on the Family pulled the video and said the piece was a poor attempt at boyish humor. I don’t think Mr. Shepard was joking about getting people to pray for a washout in Denver.

The Religious Right needs to remember that pride is one of the seven deadly sins. To think that God would be interested in raining out the Democratic nominee for president shows a lack of humility on several levels.

7:16 p.m.: A few closing thoughts. Rick Warren did a remarkable job. Very well done. Second, Sen. Barack Obama was good. He was personable, answered the questions thoughtfully, and showed humor, intellect and depth. Sen. John McCain was even better. His rich life experience took the forum from mono to stereo, from black-and-white to color. I’m a fence-setter voter, but this forum put me on the McCain side. While Obama may be the guy I’d like to have a drink with, McCain is the guy I’d want to lead me into battle. I’m still keeping an open mind, but for now, McCain’s my man.

7:14 p.m.: What would you say to people who oppose me asking these questions in the church? McCain pandered too much to the religious crowd. Score: 2.4.

7:12 p.m.: Why do you want to be president? question: McCain again (this is getting repetitive) hits it out of the park. “I’ll always be my country first.”

7:10 p.m.: The adoption question: Again, Rick Warren has made U.S. policy by getting commitments from both presidential candidates to agree to setting up an adoption organization for orphans around the world.

7:07 p.m.: I love the way McCain addresses his listeners as “my friends.”

7:05 p.m.: Congratulations to CNN for letting this forum to go into overtime.

6:58 p.m.: I’m loving John McCain right now. Question: What’s worth dying for? “There’s tyranny and tragedy throughout the world, but we can’t right every wrong” … But we need to a beacon of hope throughout the world … The most precious asset is American blood.” Score: 9.6.

6:56 p.m.: If I were Rick Warren’s stylist, I’d recommend that he lose the goatee (so 5 minutes ago) and the Italian tablecloth shirt).

6:52 p.m.: McCain, who provided shorter answers than Obama, gets an additional question. When privacy rights and the right for national security collide, what takes priority? McCain — and I don’t have a horse in this race — does another good job with his answer. If Jack Bauer of “24″ were to vote for president, I know he’d pick McCain (who’s actually had a walk-on role on the show).

6:47 p.m.: McCain is killing it. Question: What’s rich? He first says that anyone is rich who has a family, a job, a house and a good future for their kids. Then he says he wants everyone in America to be rich, keep taxes low and stop so much government spending.

6:45 p.m.: A thought. Should McCain stop the modified comb-over and go with a buzz? I say yes.

6:43 p.m.: Question: Merit pay for teachers. McCain supplies a short and popular answer: Yes! And then repeats “Choice and competition” and throws in “home schooling.” He’s cementing the conservative vote right now. Score: 8.8.

6:40 p.m.: Question: Federal dollars for faith-based initiatives. McCain, perhaps playing to the audience (and base), glosses over some of the problems inherent in faith-based initiatives. Score: 3.4.

6:38 p.m.: Question: Which Supreme Court justice would you have NOT nominated? McCain quickly ticks off several liberal judges and says there should be no legislating from the bench — and gives a good word for Roberts and Scalia. Score: 8.5.

6:34 p.m.: The question of evil. “We must totally defeat it.” McCain hits another out of the park. Promises to track down Osama bin Laden “to the gates of hell” and ties the defeat of radical Islamism to the war in Iraq. Score: 9.6.

6:32 p.m.: Stem-cell question. McCain answers this with intellectual honesty. Score: 9.2.

6:30 p.m.: The definition of marriage. McCain again gives the base what it wants. Warren goes off-script to ask about an upcoming California initiative. Score: 5.0.

6:28 p.m.: Abortion question: when does a baby have rights? Answer: At conception. Wild applause ensues. I can’t believe McCain believes that the instant a sperm and egg unites it has total human rights. But the base LOVES it! Score: 4.3.

6:26 p.m.: But McCain’s emotional recounting of his Christmas encounter with his Christian Vietnamese God brought tears to my eyes — and his.

6:25 p.m.: New drinking game. Have a shot each time McCain mentions his POW experience.

