"Who would you have wanted to give teh prayer???11" - - - How about Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy

[Bluebear]

Don't Impose Theology on Matrimony

The Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy leads the nonpartisan educational organizations the Interfaith Alliance and the Interfaith Alliance Foundation, and hosts the latter's national weekly radio show, State of Belief

Whether or not there is a religious or scriptural basis for gay marriage depends entirely upon who is answering that question as well as the religious background of the respondent and the methodology of his/her scriptural interpretation. One of the great blessings of the religious freedom embraced and guaranteed by the United States Constitution is every person's right to believe or not to believe when it comes to religion generally and, if one believes, to decide specifically in whom or in what to believe.

Lisa Miller has provided a thought-provoking analysis of the Bible's take on gay marriage from the perspective of one interpreter. Undoubtedly, her words will provide great comfort to many in the GLBT community who have often found themselves alienated form faith communities because of more traditional interpretations of what the Bible says about homosexuality. At the same time, Miller's analysis is no more or less valid than one that opposes gay marriage.

When it comes to the question of gay marriage, the goal should not be to demand that people change their theology. A far better goal is to ask people not to attempt to impose their theology on those who hold a different theological point of view. Marriage--gay or heterosexual--should be a right available to every citizen, but never a legal act, ritual, or formal ceremony that any house of worship, denomination, or religious leader should be required to perform in contradiction to their beliefs.

http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/c_welton_gaddy/2008/12/dont_impose_theology_on_those.html

[no_hypocrisy]

1. Good choice.

I'd split the bill with Bishop John Shelby Spong.

Do a google search on him and see what an amazing man he is.

[wryter2000]

8. You got it!

Bishop Spong is wonderful. Reverend Gaddy would be awesome, too. How about Rev. Barry Lynn of Americans United for Separation of Church and State?

There are so many great religious leaders. We don't need a homophobe.

[hlthe2b]

2. I like him.... a lot!

He has a good show on the weekends on Air America Radio... He really goes after the "religious" hypocrits.

[IndyOp]

3. Rev. Gaddy! Rev. Gaddy! Rev. Gaddy! Yeah! His show "State of Belief" airs

weekly on Air America -- he is great. He looks and his accent sounds like every Southern minister you've ever heard, but his heart is wide open.


http://www.stateofbelief.com/

[daninthemoon]

4. rev wright would have been a better choice than warren.

[LaurenG]

5. How about Bill Moyers nt

[hlthe2b]

7. Can never go wrong with Bill Moyers...

[hlthe2b]

6. if not Rev. Gaddy, the preeminent Reverend Al Sharpton...

;)

He'd be a hell of a lot more entertaining, that's for sure.

[ruggerson]

9. Why not Peter Gomes, Harvard Chaplain and a proud, gay African American

http://www.memorialchurch.harvard.edu/preachers/pjg.shtml

[Critters2]

11. Gomes is a great idea! nt

[Bluebear]

12. What a message Obama could have sent about his relationship with God.

By choosing one of these spiritual leaders.

[Cattledog]

10. Jesus told me that he is going to deliver the Invocation personally.

[saltpoint]

18. I heard the same thing, but they're waiting for the longjohns to arrive

from L.L. Bean. And the parka.

"We don't want another William Henry Harrison episode," one of his disciples was quoted as saying.

[dionysus]

13. nice choice! i'm not religious but i listen to him from time to time... wise and kind man

:thumbsup:

[SeattleGirl]

14. Rev. Gaddy would have been a great choice!

I often listen to his show on AAR.

He definitely is grounded in reality.

[DavidDvorkin]

15. There shouldn't be a prayer at the Inauguration.

[saltpoint]

16. Hi, Bluebear. I've had the chance to listen to Gaddy on the air a few times

and was very impressed.

The fundies' heads would explode instantaneously if Obama had chosen Gaddy, but of course, I mean that as a good thing.

I like the enegetic mind Gaddy puts to his subject. He sounds very old school to me, and that means he's using Reason and Enlightenment in the public debate versus the fundies' reactionary squawking.

He sounds like a good man.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

17. YES -- perfect choice

just the guy progressives should offer up as a solution when making their case to Obama's staff

[psychmommy]

19. thanks, i never heard of him.

i especially like the part that says-the goal should be for people to not impose their theology on those who hold different theological points of view. i also like this part marriage should be a right for every citizen but, not a legal requirement to be performed in contradiction to a faith leaders beliefs. very nice.
thanks for schoolin' me.

[Ganja Ninja]

20. How about someone who's not Christian or Jewish or Muslim?

Just to prove that there's other faiths that have an equal place in society.

[Sebastian Doyle]

21. Excellent choice

I used to listen to Rev. Gaddy's radio show "State of Belief" when I had XM radio. Unfortunately he's not on the local affiliate, or any of the streams I listen to now, so I haven't heard him for a while.

He'd be an excellent choice for the invocation.