Rick Warren to Give Invocation at Obama Inauguration

There's a bit of controversy surrounding Obama's choice of Rick Warren to give the invocation at his Inauguration on Jan 20. Many on the left feel that it's a bit of a slap in the face, considering Warren's opinions on abortion and equal gay rights. He backed Proposition 8 and has compared homosexuality to incest and pedophilia.

AP

The Rev. Rick Warren, who will give the invocation, is the most influential pastor in the United States, and a choice that has already caused problems for Obama.

Warren is a Southern Baptist who holds traditional religious beliefs and endorsed California's Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage. But he also wants to broaden the evangelical agenda to include fighting global warming, poverty and AIDS.
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"By inviting Rick Warren to your inauguration, you have tarnished the view that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans have a place at your table," Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, said in a letter to the incoming president.

What are your thoughts on Obama's choice of a man who has some drastically different political views than Obama and his supporters on these important issues?

I will share my views after I do some errands.

I personally see nothing wrong with his choice. Obama is trying to please the majority of the US populace who voted for him. Granted, Warren is a bit more controversial than Billy Graham but he is a figure that many people of general Christian belief can relate to and recognize.

Obama is getting grief from the far left gay rights groups. To those folks I say this. You alone did not elect Obama. Obama is not in office to serve only your needs or to preach your ideology. Obama is POTUS like it or not. If he followed the gay rights movement in lock step he would lose the majority of those who voted for him. Get over it.

Please note that Obama made a sudden broad leap to the center during the waning weeks of the campaign and he has continued to stay on the line ever since.

i don't agree with the choice. but, perhaps any other selection would have been the "safe" thing to do to appease the masses.
obama is the president of each citizen of the united states.
i sympathize with their feelings but, this nation is incredibly diverse.
they may need to get a grip. for lack of a better phrase.
he can't govern for some, only for all.
he will soon be president of a nation where some absolutely hate him. yet, he will still be their president.
it's called being tolerant when you are willing to listen and respect opposing viewpoints.
no matter how offensive or different they may be to your personal beliefs.

I put off my errands until tomorrow.

I partially agree with you, jibeho.

I think Obama is fulfilling his promise to be the president of ALL of the US, not just the left. I applaud his choice of Rick Warren, even though I disagree strongly with him on the issues I mentioned.

In the past, we have been encouraged to be divided by our views. Previous presidents would only choose people who agreed with them to be involved in their functions. That encourages exclusivity. If the left wants to set an example of what they're asking for (tolerance and acceptance), they should embrace Obama's choice of Warren, realizing that he has his own views, regardless how 'wrong" they are.

Being exclusive only separates us. If we are ever to come to some sort of agreement we can all live with, we are going to have to bring up these subjects and talk about them. Staying in our own little bubbles, with people who feel the same way we do, while "they" gather over there in their bubble, precludes a discussion on the subject we disagree with. Nothing will ever change. If we want change, we're going to have to come together as a nation and talk about the ideas on which we disagree. Disagree without being disagreeable.

I would prefer that there was no prayer at all at a political event, but I heard a really great saying this morning. "You can separate church and state, but you can't separate religion and politics." I think that nails the idea. We can keep the law out of church and even vice versa, but we can't keep religion and politics separate. There's always going to be politicians who pray and swear on the bible.

So, I would ask people who have a problem with Obama's choice of Warren to demonstrate what they are asking for. Tolerance and acceptance of people's views that differ from their own. Obama's choice does not mean he agrees or even approves of Warren's views. He doesn't. He is just demonstrating what he is asking for for all Americans.

reply to post by Benevolent Heretic


Nicely stated with eloquence.

According to my wife, my eloquence seems to take a back seat to my abruptness most of the time.

Perhaps I should work on that in the new year.

Obama wants to be inclusive of everyone, right?

I don't know anything about this Rick Warren guy except what I've read in this thread.. so he's anti-abortion, anti-gay blah blah etc etc

If Obama wants to embrace everyone, then why should he EXLCUDE someone because of their beliefs?
This is people getting worked up over nothing.

If you say you want to give everyone an equal chance but then deny someone for whatever reason, you're contradicting yourself..

therefore I applause the President Elect on his choice. He might support the gay activists, and people who might want to get shut of unwanted pregnancies, but he isn't shunning their opponents either.
If everyone in the world took a leaf out of this aspect of Barack then the world would be a far better place for everyone, I'm certain.

Gay/Lesbian rights activists go too far just as those on the other side of the fence do. This is just a ridiculous thing to get upset about. I am sure they would be screaming about Obama pandering to them if he had chosen a gay or lesbian minister.

You just can't make some people happy

Personally I think that gay/lesbian people should have the right to get married, I mean everyone should have the opportunity to be miserable. But some things need to be put into prospective. And this is one thing that this group is doing that is out of proportion to reality. It's not as if Rick Warren is going to be setting up policy.

Besides Obama has made his views on Gay/Lesbian marriage clear from the start it's not as if he is going back on a campaign promise. He does support civil unions however he does not support gay marriage.

I mean people wouldnt be happy no matter who he picked. Heck if he had Jesus Christ himself preform the Invocation someone would protest it.

Sometimes you just have to say [snip] it and go with your choices in the matter and it's gonna piss someone off but ya know what? It's not the end of the world.

I think the fact that Obama picked Warren is the underlying issue here, especially for me.

I think it's fairly obvious that Obama picked Warren because of the whole "coming together" image. I won't dispute the fact that it was a smart move on his part. In reality, the best thing Obama can do is piss off the far left. That's good for him in my opinion.

What I'm looking at in this story, and this is something I haven't seen a lot of talk about, is why Warren agreed.

I mean apart from the whole "historical significance" of this, I just don't see it.

If Warren really stands for the things he talks and writes about, why would he agree to speak for someone who stands for the exact opposite?

Originally posted by nyk537
I think it's fairly obvious that Obama picked Warren because of the whole "coming together" image. I
...
If Warren really stands for the things he talks and writes about, why would he agree to speak for someone who stands for the exact opposite?

You think Obama did this for his "image". You wouldn't consider that he REALLY believes what he says. But I invite you to consider for just a moment that he really means to be inclusive. NOT just an "image" for political reasons, or to piss off the left, or as a "smart move", but rather for the good of the country. Then it's easier to see why Warren would be "honored" as he says he is...

It's because they both agree that we have to come together as a nation. Not give up our ideals and views, but come together FOR our country DESPITE our different views.

Just take a moment and imagine the possibility.

Who gives a rats ass what the far left thinks.

During the election:

Far Left: Wooo go Obama! He's going to change politics for the better and work with both sides! Woooo! Change we need!

After election:

Far Left: What the hell Obama?! Why are you allowing this guy from the other side to have a voice? Booooo!

I'm fine with the decision and I don't agree with Rick Warren on anything he says about abortion and gay marriage and all that. Pretty tired of this "with us or against us" black and white mentality that both sides seem to harbor.

[edit on 20-12-2008 by davion]

It's also interesting that people are getting up in arms about Rick Warren speaking when Obama also has Joseph Lowery speaking.

Both sides of the spectrum will be up there speaking, so I don't understand.