6:24 p.m.: What does being a follower of Christ mean to you? McCain: It means I’m saved and forgiven. From a Christian standpoint, that’s the perfect answer. Score: 9.8.

6:22 p.m.: Why didn’t these candidates buy commercial time of CNN and run some inspirational commercials?

6:21 p.m.: These are two very appealing presidential candidates in a setting like this.

6:19 p.m.: “Most gutting-wrenching decision you had to make” question. Another home run by McCain, who said he refused a chance to be released from his POW cell and basically sentenced himself to another three years in prison. It’s clear that a military man and long-time U.S. senator has more life experience than the much younger Obama.

6:16 p.m.: On the flip-flop question. McCain talks about off-shore oil drilling — this issue polls well, and strikes me as a political answer. He had more profound changes of mind during his career, but instead with a hot-button issue. Score: 2.2.

6:12 p.m.: Softball question from Warren. Get me an instance where you’ve gone against your party… McCain hits it out of the party, touching on torture and going against President Reagan’s plans to send troops to Lebanon. Score: 9.6.

6:10 p.m.: Biggest moral failing, personally and America’s. McCain’s personal failure: My first marriage. Heartfelt. But then he, by his own admission, panders and recites the first line from Warren’s book (the very same line Obama quoted). Political trick. Score: 5.0.

6:07 p.m.: Three wisest men questions (btw, what’s with Christians and their fascinated with three wise men?). McCain’s answer: Two military men, including Gen. David Patraeus, and a female entrepreneur (Meg Whitman of E-Bay). Score: 9.5 (two bonus points for not mentioning his wife or another family member).

6:05 p.m.: Another proposed drinking game: Have a shot each time a person of color is spotted in the audience of Saddleback Church.

6:04 p.m.: I think it’s a disadvantage for McCain to go second. Audience may be fatigued when hearing similar answers. We’ll see.

6:01 p.m.: Sen. John McCain introduced. I wonder if he ditched his tie at the last minute after looking at Warren and Obama. Maybe this will be a Clark Gable moment (he didn’t wear an undershirt in a movie and led to the near-extinction of undershirts). I think I speak for all guys who would cheer the the near-extinction of the tie.

5:59 p.m.: Great last question: What would you tell the American public is you knew there would be no repercussions? Obama’s answer about energy independence was great, too. Score: 9.5.

5:58 p.m.: Self-serving question from Warren, but I loved it: What do you say to people who oppose me asking you these questions? One thing Obama doesn’t lack is self-confidence. I keep wondering if he’s the Democratic Ronald Reagan, someone who can make people feel better about America again. I only wonder this when I see him in a setting like this. Score: 9.0.

5:55 p.m.: Terrible question from Warren: In one minute, why do you want to be president? But Obama’s answer saved it. Score: 8.8.

5:52 p.m.: Human trafficking question. Obama’s controversial answer: “This has to be a top priority.” I don’t like the question. It’s like saying, “Murder is a problem in the world. What would you do about it?” Score: 5.0.

5:52 p.m.: The usually tasteful graphic artists at Saddleback could have done better with the set and backdrop. It looks a little cheesy.

5:50 p.m.: “Pastor Rick” is making U.S. policy by asking for a commitment from Obama to set up a system to get the world’s orphans adopted. Savvy. Obama’s answer was good. Score: 8.5.

5:47 p.m.: Obama will regret his answer to the “when do you intervene in a genocide” by saying we should get UN approval.

5:45 p.m.: What’s worth dying for? HE ASKED MY QUESTION (kind of). But Obama whiffed on the answer by mouthing some very generic stuff. Score: 2.1.

5:42 p.m.: Is it too early to admit I was wrong? This forum is compelling.

5:41 p.m.: Dang, no school voucher or home schooling question. Warren: Define rich. Obama: If you sell 25 million books … Nice sense of humor. Big points. Score: 9.2.

5:40 p.m.: Pay for teachers question. Prediction: School vouchers or home schooling questions will be next.

5:38 p.m.: Obama did a nice job with explaining the nuances involved in federal dollars funding faith-based initiatives. Score: 8.5.

