RELIGION

An Inexact Analogy

The left can breathe easy. Rick Warren is not Obama's Billy Graham.

By Jonathan Darman | NEWSWEEK
Published Jan 3, 2009
From the magazine issue dated Jan 12, 2009

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  • Posted By: lightningz @ 01/20/2009 11:11:15 PM

    I have many gay friends & we have a mutual understanding of my beliefs in Jesus Christ. . You would be amaze at how many gay people are for Pro Marriage? Not all are the same.
    I don't think gays sould have marrage at all. Yes they got right to have sex but i how ever will never be frends with a gay person who whats to wed or thinks its okey because its NOT and the gov has no rights to even say *** about it. IF it come to it i will take this to count ITs not right and no matter what there fight is they or whating something that an't theres. Just due to people saying its okey don't make it okey what so ever . church and the gov sould stay aways from each other this is a fine point to pov it.

  • Posted By: yeswecan808 @ 01/20/2009 8:26:51 PM

    I have many gay friends & we have a mutual understanding of my beliefs in Jesus Christ. . You would be amaze at how many gay people are for Pro Marriage? Not all are the same.
    I enjoyed rick warren's prayer...hey if it is to build us why destroy it?
    This country not christian? Ignorant! Live with the taliban? You need to renew your mind & stop living in fantasty dwarf land. Come back to earth...come out of the land of OZ..LOL

  • Posted By: cntkaneeryah @ 01/17/2009 2:56:08 PM

    My apologies for typing in all caps. I will take the time to use proper punctuation in the future.

  • Posted By: chike1 @ 01/13/2009 2:59:37 AM

    Louisianadoug Jesus did say that a man will leave his parents and join his wife He never said that a man will leave his parents and join another man. Notice that while discussing divorce (and mind Jesus does not like divorce) He talked about divorce between a man and a woman. The idea of two individuals of the same sex being joined together was not even a reality.

  • Posted By: cntkaneeryah @ 01/08/2009 1:11:48 AM

    DEAR HORRIBLE SON WITHOUT A FATHER DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT YOU STAND FOR OR DO YOU JUST THROW OUT RHETORIC IN ALL DIRECTIONS HOPI NG SOMEONE WILL RESPOND AND VALIDATE YOU AS AN INTELLIGENT PERSON WITH SOMETHING TO SAY WHILE SAYING NOTHING? I DID NOT POINT FINGERS AT ANY ONE I AM ONLY SADDENED BY THE FACT THAT I DID NOT DO MORE TO HAVE A VOICE BEFORE WE WERE STUCK WITH THE INCOMING FORCES OF EVIL THAT WILL BE IN CONTROL OF OUR COUNTRY. NOW I HAVE POINTED FINGERS .

    • Posted By: deadhorse @ 01/11/2009 4:59:26 AM

      Forces of evil are taking over America? Have I gone back in time, is it the year 2000?

      Seriously sir, I believe that it is more evil to use your religious status as a tool to oppress others via government. Thisi s NOT a christian country, nor was it ever. If you wish to live in a society dominated by religeon and dogma, may I suggest you join the Taliban. Seriously with your lack of tolerance you'll fit right in.

      PS: Typing in all caps is an indication that the post will be pure drivel, and that the poster is mentally instable. I did take the time to read your post, and yes you fit the bill of a poster who types in all caps. I have yet to see a rational person tpye like "THIS".

    • Posted By: YashBudini @ 01/09/2009 3:25:03 PM

      Horrible Bastard is correct, you are not. Warren needs to turn the other cheek. Millionaires can afford to do that.

    • Posted By: Horrible Bastard @ 01/08/2009 8:39:55 AM

      "DEAR HORRIBLE SON WITHOUT A FATHER DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT YOU STAND FOR "

      Certainly. Equal protection under law.

      What do YOU stand for? I mean, besides typing in all caps like an absolute wanker.

