Why couldn't the inaugural have had a joint invocation representing our major faith traditions?

[Ken Burch]

Maybe have Warren(if Obama insisted)but also Rabbi Lerner, a leading U.S. Muslim cleric, Bishop Robinson and possibly Daniel Berrigan or some other progressive Catholic, plus representatives of the Native American and Eastern(Buddhist and Hindu)spiritual traditions?

Wouldn't that have been a far GREATER gesture of reaching out?

[Uzybone]

1. the Zoroastrians would have been pissed

I would have preferred no pastors or rabbis or any religious stuff apart from the swearing in on the bible.

[Adsos Letter]

5. I have always thought that...

being sworn in by a Chief Justice of the US (no matter how much I disagree with him) on a copy of the Constitution, which the President is swearing to uphold, wouold be the simplest, most inclusive answer to the whole argument.

The Constitution covers all Americans...

[dflprincess]

6. All office holders should be sworn in on the Contsitution

that way we'll know that they've seen the document at least once.

(Did you catch Countdown tonight when Keith was quoting Chaney justifying his actions by saying he took an oath to protect and defend the U.S. - KO pointed out that it was the Constitution he said he'd protect and defend.)

[Adsos Letter]

2. delete

my mistake... :blush:

[scheming daemons]

3. Yeah... fuck us atheists over even more....

A smorgasbord of superstition thrown in our faces.

It's bad enough we have to listen to the two Christian preachers bookending Obama.


Let's have every whacked out dogmatic mythology represented up there. Don't forget the Rastafarians and the Wiccans.


And somebody damn well better represent the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

[Ken Burch]

9. The only reason I didn't mention athiests is that I thought you guys didn't DO invocations.

You could be there too, though.

I was working with the "inclusion" and "reaching out" memes.

No athiest-bashing intended.

[Jennicut]

4. Perhaps next time there should ne no religion at all

I am a very religious person, my husband is even a church organist and choir director and we are really involved at our Lutheran church. However, religion at political events does not really mix and offends many. I think maybe its time to cut the religion out of the inauguration.

[ananda]

7. A moment of silence would do just fine.

Covers everything and everyone.

[Honeycombe8]

8. Oh, come on. That's going too far. Obama is protestant. He chose a protestant. End of story.

IMO, he chose the WRONG protestant preacherman, but the general denomination or whatever you call it is right.

[Ken Burch]

10. But it's not like the whole country is Protestant and evangelical.

n/t.

[Honeycombe8]

11. But Obama is. They usu. choose the denomination they belong to, don't they?

The Prez doesn't choose a holyman of someone else's faith for the invocation, I think.

[Ken Burch]

12. Even if they haven't, is that a custom all future presidents are bound to?

Why couldn't changing it and making the invocation inclusive be a new and positive tradition?

[Honeycombe8]

13. As I said in my initial post, that's going too far. If I'm going to take communion or something...

I'm just going to have it done the same way I've always had it done, and by the same denomination. It's HIS invocation (if I understand what an invocation is). It's not yours or mine. It shouldn't have to be made to be all-inclusive and complicated, so as not to hurt the feelings of any existing religious (or atheistic) group in the entire country (or world). That's going too far. It's just not that big a deal. It's a big deal. But not THAT big a deal, to spend that kind of time and organizing on a whole group of religious people.

He's having one other religious leader there...I forget his name.

So he's got two. And they are both either protestant or non-denominational. I disagree with the Warren choice. It's weird. But it's done.

[Ken Burch]

14. It's an invocation, not a communion service.

Warren will not be dispensing the host.