Inaugural invocation choice...what's the message?

[Steven Greenwell]

So what was President-elect Obama thinking when he asked Rick Warren to give the invocation at his inauguration? Obama was quick to defend his choice as a sign of his desire to bring Americans together even while recognizing we will always have some differences. Obama said in his press conference, “…what we have to do is to be able to create an atmosphere when we – where we can disagree without being disagreeable and then focus on those things we hold in common as Americans.â€

[Stephen Eisel]

Funny, as time goes on, I begin to like Obama more and more. I have several conservative friends who share this view..

[Stephen Eisel]

PS Obama seems to be very open minded..

[ryan costa]

Rick Warren is a nerd. The Vineyard Church has much better rock and roll credentials.

There is no America in the Bible. But there is Rock and Roll in America.

[Jim O'Bryan]

By making this decision I have lost some respect for Mr. Obama. It appears to me this decision was about positioning himself to gain favor with another voting bloc. Once again the LGBT community is taken for granted by a Democratic candidate.

Or, he has taken the most important day of his life, and used it to reignite the discussion.


Stephen

I believe, we are about to watch something wonderful.

Governing.


.

[Jim DeVito]

I agree that this is a good thing. He did say all through the campaign that he was going to reach out to both sides. Now he is doing just that. Good for him, Good for us.

Man I can't wait until that tool leaves office. I will throw my shoes to that!!

[Gary Rice]

Well....

Rick Warren did write that book- The Purpose Driven Life- right?

Maybe President-Elect Obama wants a purpose-driven presidency.

Inclusive acceptance works all ways. The more we learn about each other, the better we'll all get along. (I'm hoping!)

We've all been fighting each other far too long.

After all, Jesus did say that judgement was not our job description:

"Judge not that ye be not judged" Matthew 7.1

...and that remark does cut in ALL directions.

[Steven Greenwell]

It seems that most in the main stream media – and here on the deck – believe that Obama’s choice of Rick Warren to give the invocation is in line with his commitment to “disagree without being disagreeable.â€

[Gary Rice]

Excellent, sensitive, and delecate, less-than-comfortable questions Steven.

I would have to opine that the discussion would need to begin with the question of what line can be drawn between a sincere opinion and hate speech?

Lately, just about anyone's opinion can be construed as another's hate speech, depending upon one's frame of reference. We have to be careful though not to censure someone for expressing their simple opinion on any issue. That's not how this country works.

So, where can that line be drawn, if at all?

Of course, speech intended to harm or cause violent social disruption could be considered hate speech, but I think that proving intent would be a problem, due to a vague definition of terms.

Some pastors and politicians, left OR right leaning, have certainly made over-the-top statements that have caused them to be marginalized in the public eye.

I know fairly little about Warren's remarks at this point. In watching the news as I'm posting right now, I see that it is being discussed.

Is there a double standard with this particular issue?

Interesting question.

Is there a point, a CLEAR point, where an opinion goes over the line?