  • Posted By: Inside Information @ 01/09/2009 1:16:08 PM

    Prophet Linda Newkirk has a few things to say about Barack Hussein Obama!
    Her site www.Prophecies.Org contains some amazing predictions and revelations.

  • Posted By: midnight05 @ 01/04/2009 3:10:53 PM

    That is so tacky.

    Obama needs to respect the Constitution and uphold the idea that all men, gay or straight, are created equal with unalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Gay men, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered people are entitled to form relationships and have them recognized by law if not by the church, synagogue or mosque. You cannot take away a legitimate right from anyone just because you don't share their values or life style. I am straight but I am outraged by the ideas that Rick Warren has advanced about gay people.

    • Posted By: sjbrock80 @ 01/07/2009 5:46:53 PM

      Since you believe we can't take away rights of anyone because we don't believe in their values or lifestyles, then we should let all murderers, rapists, drug dealers, carjackers, and pedophiles out of prison. We should also accept people running through the streets naked, crack houses, whore houses on every corner. People should be allowed to sacrifice animals in the streets and drink the blood of other humans. Sure, sounds great. Good thinking.

      • Posted By: mrsolik @ 01/09/2009 4:39:17 PM

        Well said sjbrock! And we should treat these Homo...sexuals just like those other deviants. Let's lock em up. Maybe we could put them in a camp. A concentrated camp of homo..sexuals. And force them to do labor. My only problem with Prop 8 is that it didn't go far enough! Let's just call homos what they really are right sjbrock, pedophiles!

    • Posted By: YashBudini @ 01/07/2009 4:38:13 PM

      "I am straight but I am outraged by the ideas that Rick Warren has advanced about gay people. "

      Funny how that "turn the other cheek" business gets overlooked.

  • Posted By: Zig Zag @ 01/06/2009 2:22:00 PM

    In an interview, Rick Warren indicated that the bible says homosexuality is a sin. He said just as straight men must control their natural desire to have sex with as many women as possible, homesexuals must also control their own desires.

    Ironically, the bible also says gluttony is a sin. So why can't fatso control his desires and push himself away from the table once and a while.

    Hyprocrisy knows no bounds.

    • Posted By: tiredofobama @ 01/06/2009 9:37:57 PM

      Zig Zag. I don't know about hypocrisy but your stupidity knows no bounds. BTW, your brain is on back order.

      • Posted By: YashBudini @ 01/07/2009 4:32:17 PM

        "I don't know about hypocrisy but your stupidity knows no bounds"

        That's ironic, your tired of Obama before he's even taken office. Off course you can run over you to that face website where the real Einsteins want him impeached already.

        Here's a long list of conservative hypocrites:

        http://www.amiannoying.com/(S(i04mgy45cb53hjr3djivqam1))/collection.aspx?collection=2223

        Recall Newt Gingrich going off on Clinton's affair while he was having one as well.

        Someone should remind these religious people that "Thou Shall Not Steal" is also important when choosing whom you vote for. Yes we know it's tough not being a simpleton, but make some effort.

