Rick Warren, Obama? Really?!?!

Progressive groups are decrying the choice of Rick Warren to deliver the Invocation at the Presidential Inauguration as "disappointing" -- but it is far more than that. It is an act of spiritual violence against lesbian and gay American citizens and a profound betrayal of the philosophy of inclusion and unity espoused by President-elect Obama.

"The Presidential Inaugural Committee, at the direction of President-elect Obama...will organize an inclusive and accessible inauguration that...unites the nation around our shared values and ideals."

Shared values and ideals? Let's let Rick Warren speak for himself.

Here's Rick Warren equating marriage equality for same-sex couples with incest and pedophilia:

"The issue to me, I'm not opposed to that as much as I'm opposed to redefinition of a 5,000 year definition of marriage. I'm opposed to having a brother and sister being together and calling that marriage. I'm opposed to an older guy marrying a child and calling that marriage. I'm opposed to one guy having multiple wives and calling that marriage."

Of course, the Judeo-Christian definition of marriage that Warren refers to in the first part of this quote were essentially property contracts that did involve "one guy having multiple wives" - but that's beside the point of this piece.

Here's Rick Warren going even further and using the statistical lack of support by black Californian's for marriage equality to justify his opinion that the rights of lesbian and gay citizens do not constitute civil rights:

"...this debate is not really about civil rights, but a desire for approval. The fact that 70% of blacks supported Prop 8 shows they don't believe it is a civil rights issue. Gays in California already have their rights."

The California Supreme Court saw the situation differently, but, in Warren's view, the definition of the civil rights of minorities is open to definition by majority public opinion.

Here's Rick Warren talking - in 2004 - about how HIV/AIDS was not an issue of concern for him until recently:

"Two years ago HIV/AIDS was not on my agenda; it was not even a blip on my radar." [emphasis added]

The deaths of more than 500,000 American citizens -- the vast majority of whom were men who had sex with men -- simply didn't register on Warren's radar over the course of more than two decades. The disease finally and rightly became a cause of concern for Warren and the Christians to whom he speaks when his wife brought to his attention the plight of children in Africa orphaned by the pandemic.

Same-sex relationships equal incestuous and pedophiliac abuses. Equal protection under the law for lesbian and gay American citizens isn't the same thing as civil rights. The lives and deaths of gay men less important than those of children or orphans.

The sad reality is that American gay men and lesbians have heard it all before.

But we didn't expect to have such values and ideals validated by this President-elect at this Inauguration.

Warren's stated beliefs make it clear that -- when he invokes God at the Inauguration -- it is not the inclusive and all-loving God who is recognized and worshiped by lesbian and gay men of faith in this country. With an entire world of spiritual leaders at his beck and call for this historic event, Obama can and should do better. The message for American gay men and lesbians in the choice of Rick Warren is that -- once again -- "everyone" means everyone but us.

Comments

[CornetMustich]

Jeez folks, I'm not surprised by Mr Obama at all. (LOL)

Cheers to CT and MA, and Ms Renna.

Shame on CA and Mr. Obama, and his handlers.

Cheers, Joe Mustich, Justice of the Peace, Washington CT 06793 USA
http://www.justicesofthepeace.blogspot.com

(I voted for Ralph Nader.)

[coconnorphoto]

Leah,
Everyday, Christians hear your cry for diversity; for acceptance of your beliefs. But how can you believe in tolerance not support our future President because of one choice during his inauguration? This is what bothers me about the gay and lesbian community: you constantly complain that Christians are closed-minded and intolerant, and yet you are unwilling to understand different points of view yourself. Rick Warren is NOT hateful, nor is he a bigot. In fact, ever since I began attending Saddleback, he and his wife have done nothing but immerse themselves in endeavors that support AIDs, diversity, and civility among every nation around the world. Actually, you have no idea how much our church has studied, contributed funds and mission trips, and even spent entire series learning about how we can help others who are suffering from HIV/AIDs. Kay Warren, Rick's wife, even has a book, "Dangerous Surrender", solely dedicated to her complete life’s passion on the issue. We’ve loved you and your community (despite having differences…what a concept!) so much, and yet you can’t look past simple religious differences to see it! Take a few seconds to listen to what someone like Rick has to say before you decide what a horrible person he is. http://www.saddlebackfamily.com/blogs/newsandviews/index.html?contentid=1723

I am SO PROUD of Obama and his efforts to show his acceptance of other's beliefs. We CAN be unified without being in uniformity; and this I understand and appreciate completely.

