Rick Warren and the Power of Prayer

Sure, Barack Obama's choice of Rick Warren for the inaugural prayer proves nothing more probably than that Obama is a consummate politician. Obama will do what he has to do to win over voters. And he's probably figured out that letting Warren pray at the inauguration is a safe gesture and a symbolic way to extend an olive branch to a block of voters he has yet to win over en masse.

And so Obama begins his presidency like presidents before him, placating religious conservatives, in this case the New Right. Leaving the rest of us to be content with symbols from the Old Left (no disrespect to Rev. Joe Lowry and Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin).

I know progressive Christians are supposed to be won over by the fact that Rick Warren is allegedly the face of a kinder, gentler generation of Evangelicals. But we're not. Warren is as against women's equality, against gay rights, anti-choice, and anti-stem cell research as the old Right he fancies himself to replace. He has admitted that the main difference between himself and old style religious conservative James Dobson is a matter of tone.

So, it's been decided. Rick Warren's smiling, right wing, socially conservative, anti-gay, anti-women's rights biblical preaching has been deemed to be not as divisive as the blistering prophetic denunciations of American imperalism by his former pastor Jeremiah Wright. Reaching out to Warren reaps more political capital for Obama than does reaching out to Wright. The pro-gay rights man whose fiery preaching nurtured Obama into becoming the community organizer he is at heart remains a pariah, banished from the inaugural platform and the American public. The man whose anti-gay message is overshadowed by the fact that he represents the face of millions of conservative voters gets to pray for the country.

So what? It's only a prayer. It's not like Warren's been invited to help set policy. Those who say this obviously know nothing about the importance of symbols, and even less about the power of prayer Cross-posted from Beliefnet's Progressive Revival blog

Comments

[Torque Smackey]

"So what? It's only a prayer. It's not like Warren's been invited to help set policy. Those who say this obviously know nothing about the importance of symbols, and even less about the power of prayer"

Point taken, but is my opinion invalidated because I don't believe in "the power of prayer"? Personally, the idea that a minister of any kind has to give an invocation before the new President can be sworn in is more annoying to me than the idea of "legitimizing" Warren. He already is legitimate. There's nothing we can do about that, no matter how hard we try.

[Leah McElrath Renna - Huffpost Blogger]

Thank you, Renita, for your clarity and eloquence.

The Inauguration is not a policy roundtable. It's sole purpose is symbolic.

Below is a quote for Integrity's response to the Warren selection:

"There are many fine, strong, evangelical voices in this country who do not carry Warren's baggage of having been one of the generals in the culture wars. Tony Campolo, Brian McLaren and Jim Wallis are names that come immediately to mind -- pastors who have balanced the challenge of bridging differences while standing firmly in their evangelical tradition..
It is true that the unfortunate choice of Rick Warren is particularly painful to LGBT Americans who have experienced first-hand the destructive impact of pastors like Warren who preach "family values" while practicing discrimination against gay and lesbian families. But it should also be a cause for concern to any American concerned that the exclusionism represented by Rick Warren is antithetical to the core values of inclusion, tolerance and the celebration of difference that so historically mark your embryonic administration."

[OliverTwist]

I would much rather have seen Jeremiah Wright - he is a more considered Christian.

Wright is a bit like Christ in the temple - "throw the sinners out".

Warren is more like Constantine - "by this sign will we conquer."

Obama seems to lack courage.

Too bad.

I find it best to judge people by what they do and by the friends they keep and promote - not by their rationalizations.

Warren must somehow be represenative of Obama's beliefs.

By his choice of Warren and several of his other choices Obama shows himself in many regards to be not much different than the opportunistic, corrupt and violent leaders we have promoted for a quite a while now.

Too bad.

[ga4ry]

This little man, will get up on stage in front of the whole world, raise his arms to the sky and speak.......to his invisable friend.
He will ask his invisable friend to bless this new president, then shut his mouth and enter into the footnotes of history.
Inturn, thousands of other sky talkers will see our new president as an invisable friend fearing man, this will make them happy, how very utilitarian of our new president.
The rest of us know our new president is a good man with ideas for our future we must believe in or we would not have voted him in with such a majority.
give the sky talkers something to smile about, then overturn prop. 8, medical coverage for all, remove our troops from Iraq, open dialoges with our supposed enemies and try Bush and Cheney for war crimes. Amen

[customgreen]

This Warren thing is such a bad idea. As smart as Obama and his team are they must have realized what kind of outcry there would be. He campaigned very hard for the gay and lesbian vote. If he wants Warren because he respects his views then Obama wasn't telling the whole truth about what he felt
were important issues to his voting block.
If that is true then he has lied throughout his entire campaign. That begs the question, what else did he lie about? Does he really believe in helping the middle class? Does he really believe in universal health care? Where all these campaign promises just that? Promises? I think these are fair questions to ask. If we can't ask these questions then we are doomed to another dismal 4 years of a President who does whatever he wants and says screw them if they don't like it. These are some of the things that his earliest critics pointed out about him. Were they right?