        • Posted By: tiredofobama @ 01/07/2009 7:16:12 PM

          YashBudini. Yes I have been tired of Obama. Why? Because for the most part we have a media and celebrity culture that does not hold him accountable. I willl concede that Obama is a smart man and I have hurled alot of insults his way. That being said, I don't think that he willl be qualified to be President. Incidentally, I didn't think that George W. Bush was qualified either. In Obama's case, the mainstream media,more or less,gave Obama a free pass. MSNBC and their bunch of amateurs ran one of the most ridiculous campaigns for Obama that I ever saw. Obama ran as the "Change" candidate, but his record of voting in the Illinois Senate and the U.S. Senate showed very little in supporting change. He voted present more often than he voted yea or nay. That really does not show any courage of convinction. In the "Case Against Barack Obama" it shows Obama touring a school in a poor area of Chicago. Obama shows concern, and rightly so, that students' needs (such as more computers and foreign language courses) are being neglected. As a state senator, he could have done something about this. Instead he caved into the Chicago Teachers Union and did nothing for these students. The CTO got raises for the teachers. BTW, I am an educator and I certainly am not aginst teacher raises,but when students needs are being severly neglected I think that the CTO should have given in and Obama should not have supported the status quo.
          If Obama is sucessful and he governs by convictions then I willl change my tune about him. So far though all I have seen is mostly "feel good" speeches that really address nothing and a media, that for the most part, who lets him get by with this. This is why I am tired of Obama. As far as Obama supporters, many have posted intelligent comments, but some have posted militant and intolerant left wing crap. Incidentally, there is a differnce between the militant left and a traditional liberal. When I think of a liberal, I think of decent people like the late Vice President Hubert Humphery who honestly seemed to care about poor people and he didn't hurl childish insults at conservatives. Frankly, if Humphery had beaten Richard Nixon in 1968, the country would have been much better off. .

          • Posted By: YashBudini @ 01/09/2009 3:22:01 PM

            He's a man, so this view as some sort of savior is over the top. A lot of that is not his fault. I have my doubts also and did not vote for Obama or McCain, because neither constitues *real* change. I can only hope with Obama, that if nothing else he restores ethics, accountability, integrity to his office. Eight years of a puppet regime is enough.

            Obama can pat Warren on the back to his face, as long as he's rolling his eyes after Warren leaves. Nobody needs WWIII masquerading as the Crusades. Recall that there are hate crime penalties in this country, and maybe they should be looked at with religious extremists.

        • Posted By: jh35180 @ 01/07/2009 5:25:33 PM

          What about Dem hypocrites? Harry Reid acting so pious toward Roland Burris because Blago appointed him to the Senate. Blago hasn't even been indicted yet and Reid is ready to tar and feather Burris. There are plenty of Republican hypocrites but the Dems can equal them.

      • Posted By: Horrible Bastard @ 01/07/2009 11:36:31 AM

        Wait. Gluttony ISN'T a sin?

        Are you sure about that?

        • Posted By: catspaw @ 01/07/2009 1:16:57 PM

          Gluttony is one of the Seven Deadly Sins

          • Posted By: catspaw @ 01/07/2009 1:24:08 PM

            Here is my support for my statement above and below.

            Seven Deadly Sins
            Classification of sins: pride, avarice, lust, anger, gluttony, envy, and sloth. There is no foundation in the Bible for this classification, but the above list has been found in the works of several spiritual writers and theologians.
            Encarta Encyclopedia

            • Posted By: YashBudini @ 01/07/2009 4:33:30 PM

              If the Bible says nothing bad about slavery then should it be allowed?

      • Posted By: Zig Zag @ 01/07/2009 1:21:06 AM

        Is that the best you can do? Come on now, I know you can think of something a little more original.

        Sounds like I may have hit a nerve. Perhaps you suffer from the gluttony sin too?

        • Posted By: catspaw @ 01/07/2009 12:47:11 PM

          And by the way, the Seven Deadly Sins do not appear in the Bible, these were man's own creation to control the Christian population in the 800-1200's. They were written by man to control man.

    • Posted By: jh35180 @ 01/06/2009 5:06:39 PM

      Ah gee. Just when I thought we lost this mindless dweeb, Zig Zag, returns. Zig Zag and Harley are examples of illiteracy in action.

      • Posted By: Zig Zag @ 01/07/2009 1:25:13 AM

        I am like a bad penny, you can never get rid of me! Of course, I least I have the balls to keep my original ID.

        All you conservative cowards went to ground as soon as Obama was elected and resurfaced with brand new ID's here on the good ole Newsweek blog.

        Now if you could only com eup with some new thoughts - that would really be nice.

        Onlya few more weeks of Bush, then the healing can begin!

        • Posted By: catspaw @ 01/07/2009 12:48:27 PM

          You notice Holy Roller has not appearred lately?