5:36 p.m.: A presidential candidate calling his interviewer “Pastor Rick” is really annoying. How about just “Rick”?

5:34 p.m.: Obama comes across as a really likable person in a one-on-one setting.

5:31 p.m.: Which Supreme Court justice would you have not nominated? A home run question and a bombshell answer with Clarence Thomas. Score: 9.5.

5:29 p.m.: I wish Obama or any candidate would just tell religious people who oppose stem-cell research that they are nuts, stand in the way of scientific progress and doesn’t cause any harm to human life. Obama failed with his wishy-washy answer. Score: 3.5.

5:26 p.m.: Having an evangelical leader ask questions should makes for different, straight-forward questions — wedge issues that separate conservative Christians with others. Warren’s latest: How do you define marriage? Again, Obama looks uncomfortable but he answered well. Score: 8.9.

5:24 p.m.: The abortion question by Warren is his best so far by a mile: At what point does a fetus (I think he used the word “baby”) have human rights? Obama really struggled with his answer — at one point, trying to avoid it by saying “It’s above my pay grade” to supply an answer. This will haunt him. Score: 2.3.

5:22 p.m.: Wow. A straightforward religious question: this is great, but Obama’s answering that being a Christian means that his sins will be “hopefully washed away” is off base. If Christianity is real and Obama is a Christian, his sins will be washed away.

5:22 p.m.: 200,000 questions submitted by Warren’s followers. The man generates big numbers — and doesn’t mind advertising it.

5:20 p.m.: This is more interesting than I thought it would be, but it’s frustrating the Rick Warren isn’t going to ask pointed follow-up questions.

5:18 p.m.: Just been informed by someone smarter than me that Warren hasn’t wore Hawaiian shirts for a while now. Note: I need to get to church more often!

5:16 p.m.: How many times will Obama bring up the fact that he opposed the war from the start? This could be a good drinking game. “Toughest decision” score: 3.2.

5:14 p.m.: “Example of a flip-flop” score: 8.1. Nice job to admit he’d been wrong about work-to-welfare reform.

5:12 p.m.: Not going to war in Iraq was actually a popular view within Obama’s district.

5:10 p.m.: Obama playing well to the crowd. Mentions “it’s not about me” and then cites a piece of Scripture. His revelation about his biggest moral failings — too much alcohol and drugs in his youth — was hardly revealing. Score: 7.4.

5:08 p.m.: “It’s not about me” is the first line from Warren’s best-selling “Purpose Driven Life” book.

5:06 p.m.: Score for Obama’s first question (out of 10): 5.6 — too long, too cliched.

5:04 p.m.: Is it me or is Barack Obama’s hair turning gray overnight?

5:03 p.m.: Rick starts out his first question with Scripture (nod to his audience, I’m guessing). The three wisest people in your life? Nice first question.

5:01 p.m.: What, no Hawaiian shirt? At least Rick didn’t put on a tie.

4:57 p.m.: Prediction: Pastor Rick Warren, who is moderating the forum, will do better with non-policy questions that give an insight into the candidates’ character — such as how do you handle the burden of sending soldiers into battle knowing that some of them will be killed?

4:36 p.m.: It’s late notice, but I decided to blog live the presidential forum today at 5 p.m. (PST) at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest. If you happen to be reading this in real time, just refresh this post frequently. If you’re getting to this afterward, you may want to read from the bottom.

The Los Angeles Times had a nice story on Pastor Rick Warren and Saturday’s appearance of presidential candidates Sen. John McCain and Sen. Barack Obama at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest.

I’ve become a big fan of Warren over the years. Despite being the Billy Graham of his generation, Warren has avoided the pitfalls of fame and fortune. He now gives 90% of his income away, he’s purposefully stayed clear of any a whiff of a scandal (he handles none of the church’s money, he turned down chances for a television show, and he won’t be alone in a room — or even an elevator — with a woman who is not his wife).

He’s also grown over the years and has more fully embraced the message of Jesus by, among other things, leading the way for evangelicals to get involved in the fight against AIDS in Africa. Prior to Warren’s involvement, the Christian Right had been shamefully silent on the issue.

