We, of course, don't think our Jewish friends are going to hell (Ari, you're safe), but Barack Obama's bff Rick Warren outright told a Jewish woman, in front of a large gasping crowd, that she was going to hell because she hasn't converted to Christianity. That's not civility we can believe in.
Today was another light posting day for me, because of Christmas shopping and blog apathy. Sorry about that, too much going on. Which explains why I'm posting another Rachel Maddow clip again about Rick Warren, the anti-gay preacher giving the inaugural invocation.
But it is not a rerun or a retread. This is good stuff, so I will not feel guilty!
I haven't gotten too energized about the Barack Obama/Rick Warren flap. Obama's picked uber-popular preacher Warren to give his invocation at the inauguration. And Warren happens to equate gay relationships with incest and pedophilia. Oh, and he helped to pass California's Proposition 8.
I should be outraged. But to be honest, as an atheist-leaning agnostic, I'm opposed to the invocation and benedictions anyway. Any preacher makes me tune out, whatever it is. So, while I agree that Warren is a bad choice, and that Obama is rightly in hot water with many of his constituents, I've chosen not to make it a rallying cry here on the blog.
Still, when a person gives a spectacular editorial on the matter, it does make me pay attention. Check out Rachel Maddow's take on the story.
Ugh. Religion and politics. Never the twain should meet. But they do, and it's a likely case that most prominent religious people are also anti-gay, so Barack Obama was gonna have a hard time here, no matter what. Still, it stinks.
[Excerpt]
Anti-gay pastor chosen to deliver invocation at Obama's inauguration
The blogosphere is aflame with the announcement that a controversial Evangelical pastor and marriage equality opponent, Rev. Rick Warren of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, will be delivering the invocation at President-elect Obama's inauguration in January. Saddleback also hosted a question-and-answer forum with Obama and then-competitor Senator John McCain (R-AZ) in August. . .
I honestly don't know the answer to this question, or if it can be answered by anyone but John McCain. McCain's answers dis seem to come unusually fast, and included answers to questions not yet asked. It may be that McCain prepped very well, since this forum was after all more conducive to conservative viewpoints than liberal ones. But we've seen McCain without a script, and he is not usually this fast.
There have been legitimate questions about exactly where McCain was, and it has been proven that he was not in the euphemistic "cone of silence" alleged by host, Rev. Rick Warren. It's all very interesting to follow, but I wonder if it matters in the scheme of things. After all, the public seemed rather disinterested when George W. Bush seemed to be wired in one of his debates against John Kerry in 2004. How are we going to get them to care about this, even if McCain is proven to have cheated?
[Excerpt]
McCain cheated? proof he knew the questions ahead of time. UPDATED with video link.
Did they have the questions ahead of time? All I could find was that they would be provided the topics to be covered. But whether or not they were both given a list of the exact questions, I simply cannot find anything on that one way or the other. . .
