We asked about Rick Warren giving the invocation at Barack Obama's inauguration.
President-elect Obama'a choice for the prayer is his choice. The man selected has many outstanding traits and accomplishments. Any person selected will not satisfy everyone all the time in every way. -- Richard
one have has the right to choose what they want and they choose to be who they want to be. let them be who they are. and im glad obama chooose that guy -- Pancho
It's Pres-elect's choice of who he wants for his inaugural ceremony. Though Pastor Warren wouldn't be my choice, people should try to be more like Barack Obama and think about unifying this country. Pres Bush certainly didn't do that after 2004; he thought his re-election was a mandate to do whatever he liked. Karl Rove just encouraged this ill behavior. -- Dee
I do not personally agree with all the views of Barack Obama, however he will be our President and he has the right to choose who will offer the invocation at his inauguration. We all need to pray, along with Pastor Rick Warren, that God will guide and direct President Obama in his decisions to guide this great nation! -- ***
Why is everyone so concerned about the views of the person giving an invocation? We do have separation of Church and state in the USA. It's not like the personal opinion of the speaker is going to influence national policy. His opinions will still just be his opinions. People are overreacting. -- Derwin
In response to Rick Warren performing the inaugural invocation: there are so many other prominent faith leaders out there who could represent all sides equally and start the presidency off with the best foot forward. Selecting someone who angers conservative pro-lifers and who blatantly supports discrimination against the LGBT community is not someone Obama should be kicking off his presidency with, especially with respect to how hard many equal rights supporters worked during Obama's campaign under the impression that Obama is and will be supportive of equal rights for all. -- Meghan
Having Rick Warren pray over the nation is the equivalent of having me invite the Grand Wizard to pray over the nation just because they wave around a cross every once and awhile. That would be offensive to African Americans just like Rick Warren is offensive in the same destructive way to GLBT persons. Very poor and disappointing choice given the breadth and wealth of wonderful and yes conservative spiritual leaders such as Billy Graham's daughter. -- Rev. Janine
As one of the leaders of “Yes on Prop. 8” campaign in California, I have watched with interest as gay activists have protested Barak Obama’s selection of Rick Warren to lead in a prayer at the Inauguration.
Barak Obama said he would "reach across the aisle" to unite us. And then when he – at least symbolically – exhibited that in the selection of Rick Warren to pray at the Inauguration, the people who elected him became angry at him. For what? For keeping his campaign promise!
Who did they want him to ask? Jeremiah Wright?
And why is Rick Warren a “controversial” choice to the gay activists? What is Rick Warren's great offense?
For starters, he believes the Bible and its 5,000+ year old definition of marriage.
What is a truly biblically founded, authentically Christian pastor supposed to believe? Should he embrace the empty casuistry, exegetical revisionism and anti-scriptural political correctness of leftist "pastors" who defy and deny the historic, orthodox Christian and authentically biblical position on marriage?
Rick Warren believes what 68% of Americans believe, based on the 30 states that have voted on and passed state constitutional amendments that say marriage is defined as "one man-one woman."
He believes in a definition of marriage that has been recognized in every known culture since the beginning of time.
He believes in a definition of marriage that has been operational in America in its entire history (until a handful of oligarchical judges recently became hyper-revisionists in MA, CA and CT).
He believes in a definition of marriage that California has practiced as a state in all of it 158 year old history (minus the 4 1/2 months tampered with by four judges who went against the will of the people as expressed in 2000 - and again in 2008).
Rick Warren's grand offense is that he believes marriage is a union of one man-one woman, which is precisely the same definition of marriage that Barak Obama publicly stated on national TV. I was present at the Saddleback Civil Forum on Saturday August 16th when Obama was asked by Warren to “define marriage.” Obama’s aphoristic response: “Its’ a union between a man and a woman.”
Rick Warren’s great offense is that he supported Prop 8 which – in 14 words – simply states that “only marriage between a man and a woman is valid and recognized in California.”
For the record, Prop 8 received over 7 million "yes" votes - 7,001,084 to be exact.
Prop 8 was profoundly well vetted, with both sides combined spending nearly $80 million - the most expensive race of its type.
Prop 8 was so thoroughly vetted that it received more votes ("yes" and "no" combined) than (in CA) Obama and McCain combined – virtually unheard of in any down-the-ballot race.
Prop. 8 received 2,150,000 more votes than did Arnold Schwarzenegger when he was reelected in 2006
Prop. 8 received nearly 2 million more votes than Dianne Feinstein did when she was reelected to the US Senate in 2006
Prop. 8 received 250,000 more votes than did John Kerry when he carried California in 2004
Prop. 8 received 45,000 more votes than did Barbara Boxer in her landslide reelection to the U.S. Senate in 2004
Prop 8 received approximately the same percentage as Gavin Newsome did when he was originally elected mayor of San Francisco.
Prop. 8 passed with 52.3%, which is approximately the same percentage of the vote that Barack Obama received nationally.
If the “don’t-let-Rick-Warren-pray” advocates are going to keep whining about Prop 8's passage (and anyone – including Rick Warren – who voted for it), then complain about all the others mentioned above who were elected with similar percentages or those who received less votes.
Rick Warren, based on his public endorsement, voted for traditional, natural marriage. So did the rest of America. They voted for the same definition of marriage that Barak Obama affirms.
In the never ending marriage discussion, the “No on 8” crowd should stop playing the "civil rights" card. Americans in general and Californians in particular are not so gullible as to confuse marriage with "civil rights." They know the difference.
Homosexuals already have bona fide, authentic civil rights. If they didn't, they could not live where they live, work where they work, go to school where they go to school, ride public transportation, vote and hold property. So long as one recognizes the ages affirmed, time tested, millennia old definition of and laws regarding marriage, one can marry whoever wants. It is time to accept that marriage is – by definition – marriage! We would say to Barak Obama, “thanks for having the courage to ask Rick Warren to pray. Thank you for asking one of America's most loving, compassionate, sacrificial pastors to lead in a prayer. Thank you for honoring, in at least a symbolic way, your campaign promise to “reach out.” I am impressed with this brilliant decision.
Jim Garlow Senior Pastor - Skyline Church - La Mesa Director, CA Pastors Rapid Response Team – “Yes on 8” El Cajon