All that said, I’m guessing Saturday’s “debate” will be disappointing to most Americans. The format is the problem. Warren, a friend of both candidates, will introduce McCain and Obama, and then interview them separate. If candidates on “Meet the Press” get thrown fastballs and curves by the moderator, McCain and Obama will get a series of slow, juicy pitches right down the middle of the plate that they will hit over the fence. The presidential hopefuls will look, ah, presidential, but viewers will leave unsatisfied by the powder-puff format.

Too bad. Warren would have been the perfect person to referee an exciting, provocative, unscripted, free form AND civilized exchange between the two candidates. That’s what voters want to see. Not a job interview. Not a stilted debate with time limits and manufactured sound bites. Just two hopefuls, sitting around the table, passionately detailing their vision for America and pointing out the weakness in their opponent’s argument.

I’ve received some nice early praise for my memoir, “Losing My Religion: How I Lost My Faith Reporting on Religion in America — and Found Unexpected Peace.” Here are some of the highlights:

From Michael Shermer, publisher of Skeptic magazine, monthly columnist for Scientific American, author of “How We Believe,” “Why Darwin Matters,” and “The Mind of the Market”: “This is the most intellectually honest and emotionally courageous book I have ever read, and it’s a page turner from cover to cover. The new atheist community will embrace it, of course, but I think all Christians owe it to themselves to read the spiritual journey of this once devout evangelical born-again Christian whose penetrating insights into the soul of that religion–and all religions–will test the faith of even the most faithful, not because of cogent counter arguments to Christian apologetics, but because Lobdell is willing to go where few religious believers can. To find out where that place is you must read this book.”

From The Rev. John Huffman, chairman of the board, Christianity Today:“William Lobdell has written a heart/mind/soul-wrenching spiritual autobiography. He has been inspired by followers of Jesus who have served their Lord with integrity. But he has also been devastated by observing, up-close, the ugly, sinful underbelly of a critical, self-serving, institutional and individual religion. This is a must-read filled with warnings and wake-up calls to those of us in leadership positions. I respect Bill for his honest reporting of his odyssey to this point and pray that someday there may be a future book, just as honest, with a grace-filled conclusion.”

Last week, I wrote about the dangers of someone such as Pastor Benny Hinn, who as a self-proclaimed faith healer has told thousands of sickly believers that they have been cured by God. In recent years, he regularly cautions people to check with a doctor to make sure the healing happened, but I’d imagine those warnings are routinely ignored. After all, Pastor Benny had said that God had healed them! Why turn to a lesser source?

In the vast majority of the Christian community, believers know exactly what Hinn is about. And many aren’t fooled either by his chief promoter, the leaders of Trinity Broadcasting Network. The Crouch family — TBN’s owners — and their handpicked pastors routinely promote the slimy Prosperity Gospel. It goes like this: Send us money and God will shower you with financial blessings and healings.

This anti-Jesus gospel preys on desperate people who are so poor, so down on their luck or so sick that they’re willing to put aside common sense and send whatever they have to TBN (not that the network needs the money; it has hundreds of millions of dollars in investments, is debt-free and turns an annual profit of about $60 million).

What TBN does — and the hyper-affluent lifestyles of its founders — isn’t a secret. They promote the Prosperity Gospel daily on the air, and many stories have been written about the Crouches’ lavish living.

So why do so many mainstream pastors continue to appear on TBN, giving the network, the Crouches and Hinn a tacit endorsement? These men of God include Joel Osteen, Jack Hayford, Billy Graham, Greg Laurie, Robert H. Schuller and Matthew and Tommy Barnett.

Is it possibly because appearing on TBN is a virtual goldmine for a ministry, providing a worldwide audience and fund-raising base? Is it possible that it’s easier to choose fame and money over Christian principles such as looking out for the “least among us”? (BTW, where is the Christian media in all this? Why so quiet? More on that later.)

TBN, the Crouches and Hinn will continue to thrive on the backs of the poor and desperate until some big-name Christian leaders stand up and put a stop to it. But I don’t see anyone stepping forward. In doing so, they would lose their time slot on the network.

