Yeah I noticed.
We all noticed.
We all noticed.
Kinda cool to be part of the "patchwork heritage", as he put it. Well, acknowledged to be part of the patchwork heritage.
Maybe to start off the second term, he'll have the invocation done by someone closer to "nonbeliever status", or at least someone who doesn't throw "The Lord's Prayer" around with thoughtless abandon.
But let's not get carried away. He said it. We all noticed.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
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6 comments:
Yes we did. Notice, I mean.
Oh man. That ranckled. I like him saying "nonbelievers" rather than "unbelievers" . And better than "people of all faiths". But the best would have still been "people of all beliefs" which as far as I can tell excludes no one.
Is it just me, or was that the worst prayer ever - was it adlib?
Wow, I've never seen you so giddy. It is good that Obama is inclusive.
But, some of us hope that the invocation by Rick Warren actually will bring the blessing it is asking for. It seems totally appropriate to me that a man who calls himself a Christian would ask for a Christian blessing on his work and vision as well as a blessing on the nation of people of all beliefs which he represents. The Lord's Prayer reference did not seem reckless at all to me, and I don't know any Christian who can pray without invoking the name of Jesus. Maybe this is an instance of Obama showing good leadership and not cowtowing to the critics--show some tolerence for Christians (including Obama) even if you don't agree with everything they believe.
Kelsey: I see what you're saying, but I think there are nonbelievers who would have a problem with the use of the term "beliefs" to describe them.
Of course, some folks are going to have a problem with any reference in this area. Meanwhile, I sense a wee bit of touchiness here from you and Steve. A mention of "nonbelievers" (and a blog mentioning the mention) is not an attack of any sort on the "believers".
I kinda saw the whole thing like when somebody famous is interviewed and mentioned this really obscure old record that you think is fantastic and nobody else seems to have ever heard of.
"He mentioned my record, man!"
And Steve, I guess that constitutes "giddy", but not in any long-term meaningful let's get rid of the whole hand on the Bible thing for starters and just try to get the proper phrasing of the Oath down for (insert deity or probability here) sake and leave out the whole "so help me God" part while we're at it.
As for "the Lord's Prayer" thing, I heard the Warren spiel in a classroom with at least five folks of the Jewish persuasion. My visible cringing (of course restrained due to my "professional" demeanor overall) was nothing compared to the looks on those folks' faces.
Personally I am not bothered by people's expressions of faith. I'm really moved to see people display their beliefs publicly (not public stonings though, and the whole polygamy thing disturbs me) and I join in when I feel comfortable. I really do not believe we live in a "Christian Nation", but one where people are free and safe. Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness--no one needs to cringe at that. Our government leaders should also enjoy those freedoms, and I think Obama really gets it--he's not forcing anyone else to believe what he does, but he's not intimidated to show his faith. I admire that.
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