Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) took questions from moderators Jon Meacham, editor of Newsweek and respected scholar on faith and American politics; Campbell Brown, CNN Election Center anchor; and some of the nation’s most prominent Christian and religious leaders during the Compassion Forum held at Messiah College near Harrisburg, Pa.

At first, Clinton seemed taken aback by the unexpected question of why a loving God would allow good people to suffer, before remarking that the question is the “subject of generations of commentary and debate.” ...