          • Posted By: Horrible Bastard @ 01/07/2009 1:04:00 PM

            Oh, he's around.

  • Posted By: penguingirl412 @ 01/08/2009 11:32:52 PM

    What about the old testament? Doesn't it matter? God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah becuase they were exceedingly wicked. Men were sleeping with men, and women with women. When the angels visited Abraham the men of the city begged for Abraham to release them so that the men could know the angels carnally. (homosexuality) God didn't find any righteous people in the two cities so he destroyed them.

    • Posted By: Horrible Bastard @ 01/09/2009 12:04:02 PM

      "What about the old testament? Doesn't it matter? "

      No.

  • Posted By: SQuinnColumbia @ 01/09/2009 10:34:20 AM

    Mr. Darman is wrong.
    The furor IS about Inauguration Day and the selection of a Wal-Mart-quality pop culture preacher and bigot to deliver the invocation at what will be recorded as a momentous event in our nation's history.
    On a day when a message of hope, unity, justice and compassion for all should ring out, the world will watch just another religious huckster at the podium and another lost opportunity to stand for greatness.
    We can only pray this is not a foreshadowing of other similar opportunities lost.

  • Posted By: neverXmiss @ 01/08/2009 2:58:03 PM

    ///Or what about the fact that in no where in the gospels is homosexuality mentioned///
    doesn't matter. The new testament does, end of story. Case closed.

  • Posted By: LouisianaDoug @ 01/08/2009 11:04:41 AM

    "The biblical definition of marriage"? LIke when Abraham's first wife thought she couldn't conceive, so he impregnated his servant? Or what about the fact that in no where in the gospels is homosexuality mentioned? Jesus did, however, speak out against divorce, yet divorced people are allowed to be official members of Warren's megachurch whereas (unrepentant) homosexuals are not. And Warren has inspired and supported actions to fight AIDS in Africa, just as long as we don't give condoms to anyone. Warren is a demagogue and a megalomaniac.

  • Posted By: wildechild66 @ 01/08/2009 2:27:49 AM

    Could we all please calm down? The last line of this article was certainly appropriate: each of us needs to take a step back and recognize that our wisdom is not all-encompassing. If we could stop screaming (and typing in all capitals) and listen for a moment, we can learn a lot more.

  • Posted By: sjbrock80 @ 01/07/2009 5:57:55 PM

    I like to do all kinds of "immoral" things that Rick Warren speaks against. What's the big deal to gays that they can't handle it? If you don't like what the guy says or stands for, ignore him, cuss at him, whatever. Don't get so bent out of shape about it.

    Try this, if you ever see Rick Warren, just say, "Hey Ricky, I just buttpounded some dude in your church bathroom!" That's what I'd do if I was gay and believed it was some great thing to be. Go for it and stop whining so much about your "oppression". Shoot, gays whine more than any group of people ever. The legitimate oppressed people in history haven't even expressed as much discontent as gays have and they were raped, murdered, enslaved, beaten, and treated like animals.

  • Posted By: cntkaneeryah @ 01/06/2009 9:18:47 PM

    IF WE LEAVE GOD AND CHRIST OUT OF OUR COUNTRY WE HAVE ONLY BEGUN TO SEE HOW LOW THIS COUNTRY CAN SINK. PREPARE YOURSELVES TO REAP WHAT YOU SOW. IF YOU SOW TO THE FLESH THEN OF THE FLESH SHALL YOU REAP. THAT MAY SOUND FINE TO SOME BUT TO YOU I SAY I AM SORRY I DID NOT DO MORE TO PROTECT YOU FROM YOUSELVES. IN TRUTH I KNOW I COULD NOT STOP THAT WHICH IS GODS WILL BUT IT DOES OT LESSEN MY FEELING OF RESONSIBILITY THAT THIS COUNTRY HAS CAME TO THIS POINT SPIRITUALLY.

