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Obama picks bigot and Prop 8 supporter to deliver inaugural invocation
Update: Rachel Maddow Goes After Obama on Warren
Afterelton.com is reporting that Obama has chosen the Reverend Rick Warren to give the inaugural invocation.
Quoting Reverand Warren:
For 5,000 years, EVERY culture and EVERY religion -- not just Christianity -- has defined marriage as a contract between men and women.
My Comment: Wrong. The earliest same-sex marriage was officially recorded in 350 BC. There are artifacts of Gay relationships dating back 12,000 years. And many cultures and many religions define marriage as a contract between two people. For that matter, same-sex marriage is legal in seven countries including Belgium, Spain, Canada, South Africa, Norway and Nepal, along with the states of Massachusetts and Connecticut in the United States.
There is no reason to change the universal, historical definition of marriage to appease 2% of our population.
My Comment: We did not redefine marriage. Prop 8 supporters redefined marriage via Proposition 8. Furthermore, the number of men that report being exclusively heterosexual is only 56%, so they would be appeasing 44% of the population. If you include the number of people that feel that discrimination is wrong, or feel that it is wrong to force the majority religion on everyone, the number is a lot higher. :)
This is one issue that both Democrats and Republicans can agree on. Both Barack Obama and John McCain have publicly opposed the redefinition of marriage to include so-called 'gay marriage.'
My Comment: Democrats and Republicans agreed on slavery for a while too, but like all unfair acts of discrimination this soon will pass. But this raises an excellent point. No politician should ever be elected without affirming equal rights for all. This man has no business being on stage with Barack Obama and Barack Obama has no business appointing him for this role.
[...]This is not a political issue, it is a moral issue that God has spoken clearly about. There is no doubt where we should stand on this issue...[...]
My Comment: First of all, we are all granted freedom of religion in this country. That means that you are free to practice your religion in your own life but you cannot force your religion on others. What God has spoken clearly about is very much a matter of personal religious opinion.
However, I must point out that Gay people have existed throughout history, can be found throughout the natural world, and have celebrated marriages long before the Christian Era (and since). It is fair to say that God has indeed spoken, and He has said that there is nothing wrong with being Gay; and the LBGT community should have the same rights and responsibilities as everyone else.
Finally, most people that use religion to discriminate against Gay people practice what God wants selectively. They don't practice everything that God wants, just the parts they want to practice. That selective execution means one thing: prejudice.
This will be a close contest, maybe even decided by a few thousand votes. I urge you to VOTE YES on Proposition 8 -- to preserve the biblical definition of marriage. Don't forget to vote!"
Michael Jensen said it best:
I have to say, I'm a little stunned by this choice. Given how the gay community got screwed over in California, the choice of Warren feels like salt in the wound and Barack needs to rescind this invitation post haste.
My Comment: Hear hear.
Afterelton.com is reporting that Obama has chosen the Reverend Rick Warren to give the inaugural invocation.
Quoting Reverand Warren:
For 5,000 years, EVERY culture and EVERY religion -- not just Christianity -- has defined marriage as a contract between men and women.
My Comment: Wrong. The earliest same-sex marriage was officially recorded in 350 BC. There are artifacts of Gay relationships dating back 12,000 years. And many cultures and many religions define marriage as a contract between two people. For that matter, same-sex marriage is legal in seven countries including Belgium, Spain, Canada, South Africa, Norway and Nepal, along with the states of Massachusetts and Connecticut in the United States.
There is no reason to change the universal, historical definition of marriage to appease 2% of our population.
My Comment: We did not redefine marriage. Prop 8 supporters redefined marriage via Proposition 8. Furthermore, the number of men that report being exclusively heterosexual is only 56%, so they would be appeasing 44% of the population. If you include the number of people that feel that discrimination is wrong, or feel that it is wrong to force the majority religion on everyone, the number is a lot higher. :)
This is one issue that both Democrats and Republicans can agree on. Both Barack Obama and John McCain have publicly opposed the redefinition of marriage to include so-called 'gay marriage.'
My Comment: Democrats and Republicans agreed on slavery for a while too, but like all unfair acts of discrimination this soon will pass. But this raises an excellent point. No politician should ever be elected without affirming equal rights for all. This man has no business being on stage with Barack Obama and Barack Obama has no business appointing him for this role.
[...]This is not a political issue, it is a moral issue that God has spoken clearly about. There is no doubt where we should stand on this issue...[...]
My Comment: First of all, we are all granted freedom of religion in this country. That means that you are free to practice your religion in your own life but you cannot force your religion on others. What God has spoken clearly about is very much a matter of personal religious opinion.
However, I must point out that Gay people have existed throughout history, can be found throughout the natural world, and have celebrated marriages long before the Christian Era (and since). It is fair to say that God has indeed spoken, and He has said that there is nothing wrong with being Gay; and the LBGT community should have the same rights and responsibilities as everyone else.
Finally, most people that use religion to discriminate against Gay people practice what God wants selectively. They don't practice everything that God wants, just the parts they want to practice. That selective execution means one thing: prejudice.
This will be a close contest, maybe even decided by a few thousand votes. I urge you to VOTE YES on Proposition 8 -- to preserve the biblical definition of marriage. Don't forget to vote!"
Michael Jensen said it best:
I have to say, I'm a little stunned by this choice. Given how the gay community got screwed over in California, the choice of Warren feels like salt in the wound and Barack needs to rescind this invitation post haste.
My Comment: Hear hear.
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