The Orange County District Attorney’s Office last week filed felony charges of illegal weapons possession. Aguilar and six other members of the Set Free Soldiers biker gang had been arrested on suspicious of attempted murder for a double stabbing at a Newport Beach bar. Only one Set Free Soldier will face attempted murder charges.

On the heals of the arrest of biker gang leader/Pastor Phil Aguilar of Anaheim on suspicion of attempted murder, I started to wonder: Who is the more dangerous man who appeared regularly on Trinity Broadcasting Network: a person who allegedly broke a pool cue over someone’s head in a barroom brawl in Newport Beach or a self-proclaimed faith healer who tells believers with incurable illnesses that they’ve been miraculously healed by God?

“Faith healer” and suspected multi-millionaire Benny Hinn is one of TBN’s most celebrated pastors. His daily “This Is Your Day!” television show airs in primetime, and during the network’s twice yearly “praise-a-thons” he serves as one of the network’s most effective fund-raisers. Hinn’s (and TBN’s) basic pitch: if you want to be wealthy and/or healthy, provide God with evidence of your faith (by giving money to TBN/Hinn’s ministry).

Many channel surfers view Hinn — with the Nehru suits and comb-over — as a harmless buffoon of televangelism, healing folks by “slaying in the spirit” on stage with a wave of his hand and sending them falling over backward like so many bowling pins.

Do you know how many people have died because they believed they had been cured by the “faith healer” Hinn (he’s always quick to point out that he is only God’s instrument and it’s the Lord who heals) and stopped their medications and trips to the doctors? I don’t know and neither does Hinn. But several national television news shows have interviewed survivors who say their loved ones did just that and died.

A few years back, I attended a Benny Hinn Miracle Crusade at the Honda Center in Anaheim and found a kid named Jordie who had come down from Canada. Jordie proudly showed me the shunt in his arm that he used for dialysis and said, “I watch Pastor Benny, and he says we need to step in faith to show God we truly believe He can heal us. So I stopped getting dialysis a few days ago. I had to. I mean, what kind of faith do I have if I keep doing dialysis when God will heal me.”

To his doctor’s dismay, Jordie stayed off dialysis throughout the Miracle Crusade weekend. Fortunately, he didn’t die — no thanks God or Hinn. (He had to go on dialysis as soon as he arrived home.)

From a logic standpoint, I understood Jordie’s thinking. Pastor Benny promises (over and over again each day) that God will heal you IF your faith is strong enough. And what’s a better sign of faith than to toss aside medical treatment and really solely on God’s healing powers?

There is perhaps no cruelly sad place on Earth that a sports arena after a Hinn Miracle Crusade “heals” its last person. The facility is littered with people — the terminally ill, the paralyzed, the diseased, the misshapened — who believed (because they were told) that they would be restored to health that very night. They had fantasies of walking or running or laughing or simply scratching their nose again. But they were still broken, same as before. And now they had another burden, believing they had been barred from God’s healing touch because they didn’t have enough faith.

Hinn’s rewards for all this heartache are plentiful. He lives in a ministry-owned home — valued at more than $20 million — in Ritz Cove on the Pacific in Dana Point. He drives luxury cars, flies in a corporate jet, stays in presidential suites, eats in five-star restaurants and is usually flanked, for unfathomable reasons, by two burly bodyguards. I often wonder if Hinn sleeps well at night in his mansion overlooking the cliffs of Dana Point. I’m guessing that he does — with a big smile on his face.

Hinn’s “healings” — even if completely bogus — are protected by the First Amendment. No civil or criminal court can prove whether Hinn really hears from God (though judging by his failed prophesies, we can at least assume the connection is really, really poor). Or whether someone is healed by Hinn’s touch. Or whether Hinn believes the crap he spouts. An attempt to prove any of that would amount to a heresy trial and the Constitution doesn’t allow that.

In my opinion, that means the world’s most famous “faith healer” — whose followers hang his every word — can do much more damage to people (emotionally, spiritually and physically) than someone involved in a single bar fight.