    • Posted By: willem1 @ 01/06/2009 11:40:43 PM

      MORE PROOF THAT RELIGION POISONS EVERYONE IT TOUCHES!!

      • Posted By: YashBudini @ 01/07/2009 4:42:25 PM

        It's not religion that poisons, it's a handful of greedy opportunists that have poisoned religion. It's also the sheeple's fault for being so gullible and accepting one person's word without questioning that person's motivations, which is all too human.

    • Posted By: Horrible Bastard @ 01/07/2009 9:22:10 AM

      "THAT MAY SOUND FINE TO SOME BUT TO YOU I SAY I AM SORRY I DID NOT DO MORE TO PROTECT YOU FROM YOUSELVES. "

      Pull the beam out of your own eye first. Thanks.

  • Posted By: reddmoose @ 01/04/2009 11:23:37 PM

    Obama will prove himself in good time........

    Everyone who is bashing him and his choices are being just as judgemental as they are claiming him to be.

    Funny how nobody see's it that way...

    • Posted By: catspaw @ 01/07/2009 12:38:46 PM

      Agreed

      • Posted By: YashBudini @ 01/07/2009 4:36:31 PM

        "Funny how nobody see's it that way..."

        The need to throw stones overwhelms them, it's a form of greed.

  • Posted By: poseghale @ 01/06/2009 8:34:18 AM

    Obama needs to know God for himself. He should be able to pray, fast, live holy, do what is right and God will order his mind and his steps on all matters that affect this wonderful nation which He created.

    • Posted By: YashBudini @ 01/07/2009 4:34:56 PM

      But not listening to Dick Cheney is a hell of a good start.

  • Posted By: you people amaze me @ 01/07/2009 1:37:36 PM

    Religulous religion writers seem unable to get the point: "Pastor" Warren supports the notion that some Americans who have the support of churches can vote away full legal protection for other Americans, an idea that has been repeatedly declared unconstitutional by courts. By giving Warren the podium, Constitutional "scholar" Barak Obama would appear to support this folly. Very few people outside his megachurch give a fiddler's f*** what role "Pastor" Warren plays in "the Kingdom of God" --whatever that could possibly mean.

  • Posted By: you people amaze me @ 01/07/2009 1:33:07 PM

    Religulous writers keep missing the point. Most gay Americans don't give a flip about "Pastor" Warren's role in the "Kingdom of God" --whatever that could possibly mean. They care that he supports the notion that the legal protection of one group of Americans can be put to a popular vote by another group of Americans who are funded by political organizations using religion as a front. Law professor and Constitutional "scholar" Obama apparently thinks there is some merit to Warren's anti-Constitutional stance. This is the first political scandal of the Obama presidency, a sell-out of American citizens.

  • Posted By: KateOHanlanMD @ 01/04/2009 12:12:58 AM

    Obama, Warren, churches, and America need to realize that homosexuality is not a disease, not a proclivity, not contagious, and not changeable. It is an immutable, innocent orientation, as is heterosexuality. Marriage, as a basic civil right that heterosexuals currently enjoy, and would not want removed from them, needs to be available to all adult couples who make the same lifelong commitment to each other and to their children. Every family needs the basic protections that our state governments provide in the civil marriage contracts. Religions will always be free to discriminate, except in areas where they use public funds, or engage in public businesses, then they must follow all the laws for the public----but religions will always be free to discriminate. Recall that the Bible was used by Southern slave-owners, and by JimCrow southerners to defiend discrimination, however, and that in the long term, all discrimination based on innocent features is shown to be only bigotry, and is shunned.

    • Posted By: catspaw @ 01/07/2009 12:12:24 PM

      Two movies people do need to watch and understand what they are telling us. First, "Little Big Man" a Dustin Hoffman movie, and one of the chilldhood friends of the main charater. Second, "The Bird Cage", a Robin Williams movie, The charater Val stated he was the only one in his frat house that did NOT come from a broken home.

      That there says alot to me.

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