There are things in Christianity that can be compromised. For example, I can safely remain a Christian whether I speak in tongues or not, or whether I believe guardian angels or not. But there are things in Christianity that is not meant to be compromised. If I believe that Jesus came as a mere man and prophet, then I don't deserve to be called Christian. The basic theology of Christianity is well taught in most Chinese churches, I do not trust that you have not heard of them.

Social gospel can be taught in different degrees, and can be accepted to different degrees. On the far end of extreme, those who preach the social gospel will make Christianity into a religion of charity of sorts. They will deny the justice of God because it doesn't jive with their idea that "God is love". They are horrified that those who do not believe in Christ must pay the ultimate penalty of sin. They don't care if the bible is inspired by God, and if Jesus is the son of God. Their God is their own idea of "love". If this is the kind of gospel they believe, it's very hard for me to call them "Christians".

On the other hand, social gospel's emphasis on love and charity is not without its merits, so long as one keeps in mind what our faith is all about. Too often we the orthodox forget what it is like to be charitable, so caught up in our own self-righteousness and self-serving selfishness. An emphasis on love and charity is something some of us sorely need in order to be rescued from the empty life of faith without deeds. In other words, as most things in life, such things are good and useful to us, but cannot be taken in excess.

That said, the reason why I question Obama's faith, and not caleb's, is how they treat some of the fundamentals of Christian theology. Caleb, as he will tell you, believes in Jesus Christ, because Jesus is the Way, the Life, the Truth. He believes that Jesus is the only way to salvation and he has been saved through his faith. The same thing I cannot say of Obama. If you read the article, you will find this passage:

"It is a precept of my Christian faith that my redemption comes through Christ, but I am also a big believer in the Golden Rule, which I think is an essential pillar not only of my faith but of my values and my ideals and my experience here on Earth. I've said this before, and I know this raises questions in the minds of some evangelicals. I do not believe that my mother, who never formally embraced Christianity as far as I know … I do not believe she went to hell."

He was being brutally honest with his faith and I understand and respect that. His faith is far more accommodating than the traditional tenets, which makes it easy for him to reach out to people of different faith, but I cannot say that his theology is orthodox.