Now that all the excitement has (somewhat) calmed down from the inauguration, it's interesting to see just how "tolerant" Obama was with his invites for those who prayed and spoke at the big event. Diversity seemed to be the key word on Tuesday. As with most politicians, Obama did his best to please everyone (always a mistake) by inviting opposing clergy such as Rick Warren and Bishop V Gene Robinson. I find it interesting in the debates of gays vs. not gays just how intolerant and angry most gays are with those who are not gay and don't openly accept and condone that lifestyle. Rick Warren applauded the President-elect this week for inviting the openly gay Episcopal Bishop V Gene Robinson to pray at the inaugural opening ceremony. “President-elect Obama has again demonstrated his genuine commitment to bringing all Americans of goodwill together in search of common ground,” Warren said in a statement. “I applaud his desire to be the president of every citizen.”
Yet Robinson gave what seems to be a typical response to Warren's invitation to pray at the inaugural event: Robinson was among the critics, calling the Warren invitation a “slap in the face”, according to The Washington Post. If those who are gay are all about "tolerance" and "diversity" why can't their response be a little more positive when someone who doesn't share their view is asked to pray or speak?
Yet to me, as a pastor myself, this is where the Bishop Robinson issue gets weird. In preparation for the event, the bishop said he has read inaugural prayers throughout history and was “horrified” at how “specifically and aggressively Christian they were”, according to the New York Times. For his prayer, Robinson said he is “very clear” that it “will not be a Christian prayer, and I won’t be quoting Scriptures or anything like that”. “The texts that I hold as sacred are not sacred texts for all Americans, and I want all people to feel that this is their prayer,” he said.
Robinson said he might make the prayer out to “the God of our many understandings”.
I'm thinking at this point that he may want to opt out of the Christian faith. Maybe he needs to be Bishop of his own religion. It's like he sort of wants to still be affiliated with Christianity by being an Episcopal Bishop, yet doesn't want to do anything crazy like say a Christian prayer at the inauguration. Brother, pick a side. And we wonder why so many non-Christians want nothing to do with our faith. I can't blame them for being confused.
And kudos to Rick Warren for accepting the invitation to pray and doing such a good job on Tuesday.
