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THE QUESTION
Rick Warren at the Inauguration
What do you think of Barack Obama's choice of Rick Warren to deliver the Inaugural Invocation? Who would have been your choice?
Posted by
Sally Quinn and Jon Meacham on December 22, 2008 6:00 AM
FROM THE PANEL
Obama, Warren and America
Obama is the President-elect, and since he desires to distance himself from incendiary types, I think he should "uninvite" Pastor Warren to do the invocation. Too many people know that, at the hands of Warren, they would be excluded from the presence of God.
Posted by Susan K. Smith, on December 30, 2008 10:16 AM
Warren: A Good and Hopeful Choice
Rick Warren is exactly the right person for he assignment. The President-elect does not deserve the flak he is getting on this.
Posted by Richard Mouw, on December 30, 2008 9:13 AM
Warren's Presence Taints Inauguration
I believe that it is more than a liberal reflex that is making many of us so profoundly uncomfortable with Obama's choice of Rick Warren to deliver the inauguration invocation.
Posted by Sharon Brous, on December 30, 2008 1:14 AM
Rick Warren & Barack Obama -- Bold Leaders
Good for President-elect Barack Obama in choosing Rick Warren to give the Inauguration Invocation! This makes a powerful statement that a leader can stand with a pastor who doesn't agree with all of his politics.
Posted by Leith Anderson, on December 29, 2008 9:46 AM
A Disappointing, Divisive Choice
In selecting Rick Warren, president-elect Obama was trying to signal his willingness to work with both sides in our country's culture wars. But in selecting Warren to deliver the invocation at his Inauguration, the president-elect has unfortunately conferred legitimacy on attitudes that are deeply contrary to God's all inclusive love.
Posted by John Bryson Chane, on December 29, 2008 8:42 AM
Personality or Prayer?
If we are truly wanting to have a moment of prayer here, then we should go find the least likely person, and ask them to lead us in a prayer. Then it would be about it's true spiritual purpose, and not just a lofty ceremony meant to appease political allegiances.
Posted by Matt Maher, on December 28, 2008 7:19 PM
Rick Warren: A Public Educator Worthy of Honor
Rick Warren is a sensible man who represents the center of American Christianity. Christian ideas and culture are part of the genetic makeup of our nation and appealing to them is vital to tapping into the American story. President-elect Obama was smart to pick Warren, and Pastor Warren was right to accept.
Posted by John Mark Reynolds, on December 27, 2008 5:47 PM
Warren A Good Choice; Here's a Better One
I would have chosen someone unknown to the media in order to draw attention to the thousands of humble, good-hearted women and men who are serving quietly for the common good, with no public fanfare.
Posted by Brian D. McLaren, on December 27, 2008 2:02 PM
Obama's Choice, Not Ours
Since Obama is an evangelical-liberal Christian, I assume he sees Rick Warren as the Christian leader who best represents Obama's vision of life and understanding of America's needs and potential for being good news to humanity and to the good earth.
Posted by Willis E. Elliott, on December 27, 2008 12:56 PM
Choosing Warren: Obama at His Best
Whether one is a fan of the next President or not, any fan of faith should be cheered by President-elect Obama's choice of Rick Warren to offer the inaugural invocation. Once again the President-elect shows that he will confound ideologues time after time.
Posted by Brad Hirschfield, on December 27, 2008 12:15 PM
Strange Bedfellows: Rick Warren, Melissa Etheridge and MPAC
The unlikely pairing of Warren and Etheridge at the MPAC dinner gives me hope that maybe we are entering an era where even the most staunch opponents can find the common ground that unites them and work there, rather than cutting themselves off into smaller and smaller ghettos of like-minded activists.
Posted by Pamela K. Taylor, on December 24, 2008 1:04 PM
A Better Choice for Evangelical Outreach
When it comes to religion, Barack Obama is deaf in one ear.
Posted by Arthur Waskow, on December 23, 2008 3:54 PM
Warren Talking to God, Not For Government
Has anyone stopped to think that the President-elect might actually like Warren and that he wants to bridge the divide between evangelicals and Democrats? When the left goes ballistic over this, it demonstrates the same kind of "fundamentalism" it decries on the Right.
Posted by Cal Thomas, on December 22, 2008 11:00 AM
Obama's Religious Inaugural Blunder
Barack Obama's choice of televangelist Rick Warren to deliver the inaugural invocation on Jan. 20 is an insult to everyone who voted for Obama in the hope that he would restore reason, evidence, and science to their proper place in the governance of the United States.
Posted by Susan Jacoby, on December 22, 2008 10:59 AM
We Don't Need Rick Warren's Blessing, Or Anyone Else's
Since God didn't vote for President, why should he get a seat on the inauguration platform? In the midst of controversy over picking Rick Warren to offer an invocation, it's been overlooked that reality is shifting in America. We are a largely secular society where the vast majority of people do not attend church.
Posted by Deepak Chopra, on December 22, 2008 9:44 AM
Rev. Joseph Lowery, The Anti-Warren
If you look at the Warren/Lowery pairing in inaugural prayer, it fits the Obama paradigm of moving toward the center by including both right and left. This may work, for example, when applied to economic policy. This right/left paradigm does not work in terms of human rights.
Posted by Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite, on December 22, 2008 9:04 AM
FEATURED COMMENTS
Think2: I would not have chosen Rick Warren because he is a minister, a religious figure, and therefore divisive in our current culture. I would ha...
lepidopteryx: Why is an invocation necessary? We elected a chief executive, not a high priest. ...
usapdx: WITH SO MANY RELIGIONS IN THE USA AND OR THE SEPERATION OF CHURCH & STATE, A MEMBER OF THE SUPREME COURT COULD GIVE A PRAYER TO GOD. THIS WA...
