Warren Talking to God, Not For Government

Since when did the Democratic Party become the Party of Bigots? And why does the Democratic Party want to embrace them?

Do we expect hate speach* to be wrtiten into the party platform? Should we expect more of this brand of bridging the divide? Perhaps mend the fence between Neo-Nazis and expect Jews to go along with it, or appoint a KKK Wizard to head The Minority Business Development Agency as a show of Faith and in an effort to bridge the gap?

The only thing to come out of this is a chance for people like Cal Thomas to blast "the left" and further widen the divide. The choice of Warren did not unite anyone, it merely made the smug and the snide more so.

*Equating gay relationships to incest, child abuse or Beastality is hate speach and that makes it bigotry.

There is a huge difference between liberal intolerance and conservative bigotry. Yes, I do call it bigotry.

I am not happy with Obama's choice of Warren...I understand why he chose him, but I wish he had not. My best friend is a black gay man who happens to also be Pagan. In the 30's this intelligent man would have not been allowed to go to a "white" school and certainly not allowed to vote...not because of his sexuality, but his color. And the same kind of folks who spit on the young black kids being escorted by the National guard into the White School...those folks quoteing their bibles...who are still quoteing those bibles against another group, gays and lesbians. Bigots will find something to be bigoted about.

Warren who equated gays to pediphiles...who said that those not Christian will go to hell...I do not like him. I know he does good works, but that does not take away the harm he does to the innocent young gay who will commit suicide because of the garbage Warren spits out of his mouth.

Warren and those like him would take rights away because of what they believe...Liberals would give rights dispite what we individually believe. I will not stand silent when others are facing intolerance. I will not be tolerant of intolerance. Shame on Rick Warren. He seems to think he speaks for God/ not the God I choose to love.
Terra

You hit the nail on the head, Mr. Thomas. Excellent response!

Dear Mr Thomas

A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2009!

Soja John Thaikattil
Sydney, Australia

I'm a liberal and I don't get the Warren 'controversy'. I also believe in gay marriage despite neither being gay or having someone close to me that is and still like having Warren speaking at Obama's Inauguration. Because hopefully will help bring OUR country together. Gay rights groups are really just angry about prop 8 passing.

"When the left goes ballistic over this, it demonstrates the same kind of "fundamentalism" it decries on the Right."

No, it doesn't.

The Right just claims a lot of false equivalencies while whining if anyone anywhere says boo about your bigotry.

Yes, maybe inviting this guy to the party is a good way to let Evangelicals know their cultivated fears and defamations about an Obama administration were unfounded, but Warren, and *you* have cheesed a lot of people off as regards our own lives and American freedoms, for *real* reasons, ..the real test here is will Warren and the Right take this occasion in the spirit intended, *or* just keep marking territory and trying to exclude the rest of us.

Serve. Your ball.

Cal,

I am a heterosexual humanist or, as Bill O'Reilly puts it, 'Secular Progressive.'

I have no problem with Rick Warren as a person. In fact I believe he's far more progressive than most fundamentalists.

Yet, taking a stand against gays publicly, especially in supporting Proposition 8, was a smack to to face of all gays, and I can clearly understand their position.

Given their massive support for Barack during the campaign, I believe he made a mistake. I have no doubt he was trying to reach out to evangelicals, but they were his most ardent adversaries and essentially oppose most of his positions on the issues. And let's face it: these are the same people who have made life miserable for those whom don't side with them since the Reagan Administration.

I can see the president-elect's desire to reach out to mainstream Republicans and even traditional conservatives, but not fanatical and obnoxious religious zealots.

As a firm believer of the First Amendment's provision for separation of Church and State, I have been enraged at the Religious Right since the late '70s when Jerry Falwell found the Moral Majority -- which was neither.

Mind you, I'm not opposed at all to Americans practicing their personal spiritual values. It's when they try to impose them on others -- and especially inject them into the political arena that I have to draw the line.

Although a New York native, I attended college and lived in Georgia for many years. I'll never forget the fundamentalists continually trying to convince me how their beliefs were right (and the only correct ones in the world), while mine amounted to heathenism.

I was always under the impression two of the most notable Christian values were acceptance of others and humility. Yet, all I've ever experienced from evangelicals has been criticism and judgment. What ever happened to "Judge not and ye not be judged?"

Thanks to Cal Thomas for pointing out the mirror image of conservative intolerance: liberal intolerance (same image - intolerance - just reversed). I sympathize with my fellow Obama supporters who want the world to change immediatly if not sooner - already way over due, but part of that change has to be an acceptance of diversity on both sides. I respect Rick Warren (I've tried working with The Purpose Driven Life, and put it aside until I have time for the commitment it requires), even though I disagree strongly with some of his positions (GLBT issues being right up there). Rick has done much to make Obama three dimensional for evangelicals; let's not reduce him to a two dimensional cardboard characture of our concept of an evangelical.

I'm an atheist and a libertarian. I don't really think we need a prayer at the inaguration, but if one is going to occur I see no reason why Warren can't give it. In my estimation, this "controversy" is just a small dose of the nauseating self-rightousness coming down the pike the next four years. Not a whole lot different from the last eight, except it's being sung from a different hymn book.

Mr. Thomas:

OK, I will answer your question directly. Full disclosure - I am an atheist and a leftist. I oppose all prayer or religious anything in government functions, but that's a different argument for another time.

If we assume that there will be parayer and that a Christian will deliver that prayer (75% of Americans are Christians), then why did Obama select someone who desn't believe that the Constitution as amended applies to ALL American citizens. Warren is quite willing, as are you, to deny equality under the law (guaranteed in the 14th Amendment) to homosexual American citizens. It is not only bigotry but also un-American and anti-American bigitry. Second, Warren is a hatemonger. He equates homosexuality with pedophilia and bestialty which is flat out inaccurate hate speech. From what I can tell, about 4-5% of the U.S. population is homosexual but 98% of all pedophilia is heterosexual. Technically, based on the data I could find, there is a higher correlation between heterosexuality and pedophilia than can be demonstrated vis a vis homosexuals.

Data on bestiality is very difficult to find, but it is primarily a rural phenomenon and is practiced almost exclusively by Christian heterosexuals.

I hope that addresses your question.

Well, maybe not 100% compliance but also maybe not a seemingly blatant blast to the far left from the far right. As for Obama possibly attempting to bridge the divide between evangelicals and Democrats, are we to assume ALL Republicans are evangelicals and don't have a divide to bridge? Bit of a stretch, isn't it? And who believes Warren will be talking to God only? Leader of a megachurch is going to miss an opportunity to spread the word, center stage,so to speak, to the multitudes?

Who would I have chosen? I don't know but, for this particular historic occasion, if I were seriously attempting to be a peacemaker, to bridge whatever divide, I hope I'd have sense enough to not choose an individual who apparently believes some groups of people don't have the same rights and privileges that others have.

Warren might talk to God, but is he listening?

Good comments. For once you are right. I think this is the only time I have ever agreed with you about anything. Sort of scarry.