According to OneNewsNow, an organization only slightly less paranoid than WorldNetDaily, Rick Warren is praising President-Elect Obama for inviting Bishop Gene Robinson to pray at the inauguration as well.
After supporting Proposition 8 in California and then accepting the President-Elect’s invitation, it’s possible that nobody will be happy with Rick Warren any more.
They note particularly Robinson’s statement that he will not use the Bible:
Robinson has said he will not use the Bible when praying, and states “I will be careful not to be especially Christian in my prayer.”
This is one of my problems with all this. I would prefer to see many people sincerely praying according to their own traditions and practices than an attempt to have everyone pray generically. More accurately, the whole thing bothers me.
Well done to Rick Warren for giving a genuine Christian response, refusing to expect the President to go against the spirit of the Constitution by taking sides on religious issues. In doing so he has given a positive Christian witness by showing himself to be far more gracious than Robinson, who
I don’t always agree with Rick Warren, but I think he has behaved well throughout.
Bishop Robinson was interviewed on NPR earlier this week, and he discussed his thoughts on crafting a prayer which was true to his own Christian faith while being a prayer, not just for Christian Americans, but for all Americans. It was an interesting conversation, available at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99311912.
Of course, there is a more fundamental question about who prayer should be “for”–which is a problem I have with all forms of public prayer.
Warren has made it very clear what he stands for — or more accurately, what and who he stands AGAINST. A single gracious statement does not change who he is. He does NOT belong at a government… nor does Bishop Robinson, whose inclusion was a simple blatant attempt to shut him up. Surprisingly it worked.
Warren is especially offensive as he preaches exclusion, however noone should be PRAYING as part of a government sanctioned event. Neither should an atheist be asked to make a statement against the existence of gods. GODS don’t belong in government.
The separation of church and state means just that – the government is neither run by religion NOR HAS IT THE RIGHT to regulate religion.
Warren and Robinson, as part of this inauguration, have effectively consented to the removal of the tax-free status of churches, which is legally withdrawn when the church participates in government.
I’m obviously more conflicted on this than you are…
I think separation of church and state does not mean that we should exclude God from government, but that government does not have the right to force a particular religion on the citizens the way the British tried to do it in the times leading up to the revolution. That is why the founding fathers included it in the constitution. We need God’s direction in all decisions especially the ones the government has to make effecting millions of citizens here and abroad. Supporting this and our heritage with prayer at government sanctioned events is acceptable.