In (limited) defense of Rick Warren

Ripper — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 21:45:03 +0000

I am no less a liberal for being a Christian. So I was somewhat dismayed that Rev. Rick Warren has come under fire for what some bloggers have called his "inappropriate" invocation at President Obama's inauguration.

Now understand, I am no particular fan of Warren, especially in light of his support for California's gay marriage ban. I disagree with Warren's view of gay rights. And while I still wrestle with the issue of abortion, I support the notion that such decisions are deeply personal and that Roe v Wade must remain the somewhat awkward standard for guaranteeing women the right to control their bodies.

Yet whatever oratorical and political sins Warren may be guilty of, his prayer before Obama's oath of office is not among them. I found Warren's invocation not merely unremarkable but profoundly in keeping with the theme of diversity and equality that uniquely underscores the elevation of our 44th president.

If Warren's invocation can be criticized as wrongheaded or politically incorrect, surely it isn't because Warren said a prayer. It would be incongruous of liberal critics to condemn Warren's words merely for being a prayer while simultaneously praising the Rev. Joseph Lowery's soulful, playful prayer of benediction. True, Warren's invocation was more solemn, less artful, but such is the nature of an opening act before a mighty event.

Some atheists might have been offended Warren was praying at all, but this can hardly be cited as Warren's failure. Any cleric would have provided similar grounds for such offense. No, it would be ridiculous to criticize Warren for saying a prayer. By definition, an invocation calls on God to bestow a blessing.

Was Warren's prayer disrespectful of some people or groups? Hardly, unless one overlooks his gratitude for the occasion, his appreciation for Dr. King's groundbreaking movement and the need for mutual respect. Not a chance, unless one can read exclusion into "Help us, oh God, to remember that we are Americans, united not by race or religion or blood, but by our commitment to freedom and justice for all."

Perhaps Warren can be faulted for offering the Lord's Prayer at the conclusion of his benediction. After all, it's a Christian prayer, the only prayer recorded as being verbatim from the lips of Jesus. Shouldn't Warren have mentioned Allah, Je__vah, or Rama, too?

The answer is no. Christian pastors can hardly be expected to invoke the name of Rama anymore than a Jew would be expected to recognize the divinity of Christ. The fact that Warren spoke to his God alone only indicates his conviction about God's identity. It doesn't mean Warren was harboring malice or lack of concern for others with different theologies.

Could Warren have been more inclusive by dispensing with Christian Scripture altogether? Possibly, if Christian references are the grounds for criticism. But this was a Christian minister invoking the blessing of his God upon his Christian president, that president's family, administration and all elected leaders who serve Americans. No one in this country stood outside Warren's plea for the divine umbrella. Moreover, Rev. Lowery's references to "Lord" and "Amen" have incurred no similar cyber-wrath, though they are part of the same Christian vernacular -- though less explicit -- from which Warren drew his words. And even had Warren been similarly less explicit, atheists and agnostics could still be left aggrieved.

I suspect the real impetus for complaining about Warren's invocation are the same issues on which I and other progressives disagree with him: gay rights and abortion. In these matters, I have no wish to defend Warren. But his invocation at the dawn of the Obama era has little to do with these issues, which should not be obscured by generalized sniping at Christians.

Text of Rev. Rick Warren's invocation:

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 by 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.

Topics:

Politics

Ripper's blog

In (limited) defense of Rick Warren