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This horrible tragedy, to motivate action on behalf of our kids. and that's what the president moved swiftly to do. >> one of the other great dilemmas i think for any christian in america right now is the debate over gay marriage and gay rights. it's moving very fast in public opinion. the president himself has moved his position in the last few years. what do you say, as a pastor, that has to talk to people who may be confused about this, what do you say about the evolution, i guess, of gay rights and gay marriage in america? >> i would say in general terms, people of faith in this country ha...

And you know, that doesn't mean that we can't have sincere disagreements on ttheological issues but once the issues are stated we have to find ways to come together to talk about the points we have in common, to talk about the love we have for one another, for straight folks, for gay folks, for our entire country. i think the faith community has got to, again, to focus more on the things that we have in common rather than the things that divide us. now, fortunately there are a lot of christians that do focus on those points of commonality but they're not the ones that we see the most on our tv...

I was able to see that first-hand in private ways, in the way the president received devotionals and spent time in prayer with pastors around the country but also in public ways, in the way his faith motivated his approach to issues in public life from compassionate immigration reform to issues related to gun violence. it was really an honor to have that front row seat to the president's values. >> the president has described the newtown atrocity as one of the biggest tests of his presidency for him personally. you went down to newtown with the president when he visited soon after that happene...

That we can't have sincere disagreements on ttheological issues but once the issues are stated we have to find ways to come together to talk about the points we have in common, to talk about the love we have for one another, for straight folks, for gay folks, for our entire country. i think the faith community has got to, again, to focus more on the things that we have in common rather than the things that divide us. now, fortunately there are a lot of christians that do focus on those points of commonality but they're not the ones that we see the most on our tv screens. they're not the ones w...

Done with the president, what do you say to those people who use the bible and its scriptures as a sacrosanct defense, if you like, against moving times? >> you know, it's something that i think we have to grapple with because on the one hand as you highlight, piers, there are verses in the old testament and the new from deuteronomy to the apostle paul that speak to issues related to homosexuality. on the other hand, jesus said that the two greatest commandments are to love god and to love your neighbor and to let that spirit of love dominate in terms of your actions and the way that you appro...