By Invocation You Mean Hate-ocation

When I was all rah-rah Obama I made myself a little promise that I would, once he was elected, treat him just as I would if McCain were elected or as I do Bush. I didn't want to be one of those people who is softer on "their elected official."

That said, I fully disagree with his choice of Rick Warren to give the invocation at the inauguration. I think I understand what he is doing. He is trying to show that he is going to be the inclusive President he promised in the campaign. This is partially why I voted for him, he is going to be open to all ideas. With Rick Warren he misses the mark.

Rick Warren is "very established in the religious right and his position on social issues like gay rights, stem cell research and women's rights are all out of the mainstream and are very much opposed to the progressive agenda that Obama ran on." Huffington Post. On gay rights he compares homosexuality to polygamy, incest and pedophilia. This pisses me off.

Rick Warren uses the Bible to spread fear and hate. Do these religious nut jobs not realize that the Bible also says you aren't supposed to plant two different kinds of crops in your field, wear two different kind of fabrics (you cotton/polyester blends are headed straight to hell), that you can sell you daughter into slavery but only to a neighboring country...these things AND MANY MANY more are all in the same book (in fact only a couple of passages away) that talks about men sleeping with men (which BTW in a later post I will explain why this is in the Bible at all.) Also Jesus Christ, you know the guy the word Christian comes from, says NOTHING about homosexuality. You know what he does talk about A LOT...Love and Compassion. This is what happens when you work at a thinking church.

Hilary Rosen on Anderson Cooper 360 sums it up, "First the glibness, that, well it's just a bunch of gays being unhappy that people don't agree with them, is wrong. You know, (at) one time the Bible was used to justify slavery. If this was a preacher, out there, using more weapons against African-Americans we wouldn't even be having this conversation, so second of all, the fact that we're even having a conversation, means that this is a mistake in choice. This is a day when people are to be brought together. There are hundreds of preachers across the country with stature and thoughtfulness and other ways to bring this country together on an inauguration day for the new president. That's the choice he should have made."

If Obama really wants to be inclusive he ought to think about having an interfaith service. Allow a Muslim or Jew give the invocation.

Obama you get a D-.
Choose again.
You don't get an F because I think your heart was in the right place and Warren has done good work with AIDS.