Cynics may think that Senator Obama left his church of twenty years for political reasons.

Realists may believe that he has not changed his mind or politics just his style. Religion, like a suit of clothes, has its central purpose in making the wearer look good. The United Church of Christ was a good suit for the Senate, but not for the White House.

But why believe this? It is easy to think of five different reasons, much more familiar to Church goers, for Senator Obama leaving a church he so eloquently defended in a speech (which I really liked) just a few months ago.

While not probable, they are possible . . . and it is the virtue of a certain kind of politics that it clings to the possible even when it becomes very unlikely. For those leftists I offer the following to give them hope in the goodness of their candidate who is hard to love if he claims he will defend a thing only to abandon it for political convenience:

An Evangelical Christian is, broadly, a follower of the teachings of Jesus. They live within a knowledge tradition marked by a commitment to reason, truth, authenticity, moderation, and charity.

Evangelicals are dynamic and not parochial, growing explosively all over the world. Evangelicals are urban and rural, black and white, Hispanic and Anglo. They are members of old religious groups and new ones. If you are reading this, you probably have an Evangelical friend, though you may not know it.

Why not? Because flesh and blood Evangelicals usually do not fit media stereotypes and, as a result, many Americans think their Evangelical friends are exceptions to the rule. They know, from movie stereotypes, what “they” are really like and just assume luck in their associations.

I loved the Narnia books as a child. My basement turned into Narnian headquarters and a roll out map of the land was the center point. As an adult I have taught the books and re-read them as an antidote to discouraging times.

And these are discouraging times.

Like a miracle, comes a gift to us from Disney and Walden Media. Prince Caspian, the weakest of the seven Narnia books, is a better film (as a film) than the first . . . and I really liked the first. This time the makers felt able to make changes as the plot was less well known (and less tightly structured).

My family contains young people the age of the children (now not so child-like!) in the films . . . so it was interesting to watch Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy grow up as we have watched our own grow over the last two years. My kids all laughed, one cried, and all clapped spontaneously at the end. One of them had counted down the days and was petrified of being disappointed and was overjoyed to discover that all fears had been for nothing.