[sperkins]

I just unsubscribed from Obama email as well. I campaigned for Obama, gave so much $$$ it hurt and this is the way Obama treats his GBLT supporters. No, sorry no pass from me Obama. Don't expect my $$$ or time in 2012 if this is the way you intend to treat gay and lesbians. Another Bill Clinton, I'm so pissed.

[equalinFL]

Obama has chosen to distance himself from Gov. Blagojevich because of the whole perception of "GUILT BY ASSOCIATION" and yet Obama has CHOSE to associate himself with a KNOWN bigot by definition of the word and not my personal view. Is he not worried about as being seen as a bigot? He speaks of unity and inclusion for all? We should be included in the all!!

[docktator]

Relax a little. A person who opposes gay marriage is not necessarily anti-gay. I oppose gay marriage when I consider what may be best for children. If gays are granted marriage rights, they will have equal status with heterosexuals under the law in adoption procedings. I absolutely believe that gays can give children a good home, but I also believe ( as do most sociologists and psychologists) that children are BEST served when in a family where both male and female roles are present. All else being equal, gays should not pre-empt heteros in adoption proceedings by virtue of their being first in line.

[bisnabam]

Um, that makes you anti-gay, doktator. There's no evidence to support that children of hetero couples do any better than those of homo couples. The evidence, actually, supports equality, as far as children are concerned. Do your research, Doktor, or consider changing your login ID. Doktor? Yeah, right.

[equalinFL]

No one is calling Obama a bigot. He chose a bigot, Rick Warren, to participate in a historical moment, A GREAT MOMENT, in the history of our country. I voted for and still support Obama, that doesn't change the fact that he made a very big mistake in his choice. What if he chose Rocky Suhayda, Chairman, American Nazi Party or Tom Metzger to participate? The entire country would be in an uproar! To the LGBT community the three are synonymous.

[gayiaguy]

I took the liberty of UNSUBSCRIBING from the barrage of emails from the Obama / Biden team. When asked why I wanted to unsubscribe, you are allowed a comment box. In it, I wrote: RICK WARREN. I urge others to do the same.

[trueobsupporter]

I am Black Christian that supports gay rights; and I never thought I would ever see gay people attack Obama and Al over a three minute prayer. Calling Obama a bigot and attacking his mother and father is way over the line. This is an insult to every Black person in this country and many other people of color. Gays will finally have someone in the white house that truly understands discrimination. Why are you willing to throw all that goodwill away in three minutes? Gays are acting just like the right-wing people they hate.

Black people won their civil rights by peacefully means; not by demonizing the opposition. These insulting actions will cause gays to lose support. Is that what you really want?

[equalinFL]

Does anyone know the names of Pastors from history that supported Jim Crow laws? I tried to do some research on line but can't find any info. Just curious about the group that Pastor Warren will be grouped into when the history of the modern day Civil Rights is written. I'm sure those men were revered in their day as well but are now looked at for the ignorant bigots they really were. DEFINITION OF BIGOT- A bigot is a person who is intolerant of opinions, lifestyles or identities differing from his or her own, and bigotry is the corresponding attitude or mindset.

[stanton816]

Exactly. This is a VERY disturbing way for a president I took for progressive to kick off his presidency with someone who is anti-gay and anti-choice.

[papasmurf004]

The prior post to this one just referred to evangelicals as equivalent to the KKK....A world-wide recognized religious sect is actually secretly a front for destroying, lynching, and instilling fear in the homosexual community...That's fair, right?