The story broke today that authorities in Orange County, Calif. arrested six members of the Set Free Soldiers Christian motorcycle gang and charged them with conspiracy to commit murder. Phil Aguilar, leader of the Set Free Soldiers and founding pastor of the Set Free Worldwide Ministries movement, was among those arrested.

During my multi-year investigation into the Trinity Broadcasting Network, Aguilar’s name came up often. The convicted felon (I was told of the charges, but never confirmed them so I won’t repeat them here; but I think it’s safe to say he wasn’t in prison for shoplifting). Aguilar had close ties to the Tustin-based network, which is the world’s largest religious broadcaster.

He had been a semi-regular on-air guest and at one point was given his own show. Aguilar also served with TBN co-founder Paul Crouch on the board of the National Minority Television Network, an organization that federal officials called a sham TBN used to get around limits on television station ownership.

John Casoria, TBN’s in-house counsel and nephew of TBN co-founder Jan Crouch, has represented Aguilar. And Aguilar ran a drug treatment facility in the early 1990s at a TBN-owned ranch in Texas.

On-air, Jan Crouch called Aguilar “the closest thing to Jesus” she ever saw and once declared that those who didn’t give money to Set Free were going to Hell, according to a 1995 edition of the Christian Sentinel.

Several observers have wondered over the years why TBN had maintained a close relationship with Aguilar and his ministry, which has been criticized in print and by former members as being an abusive cult. And now the “closest thing to Jesus” is being held in jail on $1 million bail for allegedly participating in a 15-person barroom brawl — police say it was Set Free Soldiers vs. Hell’s Angels — in Newport Beach and trying to kill someone.

What a story. More, I’m sure, to come.

In the media, I always thought open and honest debate about religion is healthy for everyone. What I hate is the natural media bias that seeps into news story.

Below is a little feature on some parents who were rushing to catch a plane and left one of their five children behind (”Home Alone 6″?). The story gives the basics and then adds, “Israeli media said the parents were an ultra-Orthodox Jewish couple but did not give their names.”

Why is it newsworthy to tell the reader that the parents were ultra-Orthodox? Is there a practice within ultra-Orthodox wing of Judaism that orders parents to leave their children behind? What if they were Catholic? Would that make it in the story?

Nope. There’s a perception by many that the orthodox branches of any religion are filled with wingnuts. This may or may not be true, but tackle the issue head-on instead of slipping it cynically into news stories.

Here’s a larger excerpt from the story:

JERUSALEM - An Israeli couple going on a European vacation remembered to take their duty-free shopping and their 18 suitcases, but forgot their 3-year-old daughter at the airport, police said Monday.

The couple and their five children were late for a charter flight to Paris Sunday and made a mad dash to the gate. In the confusion, their daughter got lost.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said a policeman found her wandering in the duty-free area at Ben-Gurion airport, Israel’s bustling main international air portal. He said the officer alerted airline staff, but the flight had already taken off.

Israeli media said the parents were an ultra-Orthodox Jewish couple but did not give their names.

Rosenfeld said the parents were unaware they had boarded the aircraft with only four children instead of five until they were informed by cabin staff after 40 minutes in the air.

The child, accompanied by an airline staffer, took the next flight to Paris where she was safely reunited with her parents.

Rosenfeld said police would question the couple when they return from vacation, on suspicion of parental negligence.

It appears Sen. John McCain has finally found a way gain some traction in the presidential election: poke fun at Sen. Barack Obama. His first satirical campaign ad dryly compared Obama’s celebrity status with Britney Spears’ and Paris Hilton’s, and became a YouTube sensation. Making it worse was the Obama campaign, which seemed to lose its sense of humor.

But McCain’s latest TV ad, called “The One,” is oddly creepy. Using Obama’s own words, it projects him as a kind of messianic figure. But for hard-core Christians, there’s an undertone that Obama could be Satan (The Evil One), angling to become the world’s leader, as predicted in Book of Revelation in the New Testament.

The Charlton Heston/Moses clip at the end is the tone commercial should have been throughout. But I don’t think that’s what the McCain folks were going for.

Watch “The One” is see I’m off base.