Friday, January 2, 2009

Barack Obama's inaugural invocation "controversy"

MSNBC reports on the controversy that is being fueled by media outlets with nothing better to report. Initially it started with President-elect Obama's choice of Rick Warren and the thoughts that it would offend the gay and lesbian communities. But, recent news focused on whehter Rick Warren will use the name of Christ in his prayer.

Warren did not answer directly when asked whether he would dedicate his prayer to Jesus. In a statement Tuesday to The Associated Press, Warren would say only that, "I'm a Christian pastor so I will pray the only kind of prayer I know how to pray."

What's sad is that MSNBC tries to emphasize that using the name of Christ is an "evangelical" thing.

"For a Christian, especially for an evangelical pastor, the Bible teaches us that we are to pray in the name of Jesus Christ. How can a minister pray any other way?" Franklin Graham said.

When the name of Christ is used to divide, then we are not holding true to His message and teachings. However, using the name of Christ in prayer is clearly imperative, not only for evangelicals but all Christian denominations including Orthodox!

2 comments:

street theologian said...

It's a tantalizing question for me whether Rick Warren shall pray in the name of Christ or not. I can say with certainty the American founding fathers would have welcomed prayer; I'm not so sure if that prayer had any specificity or was directed to the idea of God in the Jeffersonian sense. What's even more interesting would be what I'd expect of an Orthodox priest given that same platform. I'm still struggling to resolve that to myself.

Joe V. said...

I think if an Orthodox priest was ever given the platform, most would believe that the person was Jewish :(

What is more troubling to me as I hear more of these reports ... if Rick Warren chooses to pray in the name of God, would the prayer not go to Christ? That's what is quite troublesome of Christianity in America ... the continued misconceptions on the Holy Trinity, especially in the media.