Just as Barack Obama is giving a major speech on faith and announcing plans to expand George W. Bush’s faith-based initiatives program, the progressive Christian Matthew 25 Network announces a radio campaign about the Illinois senator’s faith. The political action committee, headed up by Kerry/Edwards spiritual outreach director Mara Vanderslice, aims to reach "white evangelicals who are non-conservative" (in the words of former Clinton press secretary Mike McCurry). The script:

Narrator: You know it’s an election year when certain people start grabbing headlines by attacking the faith of presidential candidates. With all these stones being cast at Senator Obama, it can be hard to know what to believe. But in Luke, Jesus taught us that we must listen to what a man says because “out of the overflow of his heart, his mouth speaks.” So here are words from Senator Obama’s heart:

Obama: I think we make a mistake when we fail to acknowledge the power of faith in people’s lives… Kneeling beneath that cross on the South Side, I felt that I heard God’s spirit beckoning me. I submitted myself to His will, and dedicated myself to discovering His truth.”

Narrator: Paid for by Matthew 25 Network, Matthew 25.org is not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee. Matthew 25 Network is responsible for the content of this ad because we think it’s time for a better Christian witness in politics.

Implying that it’s John McCain who’s casting stones — with dibs on the first throw left to "him without sin," according to the book of John — the ad is a smart appeal to Christians. David Brody of Pat Robertson’s CBN agrees, calling it "EXTREMELY strong." He writes, "It stays away from public policy and really focuses in his personal commitment to Christ. That is a type of message that Evangelicals will want to hear."

But he says it opens up Obama to a counter-ad showing his positions on various issues important to Christians. The ad tackles that issue head-on, writes Steve Benen at The Carpetbagger Report: "It implicitly acknowledges that the audience may have seen those ridiculous smear emails, and it’s “hard to know what to believe.” That’s why, the Matthew 25 Network argues, Christians have a duty to consider a person’s testimony.

The commercial begain airing this week at Christian stations in Colorado Springs, where Obama gave his major speech on faith today, and home to James Dobson’s Focus on the Family.

Listen to it: