President-elect Barack Obama's choice of Rick Warren to deliver the inaugural invocation drew one kind of protest. Whether the evangelical pastor offers the prayer in the name of Jesus may draw another. At George W. Bush's 2001 swearing-in, the Revs. Franklin Graham and Kirbyjon Caldwell were criticized for invoking Christ. The distinctly Christian reference at a national civic event offended some, and even prompted a lawsuit.
Warren did not answer directly when asked whether he would dedicate his prayer to Jesus. In a statement Tuesday to The Associated Press, Warren would say only that, "I'm a Christian pastor so I will pray the only kind of prayer I know how to pray."
"Prayers are not to be sermons, speeches, position statements nor political posturing. They are humble, personal appeals to God," Warren wrote. His spokesman would not elaborate.
Evangelicals generally expect their clergymen to use Jesus' name whenever and wherever they lead prayer. Many conservative Christians say cultural sensitivity goes way too far if it requires religious leaders to hide their beliefs.
"If Rick Warren does not pray in Jesus' name, some folks are going to be very disappointed," Caldwell said in a recent phone interview. "Since he's evangelical, his own tribe, if you will, will have some angst if he does not do that."
Advocates for gay rights protested Obama's decision to give Warren a prominent role at the swearing-in. The California megachurch founder supported Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage in his home state. Obama defended his choice, saying he wanted the event to reflect diverse views and insisting he remains a "fierce advocate" of equal rights for gays.
The Rev. Joseph Lowery, a United Methodist who is considered the dean of the civil rights movement, said he hasn't yet written the benediction for the Jan. 20 ceremony. But he said "whatever religion the person represents, I think he has a right to be true to his religion."
Caldwell, also a Methodist, said no one from the Bush team told him what to say in his 2001 and 2005 benedictions.
The Houston pastor said he had "no intention whatsoever of offending" people when he quoted from Philippians and delivered the 2001 prayer "in the name that's above all other names, Jesus the Christ." In 2005, he still prayed in Jesus' name, but added the line, "respecting persons of all faiths." In the 2008 election, Caldwell supported Obama.
Franklin Graham, son of evangelist Billy Graham, who was a presence at presidential inaugurations for several decades, said it's wrong to expect members of any faith to change how they pray in public.
"For a Christian, especially for an evangelical pastor, the Bible teaches us that we are to pray in the name of Jesus Christ. How can a minister pray any other way?" Franklin Graham said. "If you don't want someone to pray in Jesus' name, don't invite an evangelical minister."
Graham, who in 2001 stepped in for his ailing father, ended the invocation with, "We pray this in the name of the Father, and of the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Spirit."
The lawsuit, which claimed that inaugural prayer was an unconstitutional endorsement of religion, failed in federal court. It had been filed by atheist Michael Newdow, who separately sued to remove the words "under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance. Continue >>
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tliml,
"I'm afraid star isn't respectful of any religion except hers."
but yet you think its alright to do the same thing. you're not respectful of protestants.
hypocrite.
To Star:
"All who have ever lived, lives now, or will ever live will one day stand before God to be judged. If they are found to have unforgiven sin in their life they will perish.
God is a God of love. He demonstrated His love for the sinner by having His Son the Lord Jesus Christ to die for his/her sins so he/she could be forgiven and have eternal life."
You do realize that these two statements you made contradict each other, how can we stand before the judgment seat of christ with unforgiven sin to perish if christ died on the cross for our sins... You need to be more consistent in your replys, i would recommend reexamining your faith. I gather from your post that you are very angry with those that are not believers, we are not here to judge them we are here to love them. Judgement is the Lords. Not yours or mine. We arn't placed on this earth to determine who goes to heaven we are hear to speak of God's love for all his children, teach them of his loving grace and lead them to Christ by living a life like Christ. By judging them like you do, you tend to push more people from Christ then bring them to him. If I hadn't already given my life to Christ, I would definitely be put off by all that you post on this site. God Bless you...
"Unfortunately My Atheist Friends. Pastor Rick Warren can not be restrained from invoking the name of "GOD" in his prayer. It is the Holy Spirit of God who leads him how to pray. Besides, Atheist's you already have a special day on the calender recognizing your Religious Holiday - April 1ST, April Fools Day. "The foll hath said in his heart, Thee is no God. Psalm 14:1" Rev. Dale D. Connell, Evangelist, Restoring The Landmarks Ministry."
Why are so many fundamentalists also so poor at writing, spelling, capitilization and punctuation? I wonder if their minds are simply unconstrained by normal conventions. Perhaps these people can see God's truth in a way that will forever be closed off to an educated person. I know that Jesus came for ordinary men and women. Maybe book-learning blinds some of us. Maybe we must have the faith - and the writing skills - of a child. (On rereading, this post sounds half-serious and half-sarcastic. I guess that's really just about the way I meant it. But I AM wondering about this.)
tliml,
"Hey what do you have to worry about when a democrat and a thief kill each other? Make sure you don't get the two coffins mixed up. ;)"
I like that joke. I've heard it before. Except with a Catholic and a Mormon. But either way, it's still funny.
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Star2-
God is a god of JUSTICE! Not just judgment but JUSTICE! Since we are made in his image the sense of justice we possess is correct. Is it just for a person who never HEARD of the Bible to be thrown into Hell?
thelordismylight
God is a God of judgment.
All who have ever lived, lives now, or will ever live will one day stand before God to be judged. If they are found to have unforgiven sin in their life they will perish.
God is a God of love. He demonstrated His love for the sinner by having His Son the Lord Jesus Christ to die for his/her sins so he/she could be forgiven and have eternal life.
Do you want to know God as a God of judgment who sentences people to hell as punishment for having rebelled or sinned against God or do you want to know Him as a loving God who made a way for you to have forgivenss of sin and eternal life?
If it is the later and you believe in your heart that Jesus died for your sins and rose from the dead so you could be forgiven and have eternal life, and if you want what Jesus did for you, then turn to God in prayer and ask Him to forgive you of your sins, ask Jesus to come live in your heart, and be the Lord of your life.
Star-
Do you by any chance live in a town called Hillsboro? Haha... Hillsboro heavenly Hillsboro.
Daniel-
What does your statement have anything to do with my argument? I'm only pointing out that Star has single-handedly condemned about four fifths of the world's population. Here I thought God loved us. Well if that's Christianity I'm not sure if I want to be a part of it. My, star, being praetor and what not, is making God's work much easier. God doesn't HAVE to judge anyone since he appointed Star to do it. : )
zabud-
You poor thing, does it hurt?
"God gave everyone (even you) a brain (in your case a smaller one) use it. "
It's not our job to be liked by you or anyone else. It's our job to tell what Jesus has put on our hearts. It's our job to tell the truth as we find it in the Bible.
Most of the arguements made here by the pro-gay camp don't pass the hermeneutics test. Hermeneutics is the "science of interpretation". Please note it can be applied to anything but it is usually applied to Scriptures.
The bottom line is if we look at 2+2=4 but say it doesn't say only so we can say 2+2=5 if we want only shows a flawed position from lack of reasoning.
Unfortunately My Atheist Friends. Pastor Rick Warren can not be restrained from invoking the name of "GOD" in his prayer. It is the Holy Spirit of God who leads him how to pray. Besides, Atheist's you already have a special day on the calender recognizing your Religious Holiday - April 1ST, April Fools Day. "The foll hath said in his heart, Thee is no God. Psalm 14:1" Rev. Dale D. Connell, Evangelist, Restoring The Landmarks Ministry.
You honestly make me sick.
Star2-
That is NOT God's word! God is MERCIFUL! You are NOTHING of the sort! God is LOVING! God WELCOMES the ignorant! God WELCOMES the sinner! You REPEL them!
Star2-
You have said BLATANTLY on SEVERAL occasions this "I'm sorry, but if they don't know God's word they're going to Hell and that's it." Are you KIDDING?! Gosh! The IGNORANCE!
tliml, your problem is with the Word of God and not me because when I tell you what the Word of God teaches you come back with the statement that I am "disrespectful of any religion except" mine.
Ok well I've got to go for a bit. As a closing remark,
Star2-
God gave everyone (even you) a brain (in your case a smaller one) use it.
No, one after "doubt" too.
EDIT: I've realized that I said something horrible in that post. Yea there should be a comma after that "and."
And that's about it.
Star2,
I'm almost positive that a letter of Paul addresses what you're saying EXACTLY. Now... my problem is not with the Word, it IS with you. You are the most stuck up, conceited, overbearing, ignorant, verging on S-T-U-P-I-D, and without a doubt the most blind, bible-thumping nazi cow I have ever met.
Is this America still? If so then a pastor should be allowed to pray in the name of Jesus as He is the Son of God in whom our country trusts! If Warren withholds use of our Saviours name then this might as well be communist China or India for that matter.
thelordismylight - Your problem is not with me but with the Word of God.
Prophet-
We all know you're a liberal *gag* uhm... something. Hey what do you have to worry about when a democrat and a thief kill each other? Make sure you don't get the two coffins mixed up. ;)
burrell-
I'm afraid star isn't respectful of any religion except hers. She is under the strict impression that everyone who is not "born-again" via a dark shaman's ritual or who, through no fault of their own, doesn't know God's word are doomed to Hell. She sure is accepting. A royal Queen Elizabeth of the Twenty-first century!
star2, that is simply not true. Millions of people around the world who have never heard of Jesus still pray. Prayer is always effective. Rick Warren is a Christian pastor. Anyone should expect him to pray in Jesus' name - and I think he will. Certainly Obama will expect him to do so. Non Christians at the event can do what you and I would do at a Jewish or Buddhist event: bow our hears quietly and respectfully.
If Rick Warren doesn't pray in the name of Jesus then he might as well not pray at all.
Jesus speaking to His disciples:
John 16:23 - "... Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.
"Many conservative Christians say cultural sensitivity goes way too far if it requires religious leaders to hide their beliefs"
It is no longer cultural sensitivity when religious leaders are required to hide their beliefs. It is codependancy at the least. At the most it is tyranny and treason.
The article said "Evangelicals generally expect their clergymen to use Jesus' name whenever and wherever they lead prayer. Many conservative Christians say cultural sensitivity goes way too far if it requires religious leaders to hide their beliefs."
Yeah! Let's see how they do, though, when the rubber meets the road.
We should pray that God will give Pastor Warren the courage to do the right thing.
And we should pray this prayer in Jesus' Name.
Dittos to what believer said.
mtg, others may choose to call some of the things he has said lately "senior moments" since they are somewhat if not totally contrary to God's Word.
"The older Billy Graham gets, the more he waters down the gospel message. He had it right with Nixon's prayer," says a cowboy fan.
I think the older Billy Graham gets the more sense he gets, along with true wisdom and lovingkindness. It's called "maturity," something a person named "cowboyfan" may not really comprehend.
"I'm a Christian pastor so I will pray the only kind of prayer I know how to pray."
With a statement like this, we should expect Mr. Warren to pray in the name of Jesus. Hopefully, he will not buckle under the pressure to accommodate those who do recognize the authority of Jesus Christ.
Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels (Mark 8:38).
The older Billy Graham gets, the more he waters down the gospel message. He had it right with Nixon's prayer.