I have to agree with Slate!

[HollyS]

Latest Slate (online) op-ed piece about Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Huckster:

http://www.slate.com/id/2207554/GT1=38001

Who would have thought Slate and I would agree?

 

[movie zombie]

thanks for the post, Holly. a good read and i too agree with it.

movie zombie

 

[miraclesrule]

Personally, I would prefer to see someone like Marianne Williamson do the invocation, or someone of a non-denominational nature who exhibits an all inclusive tolerance to all humans who chose to exercise their religious beliefs. A person who does not speak in a manner that is divisive or feels that any one religion has a monopoly on God.

 

[ksinger]

Date: 12/29/2008 10:35:32 PM
Author: miraclesrule
Personally, I would prefer to see someone like Marianne Williamson do the invocation, or someone of a non-denominational nature who exhibits an all inclusive tolerance to all humans who chose to exercise their religious beliefs. A person who does not speak in a manner that is divisive or feels that any one religion has a monopoly on God.

Of course the amusing thing here is that Hitch the Greater is probably THE Uber-Atheist writing today. His Anti-Christmas piece was absolutely stinging.

 

[WishfulThinking]

Great read. I agree completely, and while I've had my fair share of pointing out his horribly offensive language toward a community I belong to and hold dear [5 guesses which one

] the other criticisms mentioned here and sometimes elsewhere are incredibly valid. It disturbs me, though, how few people know the extent to which Rick Warren has run his mouth in an offensive manner toward a huge portion of the American population.

Look, whatever, they're having the invocation at inauguration regardless of what I think of the separation of church and state issue, but they could have at least chosen several representatives of different faiths to be more inclusive. Or at the VERY least someone who hadn't made countless inflammatory comments in the public sphere. There are some religious leaders who have a great deal more tact than Rick Warren does.

 

[Ellen]

Date: 12/29/2008 10:35:32 PM
Author: miraclesrule
Personally, I would prefer to see someone like Marianne Williamson do the invocation, or someone of a non-denominational nature who exhibits an all inclusive tolerance to all humans who chose to exercise their religious beliefs. A person who does not speak in a manner that is divisive or feels that any one religion has a monopoly on God.

I have been wondering if the PE made this choice on purpose, knowing full well the backlash it would cause. Possibly to point out to Pastor Warren how narrow minded and devisive he is being? or at least getting him to think about it? It''s one thing for one person to tell you something you don''t want to hear/believe. It''s another to hear it from enough voices that it makes the national news for days on end. That''s a little harder to ignore.

Just a thought, I could be wrong.

 

[HollyS]

Wishful: I hadn''t heard him bad mouthing any particular group, although I must admit, I try very hard to ignore him. I just thought he was a big ''look-at-me'',''it''s all about me'' religious creep. He of his huge mega-church with their own McDonald''s and Starbucks. I was just annoyed at his huckstering of Christianity as a way to make himself rich. Now I have even more to despise him for, since his worst traits have come to light.

My gut feelings are usually right, and my gut told me, the moment he hit the big time, that he was a jerk. The 21st Century Jim Bakker. Yeech.

 

[WishfulThinking]

Date: 12/30/2008 9:53:07 AM
Author: HollyS
Wishful: I hadn''t heard him bad mouthing any particular group, although I must admit, I try very hard to ignore him. I just thought he was a big ''look-at-me'',''it''s all about me'' religious creep. He of his huge mega-church with their own McDonald''s and Starbucks. I was just annoyed at his huckstering of Christianity as a way to make himself rich. Now I have even more to despise him for, since his worst traits have come to light.


My gut feelings are usually right, and my gut told me, the moment he hit the big time, that he was a jerk. The 21st Century Jim Bakker. Yeech.

I tried to tune out after he compared my relationship to pedophilia. Everything he said in addition to that is just icing on the cake.

He is all over the news, though, and since I usually read 4 different newspapers a day I''ve read more about him than I ever really wanted to know.

He is very much "look at me," and I think his inflammatory statements are part of that. He gets his kicks being outrageous.

Ellen: You bring up an interesting point. I do think that this just plays into Warren''s own desire, which is to be the center of attention. I don''t think you can be the head of a huge mega-church and *not* love that sort of thing, and some of his statements seem to be purposely made to incite people. He definitely already knows what a jerk he''s been... when thousands of people were swarming CA in protest after he and his church [at his direction] helped to pass prop 8 he got a fair amount of flack for it. If he does care about his image you''re totally right that this 24/7 criticism would probably seal the deal, though!