The pope doesn't agree with gay marriage...So if Obama got the pope, it would be equally as wrong, correct?

Just making sure...

[801expat]

It's so frustrating to see how blind even liberals are to homophobia. Even posters here, who say they are pro LGBT rights can brush it off as not that important, or the gays making a mountain over a molehill, or not listening to "people who disagree" with us.

The only thing that might make people understand, I guess is an analogy. If a newly elected white Democrat who ran on "change" had chosen a member of the KKK who had compared blacks to child abusers or rapists or something to give the opening prayer at inauguration, nobody on this board would imagine even for a second that blacks should calm down and "get a hold of themselves", since the pres-elect doesn't agree with him on everything, but needs to reach across the aisle to include the whole spectrum -- including racists.

It is the same damn thing! It is so frustrating to see how many people across the political spectrum just don't get it. It hurts.

[Natalie4Obama]

If we truly live in a secular state, then there is no justification for Prop 8.

If Obama cares about the rights of gays, then there is no justification for Rick Warren. Even though he's just making a speech, it's offensive to a large group of people who mostly voted for Obama. Just as the KKK is offensive to blacks, etc etc.

If January 20th is a day embodying progression and change, then all areas should be represented, not just the racial differences we are overcoming.

I'm sure Obama will be an amazing president and I see what he is trying to do in terms on indluding everyone.... but the 20th is a day of victory for the left and I'm sure many in the gay community were looking forward to being able to watch the ceremony with hope that discrimination towards their group would diminish with his presidency.

It's one thing to work with the right on issues that benefit the whole, but to me the whole gay/stemce­ll/abortio­n issue is a breach of human rights and should not be part of such a momentus occasion.

[JayHorus]

I fully understand what you’re saying and while I may even agree that Rick Warren is a poor choice the manner in which the author chooses to frame the argument and the way that many others have posted is just wrong. You can't make demands, you can't start off with the "Do what I want or else!" mentality. Well, you can try to do that but in the long run it will not work. The Civil Rights movement started off with that same mentality and it didn't work. The South was forced to free the slaves, but then they found other ways to exclude African Americans. It wasn't until the civil rights movement and the peaceful demonstrations and protests did things begin to change. I don't have a problem with people being upset, you can be mad, you can try to hold Obama's feet to the fire, but this tit for tat game, this listen to my voice or I will abandon you, this your not gay so you don't understand type of bigotry that is being carried out on this board on both sides of the argument isn't helpful and isn't going to make anyone listen. I guess some people are correct, I don't get it. Then again I would rather have a discussion, not a yelling match.

[queotic]

My best friend just proposed to her girlfriend two weeks ago (she said yes). Sadly, because of the prejudice of people like Rick Warren and the acceptance of that prejudice by people like our President Elect, they are not able to marry. Obama's parents would not have been able to marry if the miscegenation laws had not been repealed, yet he has no problem denying those same rights to gay people. He uses the Democratic cop-out excuse of, "Oh, I support civil unions," but "civil unions" are nothing more than modern day Jim Crow separate-b­ut-(un)equ­al laws.

[Leah McElrath Renna - Huffpost Blogger]

While I appreciate all of my readers, many of you appear to being missing the central point here: the context of Rick Warren's participation in the Inauguration.

The person selected to deliver the Invocation has the honor of serving as the spiritual representative for the entire nation. The person is charged with the responsibility of calling upon God for God’s assistance on all of our behalf.

From a spiritual perspective, Rick Warren does not believe that lesbian and gay people exist. According to his statements, he views lesbian and gay American citizens as people who choose to engage in sinful sexually disordered behavior and equates our marital relationships with the soul-damaging abuses of incest and pedophilia. Simply put, he does not recognize any of us as having spiritual integrity and completely discounts the existence millions of lesbian and gay Americans of faith.

If he were someone who espoused a belief that Muslims and Jewish people were unbelievers or infidels (as some Christian fundamentalist preachers do), then he would not have been selected for this honor.

It's that simple.

