Rick Warren Don’t Make No Sense
I know everyone thinks Rick Warren is offensive because he hates women and gay people, but I think he proved today that the true offensive trick up his sleeve is that he doesn’t make any goddamned (apologies) sense. Did that invocation make sense to anyone else? I’m waiting on the full transcript, and I’m not a religious woman, but the only thing I can take away from that thing is that Rick Warren pronounces “Sasha” with an occultish, whispered urgency. Sssssasha. Sssssshhhhhhasshshhhsa.
Also there are a lot of words for Jesus, but listing them still comes off as strangely exclusively Christian, no?
UPDATE: The full text of Warren’s invocation, after the jump.
Let us pray.
Almighty God, our father, everything we see and everything we can’t see exists because of you alone. It all comes from you, it all belongs to you. It all exists for your glory. History is your story.
The Scripture tells us Hear, oh Israel, the Lord is our God; the Lord is one. And you are the compassionate and merciful one. And you are loving to everyone you have made.
Now today we rejoice not only in America’s peaceful transfer of power for the 44th time. We celebrate a hinge-point of history with the inauguration of our first African-American president of the United States.
We are so grateful to live in this land, a land of unequaled possibility, where the son of an African immigrant can rise to the highest level of our leadership.
And we know today that Dr. King and a great cloud of witnesses are shouting in Heaven.
Give to our new president, Barack Obama, the wisdom to lead us with humility, the courage to lead us with integrity, the compassion to lead us with generosity. Bless and protect him, his family, Vice President Biden, the Cabinet, and every one of our freely elected leaders.
Help us, oh God, to remember that we are Americans, united not by race or religion or blood, but to our commitment to freedom and justice for all.
When we focus on ourselves, when we fight each other, when we forget you, forgive us. When we presume that our greatness and our prosperity is ours alone, forgive us. When we fail to treat our fellow human beings and all the Earth with the respect that they deserve, forgive us.
And as we face these difficult days ahead, may we have a new birth of clarity in our aims, responsibility in our actions, humility in our approaches, and civility in our attitudes, even when we differ.
Help us to share, to serve and to seek the common good of all.
May all people of good will today join together to work for a more just, a more healthy and a more prosperous nation and a peaceful planet. And may we never forget that one day all nations and all people will stand accountable before you.
We now commit our new president and his wife, Michelle, and his daughters, Malia and Sasha, into your loving care.
I humbly ask this in the name of the one who changed my life, Yeshua, Isa, Jesus, Jesus (hay-SOOS), who taught us to pray, Our Father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on Earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.
Amen.
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1:56 pm
Rick Warren doent hate women or gays. period
Just because he disagrees with your beliefs you call him a hater. Isnt that intolerant of you? We can love each other and disagree. I can disaprove of someones behavior and still love and care for them. That is part of being a “Real Christian”.
2:03 pm
Correction: Warren does not hate the sinner, he hates the sin.
2:12 pm
It was a beautiful prayer calling for unity and civility among those who disagree.
Listen up Amanda. YOU are the hater. The 80% of us in the middle of the idioligical spectrum are now going to reject your extremeness and hate. Its time to work together. You need to find a new job.
2:25 pm
It was a great prayer. And as a Christian, I wont resort to name calling. Amanda this is your opinion that I happen to disagree with. His prayer was powerful, sincere, and inclusive.
2:38 pm
To say Rick Warren hates women and gay people is beyond ludicrous. Whilst Warren has gone out of his way to stress that he LOVES gay people, just as Jesus does, I won’t even dignify the laughable claim about women with a reply.
Rick Warren exemplifies the biblical attitude of loving those that hate us. Unfortunately people like Amanda Hess are (too) prominent examples of the type of blind hate which needs to be eliminated from this world.
3:02 pm
To those of you who say that you hate the sin and love the sinner… BULL SH*T!
You can’t do that. I am gay. You cannot separate me from my sexuality. Quit hiding behind that lame excuse to justify your hate. If you truly hate gay people, then COME OUT AND SAY IT.
3:10 pm
Robby…has Amanda done anything in the past to rob people or criminalize conduct that is not inherently immoral? Has she ever endorsed or opposed things that had no effect on her and her livelihood? Contrast this to anti-sodomy laws within the South, anti-miscegenation laws, slavery, holding down women, and even recently, Warren’s advocating Proposition 8.
