Barack Obama and Rick Warren

I was kind of disappointed when Barack Obama picked Rick Warren to give the invocation for his inauguration. I know that on some things Rick Warren is slightly more progressive than other evangelicals like Pat Robertson and the late Jerry Falwell. Unlike those guys, Rick Warren has spoken out on why evangelicals should be concerned about global warming and he has also focused his ministry on dealing with the AIDS crisis in Africa.

Yet this was the same guy who was very vocal in his support for California's Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage and puts all the gay marriages that were legally performed before that proposition passed in a legal limbo. He has also likened legalizing gay marriage to legalizing pedophilia, as if sex between two consenting adults of the same gender is the same as sex between an adult and a minor who's not legally able to provide consent are one and the same.

I know that Barack Obama wants to reach out to people beyond the stereotypical secular liberal and, in some ways, he should be commended on this. That's because over the past eight years there have been way too much of divisive politics that has been the during the Bush Administration. I get that he wants to reach out to evangelical Christians in an effort to reassure them that they shouldn't feel threatened by his upcoming presidency. But Rick Warren?!? Just because someone writes a bestseller book doesn't mean that he should be qualified to give the invocation as a representative of evangelical Christians.

Besides, if Obama wanted to pick an evangelical Christian, there are plenty of progressive evangelical Christians he could've chosen--such as Jim Wallis--who doesn't have the same anti-gay taint that Rick Warren has.

Here is what John Aravosis has to say about this on his AmericaBlog:

Okay, I'm game. So we know being a gay-basher doesn't disqualify you from a seat at the Obama table - in fact, it seems to be an outright qualification for proving Obama's post-partisanship. If Obama prides himself on reaching out to all sides of every debate, then why is it that Obama has never sat down with, or promoted at his events, an avowed racist or anti-Semite?

The most surreal thing about this on a personal level is that last night I saw someone I knew who was interviewed on Countdown With Keith Olbermann on MSNBC on this very issue. His name is Rob Boston and he is with Americans United for the Separation of Church and State. His wife, Carol, and their two children are actively involved in my church. I see Rob at church every now and then but not quite as much as Carol. Well, here is a video of his appearance as he discusses Rick Warren.

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