Obama picks Rick Warren for inaugural invocation, gay leaders furious

[The Mikado]

Excellent pick.

Check out Obama's Stadium Speech.  Read it.  He's doing exactly what he said he would do.  I've never seen people more upset at a winning candidate filling his campaign promises, from cabinet positions to this. 

PS.  I'm thrilled about Ron Kirk for Trade Rep.  He's never known a trade deal he didn't like. 

[The Mikado]

Once again, President-elect Obama proves his passion for true national unity and moving past the mind-numbingly stupid culture wars and the false "issues" they revolve around that has gripped our nation the last forty years.  Your fellow Americans, whether pastors in Orange County or gays in West Hollywood, aren't the enemy.  Rick Warren is a respected, patriotic American citizen with a best-selling book and millions of adherents.  He isn't Osama bin Laden. We're all in this together, and we have more important things to worry about than our petty differences.

If our country wants to progress into the new era intact, much less retaining our importance, we must leave the old differences between races, creeds, and genders at the doorpost and walk hand in hand.  President-Elect Obama and Pastor Warren are making a great first step at proving, like Obama always says, that there isn't a Red America and a Blue America, but a United States of America.  That we have gay friends in the Red States and worship an Awesome God in the Blue States. 

[The Mikado]

Sounds like someone is auditioning for press secretary.

Honestly, what I'm saying is that anyone surprised or disappointed by this has not listened to President-Elect's Obama for the last four years.  Punishing political opponents and not giving people who disagree a seat at the table was President Bush's MO.

At the end of the day, Rick Warren loves this country and Barack Obama loves this country.  That's all that really matters, in the final analysis.

[The Mikado]

you know you're in the last days when an inaugural invocation by someone who teaches traditional biblical values becomes "controversial"

I think if we started stoning disobedient children out in the streets that would be a tad controversial.

let's see, according to your logic:  "we should stop preaching against murder, theft, bestiality, and incest...since those values also are found in the bible."

sorry, but you're just plain stupid (as well as ignorant of the differences between the old and new covenants)

Traditional Biblical Values are responsible for the murder of children when the old testament was written, which at the time was the "new" testament. Now we have today's Traditional Biblical Values that deny gay rights to Americans. That's why choosing Rick Warren for Obama's inauguration is controversial, though hypocritical since Obama opposes gay marriage.

Eh...there's no evidence that the Law of Moses was ever strictly enforced, and plenty that it wasn't.  Both archeological evidence and the latter parts of the Old Testament are pretty clear that the Israelites' reputation for being "stiff-necked" and not following the Law is pretty well-founded.

EDIT: At least in pre-Exile, First Temple times.

After that, the Talmud is pretty clear that the Sanhedrin were not big on actually giving out death sentences for crimes that Moses wanted to give death sentences for.

After Hellenistic influences set in, the upper crust of the Jewish elite were eating non-Kosher meat, hanging out in the gymnasium, and discussing non-Jewish philosophy, and were rarely, if ever, punished.  After all, it's not like the Hasmonean (and later Herodian) authorities, who were doing the same, cared.