I refer you to my follow up post for more on this subject:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/leah-mcelrath-renna/dear-obama-heres-why-you_b_152150.html

[L3ftofC3nter]

While I respect your opinion, I have to disagree. The person who delivers the invocation is not the spiritual leader of the country. I happen to think the benediction is more important, and most people who attend religious services would happen to agree with me. When Billy Graham delivered the invocation, I never thought of him as my spiritual leader and you probably didn't either. I think that Warren delivering the invocation is a smart move, representing the transition from the old to the new administration which begins with the benediction by Rev. Joseph Lowery. I can understand why the LGBT community is "outraged" by this, but my mother always told me to choose my battles wisely, and this is not a battle worth fighting. If Rick Warren were being hoisted into a cabinet position, then there would be plenty of cause for alarm. But he is not and I can't remember the last time that anyone cared who delivered the invocation. I have a feeling that everyone is going to find something to be angry about with every one of the President Elect's decision. But Rick Warren giving a prayer is not going to put food on my table or insure that my family members come home from Iraq.

[womo]

L3ftofC3nter: well said. I completely agree.

As an aside: how many of the LGBT community really care about a spiritual invocation? Most progressives in general probably don't care much about this part of the ceremony and again, as L3ftofC3nter said it's "a smart move, representing the transition form the old to the new"...

[Leah McElrath Renna - Huffpost Blogger]

If you read again, you will see I said spiritual "representative" - not leader. Very different things.

And, of course it matters. If it didn't, we wouldn't be having this conversation.

Change takes place on two primary fronts: legislative and cultural. Symbolic images such as who leads the Invocation are important aspects of cultural representation and potential agents of cultural change.

Emotions and expectations are higher around this Inauguration - for the same reason that they were higher around this primary season: the symbolism of the representation of disenfranchised minorities. Our culture has shifted since Bill Clinton chose Billy Graham - the choice for the Invocation speaker should reflect that shift.

[sylblackstone]

I agree 100 per cent that the central problem with Rick Warren's inaugural role is that it is "spiritual violence" against lesbians and gays. Obama and his advisors appear, at best, to be a bunch of straight guys who don't "get it" about sexism and homophobia or, at worst, they are cravenly willing to sacrifice the humanity of gays and lesbians for future political gain.
Why should gays have the right to marry? A great book about it is The Marrying Kind by Heather Conrad. The Midwest Book review called it "...entertaining, humorous and heartbreaking...a riveting novel from first page to last." Kirkus says: "...sweet moments and solid set pieces... A sometimes irreverent, sometimes poignant story of growing apart, growing together and growing up." Yes, growing up--which means respecting ALL people when you say you're going to.

[Doremus]

Thank you so much for this article.

I am saddened that so many people here can rationalize anything Obama does or says.

Before the election when it was clear he opposed marriage equality and yet claim to support "equal rights" what we got from the Obamabots was:

"He has to say this before the election to get elected".

Same with his to-the-rig­ht-of-Bush views on Palestine, FISA, the war, the list goes on.
Well he got elected.

People should be pissed off. This is not Change. This is the same old politics.

[Chilly TX1]

Leah, totaly disagree, and appreciate you. Rick Warren thinks that "blank (put anyone here) exists? I will take that as a shot of sarcasm. :) Because if you have a heartbeat, you exist in America.
It comes down to this, we all should be tolerant, but tolerant and agree? No way, you may not agree to this or that and nor would I (whatever topic we may not agree on). Gay Marrage, hmm would you believe there are many Gays that also do not want Gay Marrage? Please, not joking here :) So it is a smaller group, of the lagrer group that wants this word? Is it all about the word?
I am not against Gays, or anything, I am tolerant, but it is not for me.
Question for someone stupid like me: Why does if "HAVE" to be Gay MARRAGE? I mean what is wrong with Gay Partner? Or something. Seems to me that if someone wants their favorite animal to get the inheritance they can do it. Is there not a legal system to get it all worked out legally? And it also seems to me that a man and a woman are different than a man and man or visa versa. Or did I totally miss it? Thank You :)

