Re: [Marxism] The liberal uproar over Rick Warren

[Louis Proyect <lnp3@xxxxxxxxx>]

Shacht wrote:
>Well, perhaps Obama shoulds search for a cleric elsewhere, since convention
>calls for an invocation of God as opposed to some other muse.

One of the things that is so bogus about hooking up with Warren is 
that there are lots of other evangelicals who don't carry his 
baggage. For example, Joel Osteen has plenty of clout but he doesn't 
go around looking for fights with gays or women. His message is a 
fairly straightforward that becoming a Christian is a good way to get 
rich. His wife, btw, got booted from a Continental flight for causing 
a ruckus over a bit of a spilled drink on her seat. Clearly, Obama 
hooked up with Warren for the same reason that he is putting 
rightwing Democrats and Republicans in his cabinet. He intends to 
make war with the American working class and their brothers and 
sisters in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

http://www.christianpost.com/article/20080127/osteen-politics-is-good-but-not-in-my-pulpit.htm
Osteen: Politics is Good, but Not in My Pulpit

The seemingly always smiling, positive-thinking pastor to America's 
largest congregation welcomes everyone to his church, including 
office holders and politicians ? as long as they agree to leave 
politics outside the church doors.

Sun, Jan. 27, 2008 Posted: 08:27 AM EST

The seemingly always smiling, positive-thinking pastor to America's 
largest congregation welcomes everyone to his church, including 
office holders and politicians ? as long as they agree to leave 
politics outside the church doors.

Joel Osteen, best-selling author and pastor of the 47,000-member 
Lakewood Church in Houston, has a strict policy of not allowing any 
politician or government office holder to speak in his church about 
politics. Osteen also does not endorse any political candidate, 
although he doesn't mind putting in a good word for the person if he 
or she happens to visit the church.

"Part of it is how I was raised," Osteen explained in a Newsweek 
interview this week. "My father?kept it out of the pulpit."

The no-politics-in-pulpit policy stems from back in the days of John 
Osteen, founder of Lakewood Church. The then 6,000-member 
congregation would see local candidates swing by for a visit every 
time the city council race would get close in hopes of appealing to 
the voting flock.

"It just got to the point where it didn't seem right," the younger 
Osteen said. "Now that we've grown it's the same thing."

He noted, however, that he is a "strong believer" in honoring the 
people who serve the country through public office, but with only a 
brief introduction and a thank you for their service during worship time.

"If one of the presidential candidates were to attend, they certainly 
deserve honor," Osteen said. "[But] I think we say we don't let them 
speak because, well, who wouldn't want to come to speak to 40,000 
people here? We would introduce them and I would always put in a good 
word, whether they are Democrat or Republican."

His view contrasts those of many pastors who have allowed or even 
invited the 2008 presidential candidates to speak in their pulpit. 
Mike Huckabee, himself an ordained pastor, has spoken at dozens of 
churches across America while on the campaign trail.

Meanwhile, fellow seminary pal and megachurch pastor Rick Warren has 
invited all the presidential candidates to speak at his church, and 
actually shared the church stage with Sens. Hillary Clinton and 
Barack Obama ? albeit it was an HIV/AIDS church conference and not a 
worship service.

Warren will join his fellow pro-politics and religion friend Huckabee 
this spring to address preachers on how to effectively talk about 
politics and social and cultural issues from the pulpit during a 
conference on Apr. 7-9 in Washington, D.C.

Warren will address what goes through his mind when he invites 
political figures to speak from his pulpit, and Huckabee will share 
about his own experiences of merging the two worlds.

Notably, Huckabee in a recent interview with The Associated Press 
said he learned to be a politician in church. He said he learned to 
connect to people, raise money and navigate contentious elections by 
pastoring a congregation and through a successful bid for the 
presidency of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention.

In some sense, Osteen also supports mixing religion and politics. The 
popular pastor agrees with the many influential Christian leaders who 
have worked hard to push the Christian agenda in society.

"I'm 100 percent behind them. They're great debaters. They're great 
at making their points. I think there are times when we need to get 
involved," he said.

But Osteen noted that what he doesn't like is when Christian leaders 
get a label because they become too political.

"That's what I don't like. When it's too politicized," he stated. 
"There's a fine line there, but I think we can't just sit back and 
let everybody else express their views. I think it's important that 
we as believers in Christ express our views."

While Osteen ? whose sermons are televised in more than 100 
countries, drawing about 7 million viewers each week ? won't allow 
the potential next U.S. president to speak from his pulpit, many 
churches across the nation are welcoming with open arms candidates to theirs.

In a presidential race where being religious is an emblem of honor, 
candidates in both parties will surely continue to knock on the doors 
of pastors and their churches, although perhaps not at Osteen's church.

Michelle A. Vu
Christian Post Reporter  


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