[KevinKSF]

Endorsing others that discriminate against gays may be considered "smart politically, "a wise move" or "an olive branch" by some but when its you being hated on and the future president calls it a difference of opinion on "social issues" it stinks. Stop telling me to "get over it".

[SiberianRat]

By all means, don't get over it. Hang on to the intense negativity a 2 min. prayer by some bozo is generating. Hang on to feeling "hated on," as I'm sure it does wonders for your day.

This whole thing is like the palling-around-with-terrorists attack from the right, but now it's palling-around-with-gay-haters. Obama's not a terrorist, nor a gay hater, and quite frankly, neither is Warren in all likelihood. I truly hope that people move past this soon--it's been truly blown up way larger than it needed to be, in my opinion.

[jmrozendaal]

Brava Renita ! !

[DaveinSF]

I want Barack Obama to embrace the following statement"

"We support Segregation. And if you believe what the Bible says about marriage, you need to support Segregation. ¦[T]he universal, historic definition of marriage [is] a White man and a woman, for life. And every culture for 5,000 years and every religion for 5,000 years has said the definition of marriage is between White man and a White woman. ¦This is not even just a Christian issue, it is a humanitarian and human issue, that God created marriage for the purpose of White family, White love and White procreation. I urge you to support Segregation and to pass that on."

Awful stuff right?

Well ok, take out the word "Black" and put in Gay or Homosexual. Change White to "straight", and change "Racism" to homophobia , "Segregation" to Proposition 8. What you get is in fact a statement by Pastor Rick Warren.

If Rick Warren had said, the things about African Americans or Hispanics, Asians, Jews, or even people who are left-handed, that he has about LGBT Americans, this debate would be over. Yet Warren will be front and center on Innuguration day.

He is sending a clear message in his choice of Pastor Warren. It says he intends to govern a nation of wo levels of citizenship. 1rst Class for heterosexuals and Second Class for anyone who isn't.

This isn"t compromise, this is politically expedient cowardice.

[L3ftofC3nter]

Sorry I just can't muster up the strength to get all bent out of shape over this. And before I'm being attacked as an apologist or what have you, I can understand why other people are upset. This pick alone has opened up a whole new dialogue on gays and evangelical Christians. Well at least we're talking.

[mgloraine]

Obama should do the truly progressive thing: skip the preacher altogether! Consider it an important symbolic first step toward addressing global warming by reducing the output of CO2 and other noxious gasses...

[carlie727]

Even if he doesn't skip a "preacher" ... why does it have to be Christian?

[SiberianRat]

I agree--there should either be other religions represented or better yet, drop the whole prayer part. IMO, prayer is a personal matter and Rick Warren or anyone else doesn't take any message on my behalf to God anyway.

[mommadona]

"He has admitted that the main difference between himself and old style religious conservative James Dobson is a matter of tone."

And the game plan:

http://stinkinchickensroost.blogspot.com/

[kybo88]

When is this nonsense going to end. The entire world in going to hell in a handbasket faster than you can say hallelujah, and all I've been reading on the blogs is about a Pastor giving a prayer at the inauguration. And don't get me wrong, I was dissapointed when I found out that Rick Warren was chosen, but that was wednsday and I'm still going to have to pay the mortgage. And about Obama's motives for the choice, I don't think he had in mind that he would sucker punch the gay community and win over evangelicals in one simple act of symbolism. And that's all it is is symbolism. Obama may be a politician, but he's also a decent person. And we're lucky that Warren will not be dictating policy in his administration any more than Aretha or Yo Yo Ma will.

[carlie727]

People of privilege don't see the oppression in such acts like these. Obama doesn't get it, or he wouldn't have done it.

[Danigirl65]

Actually, I think Obama "gets it" much better than you think or the Rick Warren pick seems to dictate. Although some think it is a slam to gay and abortion rights, I look at it as an extension of an olive branch to those who don't see things the way we do.

It's all in the perspective.

[FearlessFreep]

"Obama may be a politician, but he's also a decent person."

Decent is as decent does.