[suzc]

Oh, for pity's sake! Get over yourselves, people!!! You are making mountains out of a molehill. And your penchant for doing that repeatedly (other self-interest groups do it too) is what gives the rest of us Emotional-­Support-Fa­tigue! At this point, I could care LESS about your so-called special RIGHTS! You have rights as an American! I will die fighting to protect them, and to protect you from bigots. But I'm SICK of having your lifestyle thrown in my face and rammed down my throat as if you were some SPECIAL American who deserved SPECIAL treatment! I'm sick of all of it!

NO SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP GETS TO MAKE OBAMA'S DECISIONS FOR HIM! Not you. Not others. THAT is the CHANGE we NEED! Obama appears both highly intelligent and very pragmatic and seeking to be inclusive. Every American should be praying he can pull this off!!! EVERY one!

[queotic]

"At this point, I could care LESS about your so-called special RIGHTS! "
How is asking for equal rights the same as asking for "special" rights? You sound like the white supremacists who think that minorities asking for equal rights is akin to "special rights."

"You have rights as an American!"
No, they don't. They don't have the right to marry, which is a right that all straight Americans have.

"I will die fighting to protect them, and to protect you from bigots."
Bigots want to prevent gay people from marrying, yet you agree with those bigots...so, no, you wouldn't die to protect those rights.

"But I'm SICK of having your lifestyle thrown in my face and rammed down my throat as if you were some SPECIAL American who deserved SPECIAL treatment!"
Again, equal rights does not mean special rights.

[Natalie4Obama]

I hope you come back gay in your next life.

I'm not but I find Warren's postition on the issue disturbing, as I do with stem cells and abortion.

If he cared so much about AIDS he could have spent the money he raised to take away the rights of a group of people who were only guilty of love. What a freaking waste of money and effort when there are so many in need.

Let's face it - did gays getting married in California really hurt anyone? Did it ruin anyone's life? Did it ruin wedding days for all straight couples in the vicinity?

But when Prop 8 passed - people were hurt and hope was destroyed. For what? Did it do the world any good? Did it stop the recession? Did it make anyone's life better?

I think what the OP is lacking is empathy - think of your loved ones and imagine how you would feel if someone compared your love to Paedophilia and Incest. And that is exactly what Rick Warren did to the gay community.

[RLForsythe]

"Bear in mind this sacred principle, that though the will of the majority is in all cases to prevail, that will, to be rightful, must be reasonable; that the minority possess their equal rights, which equal laws must protect, and to violate would be oppression." --Thomas Jefferson: 1st Inaugural,

Translation: You don't vote on people's "rights". If the majority votes to deprive a minority of EQUAL rights, it is oppression and tyranny. And we're not asking for special rights, we're asking for the same rights you have.

But it is, of course, your right to disagree with Thomas Jefferson. What did he know anyway, other than writing the Declaration of Independence, and much of the Constitution.

Sorry you feel our lifestyle is being "thrown in my face and rammed down my throat" (I'll forego the obvious humorous Freudian subtext of those metaphors, Suze. It just wouldn't be fair.)

[JayJonson]

What an unpleasant person you are. I don't want special rights; I want the rights you have and that all Americans should have if our constitutional guarantee of equal protection under the law were really taken seriously. There are too many people like you in this country; I think I am going to have to move to Canada. They actually believe in equal rights.

[mark oconnor]

I personally have lost 31 people to HIV who were my extended family. First I lost one family. Then I found the courage to create another and lost that one too.

The fact that my extended family were filled with fun loving and creative gay men is important to me. My experience is not unique and is shared by millions of Americans, including families who lost sons to a disease, not to sex as most ignorant people believe.

Honoring someone like Rick Warren is dishonoring all these millions of hardworking American people who daily are challenged to put their real life losses behind them.

I call on Obama to stop pandering to the ignorance among us and find someone who can invoke our better angels.

[Natalie4Obama]

Nice post