If you cannot see how these actions done in Christ’s name are anything short of hateful, not the loaded term the media uses, but the true antithesis of love and caring for your fellow man, I don’t see how you can judge anyone on a barometer of hate.
The church has changed, yes, but it is any surprise that the current churches who do this today are the children of those churches in the past?
(And contrary to opinion, there were churches that spoke out against these atrocities, but their descendants are not the current vocal, fundamental evangelical ethic that exists today).
4:44 pm
daveH,
I don’t hate gays. I have friends who are homosexual. As a Christian, I don’t claim that a hetrosexual’s inordinate fixation on lustful thoughts is any better than a homosexual person’s sexual preference. What I am saying is, I really don’t see you as “less” than me because of your sexuality. We all have issues that go far beyond (and deeper) than our sexuality.
7:18 pm
I’ll be finding a new paper that values Jesus’ message, heathen.
7:29 pm
The opposite of love is not hate. The opposite of love is apathy.
12:24 am
I thought that generally Warren’s speech was one of love and inclusion.. until the closure. Don’t get me wrong, I personally end all of my prayers in Jesus’ name and many with the Lords’ Prayer. But such was inappropriate at a National function. Warren’s prayer was necessarily required to be ecumenical… and until its closing it was so. And yes… love instead of hate. I agree… and think that was Mr. Warren’s purpose. But his overtly and narrowly “Christian” closure can close minds to his message.
12:55 am
Read his book, the Purpose Driven Life, and then saw him interviewed on TV; realized his message is “Its all about me”, to paraphrase the first page of his book. We’ve had 8 years of self worshiping Evangelicals spreading rape, torture and mass murder around the world; time to tax them as corrupt political organizations and take Christianity back from the dark side.
1:23 am
In regards to homosexuality, saying you love the sinner but not the sin is like saying you love left-handed people, just not those that eat with their left hand.
10:33 am
Marty, Robby, and Steve, three commenters who seem more keen on unnecessary capitalization than on proper grammar, seem to equate disagreeing with Rick Warren’s beliefs as hatred. Here’s what Warren had to say about gay marriage:
“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.”
If disagreeing with one’s assertion that homosexuality is the same as incest, pedophilia, or polygamy counts as hate, then consider me hateful.
This glorified used-car salesman (whose dealership, the Saddleback Church, may be the gayest-sounding organization I’ve ever heard of) is nothing more than a fatter, or perhaps bear-ish, more smiley version of Pat Robertson, James Dobson, and other theocrats whose presence on the national political stage is what helped us get eight years of Bush in the first place.
So Marty, Robby, and Steve: please reserve your half-baked, self-righteous comments for the middling “idioligical” spectrum.
4:16 pm
Re “Sasha.”
It’s like he thinks it’s an SLA nom de guerre or something. “One of Patty Heart’s kidnappers, known as ‘Sashhha’….”
1:04 pm
Look, im an atheist, but i appreciate prayer. For me, it isnt about asking god, or the universe, or fate to act. However, when someone prays i see it as expressing to others how something makes one feel. It exposes our hopes and fears. Prayer can be such a sincere thing. Its something i would have a hard time publicly doing. There is something that seems human about it. Sometimes, it is rare speak of feeling to friends (Let alone total strangers). Sure he is well trained in doing this. None the less, prayer is an opportunity for the theists and atheists to reflect on our humanity and share what makes us human.
2:01 pm
Becky, of course. I’m actually not opposed to public prayer being included in presidential ceremonies. But he’s really not speaking for himself here, just as Obama’s speeches incorporate himself and all Americans. And rattling off the names of “Jesus” in Hebrew and Arabic, to me, was nonsensical and insulting instead of inclusive. You can say a lot of things with prayer—and we expect the inaugural invocation to speak for all Americans, not just those devoted to Jesus Christ.
4:38 pm
most importantly, amanda, i believe the pronunciation was more along the lines of “sah-SHAAA”. no? i suppose we could take the advice of the Real Christians and agree to disagree. rick warren is a silly man, i simply appreciate that you’ve pointed that out. keep up the good work, i enjoy your column.
7:28 pm
I can’t speak for all gay men, but frankly I could not care less if Rick Warren hates me. People give him more importance then he deserves. Rick Warren is nothing more then a suedo christian with a cult like following. I for one admire selfless giving of your self and not the accumulation of wealth.