While I appreciate inclusion of all kinds, I think he could have picked a better representation of a religious leader. IMO, no self respecting gay should step foot in that church Maestro.... no matter what he "says". I mean, think about it...."Sure, come worship with us you lesser-than human being !" He has drawn a line in the sand.
As a matter of fact, it's an absolute insult to my community that this honor has been bestowed upon him. Can you understand that ?
I will admit that Wright would have been a worse choice.
I found this commentary that sums up how I feel as most times I have trouble putting my feelings to paper eloquently.
<em>Warren, a Baptist, knows better. The cornerstones of the Baptist tradition are adult baptism (as opposed to infant baptism) and the principle of liberty of conscience and the separation of church and state. Baptists inherited these ideas from Roger Williams, the founder of the Baptist tradition in America. And, at least until the conservative takeover of the Southern Baptist Convention in 1979, Baptists have always been watchmen on that wall of separation and fierce guardians of liberty of conscience. Thankfully, Williams's ideas were incorporated into the United States Constitution, both in the First Amendment, which forbade a religious establishment, and in the recurring principle of respect for the rights of minorities.
These have been the guiding touchstones of American life for more than two centuries. We Americans have sought, at times better than others, to live up to the principles articulated in our charter documents, especially in safeguarding the rights and the interests of minorities -- though not perfectly, by any means. The scourge of slavery and segregation and discrimination remains an indelible blot, and our treatment of women has been cavalier. But we Americans eventually rise to our better selves and come around to recognize the claims of legal equality for those who, for reasons of gender or race or religion or sexual orientation, cannot number themselves part of the majority.
And if we needed further warrant for this, the Fourteenth Amendment's guarantee of "equal protection under law" codified that into the Constitution itself.
Many Americans, myself included, understand the California supreme court's decision (and similar rulings in other jurisdictions) as an expression of that principle, an expansion of civil rights to those who have been denied equality for a very long time. It's not at all at odds with fundamental Baptist principles of liberty and protection from a majoritarian ethic that imposes its standards on the minority.
I challenge Rick Warren, my friend and fellow evangelical, to reconsider his support for Proposition 8. Warren and all people of faith have every right to hold to their religious views about homosexuality. But to insist that those standards must be observed by everyone in a pluralistic society is -- well, it's not Baptist.
Rick Warren knows better. </em>
I am ignoring you optimus, so whatever you wrote I can't read. Oscar, LOL on the tongue in cheek Mormon comment. Winex, Janet is not openly gay and is still in the closet. Did you ever stop to wonder WHY that is ? WHY she would hide one of the most important parts of her identity ?