The heart of controversy

So regarding this whole uproar about President Obama asking pastor Rick Warren to do the invocation, and his "praying in Jesus' name"...

Here's the way I see it. That there was a controversy doesn't surprise me. It doesn't get me uptight or anything, because basically we know where the world is headed. It will only get worse before it gets better. We can't change that by getting all worked up about how the world perceives Christians. It is what it is.

What was interesting to me was the discussion among the members of the TV and radio press regarding the Bible that was used for the swearing in. There was long discourse about the history of that particular Bible and about the use of the Bible throughout the past two centuries. However, there was no kind of feeling expressed through these discussions regarding the significance of using the Bible at all. No complaints that a "Christian document" was the very thing that nearly every president has sworn upon.

So why the uproar about the prayer and not the Bible?

I can see several possibilities...

Perhaps that the use of the Bible is such a deep tradition it is viewed not as iconic Christiana, but perhaps simply an historic, weighty document that provides a foundation for the ceremony -- a touch point to the founding of our nation. It may be viewed as one of many such documents (including the Koran, Confucius, the Torah and others) that define the human experience as a whole. I don't know. I'm taking a stab in the dark here.

But regarding the uproar over Pastor Rick and praying in Jesus' name, it seems obvious to me that the world's perception of evangelicals is none too favorable. We evangelicals may not be quite lumped in with radical militant religious groups, but in many regards we are in the same general category. Those who are in the "fundamentalist" camp are at once expected to be dogmatic, unloving, intolerant, narrow-minded, exclusive, judgmental... I could go on. Because of such labels, there is a distrust and a perception that we have an agendum when we choose to be faithful to our beliefs.

The long and short of it is that in a pluralistic society, you can't please everybody. There will always be some who feel disenfranchised. Heavens, if you prayed in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, there would be a certain contingency of Christians who would object.

Just to stir the waters a little more...

Going back to the swearing in, consider the following statement from Jesus:

"But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.' For whatever is more than these is from the evil one." (Matt. 5:34-37 NKJV)

I'm thinking that this includes the Holy Scriptures. What do you think? Now I'm not a legalist. I'm not going to declare that we have had no legitimate presidents these 220 years, save those who chose not to swear on the Bible. I just find this all very interesting.

Alright, enough rambling. I know, I know - I haven't really made any strong arguments or profound statements in my little diatribe here. Just kind of random thoughts of someone trying to get a handle on how the world works.

I'll close by saying this.

I applaud President Obama for sticking so far to his promise of striving toward a more unified nation -- a more inclusive administration. No, I don't agree with many of his viewpoints and values. But I will be praying that he will turn to the One through whom all things were made for guidance and wisdom as president -- and the hope of eternal life as a fellow human being.

Oh, and one more thing...

No matter how you feel about the man, this is truly a remarkable era for our nation and world. Centuries of struggle, violence, oppression and turmoil have led us to this point and we should be proud that we have finally arrived here.