Evangelical pastor Rick Warren, whose participation at President Barack Obama’s inauguration drew early criticism from liberals and gay rights groups, made two Jewish references during his invocation.
At the onset of his remarks, the pastor of Orange County’s Saddleback Church quoted from Deut. 4-6 (better known to Jews as the Sh’ma), saying, “Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God. The Lord is One.”
But then he went on to invoke Jesus’ name in four languages — the first of which was Hebrew.
He prayed, “I humbly ask this in the name of the one who changed my life, Yeshua, Isa, Jesus, Jesus [hay-SOOS], who taught us to pray, Our Father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on Earth as it is in heaven.”
If any Jewish groups had objections, they haven’t publicly complained.
However, Rabbi Gary Greenebaum, who leads interreligious outreach for the American Jewish Committee, said that he considered Warren’s invocation “inclusive even as it was slightly exclusive,” for praying in Jesus’ name and ending with the Lord’s Prayer.
“I don’t think the language of the prayer itself is offensive, but the context of the prayers, coming from Christian Scripture, is somewhat exclusive,” said Greenebaum, who works in Los Angeles and was once a rabbi in San Francisco.
Warren’s main critics have been from the gay community. The pastor was a backer of Proposition 8, the California initiative that banned gay marriage. Gay rights advocates and liberals were outraged that Obama gave him a place of honor at the ceremony.
In his invocation, Warren did not refer to the controversy. However, he asked God to forgive “when we fail to treat our fellow human beings and all the Earth with the respect that they deserve.” He also prayed for “civility in our attitudes, even when we differ.”
Obama said he wanted inauguration events to reflect diverse views and insisted he remains a “fierce advocate” of equal rights for gays. The new president had asked Bishop Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, the first openly gay Episcopal bishop, to give the opening prayer Jan. 18 at the inaugural kickoff event at the Lincoln Memorial.
Some atheists and agnostics had sued unsuccessfully ahead of the swearing-in to keep references to God out of the event.
California atheist Michael Newdow sued Chief Justice John Roberts in federal court for an injunction barring the use of the words “so help me God” in the inaugural oath.
Newdow, who lost a Supreme Court battle to get the words “under God” taken out of the Pledge of Allegiance, has failed in similar challenges to the use of religious words and prayers at President George W. Bush’s inaugurations.