Religious conservatives who cheered the selection of Rick Warren at Barack Obama’s inauguration are, perhaps not surprisingly, a little less enthusiastic about the other pray-ers at the inauguration festivities. To be specific, they’re going after civil rights veteran Joseph Lowery, openly gay Episcopal Bishop V. Gene Robinson and Disciples of Christ president Sharon Watkins.
The conservative Institute on Religion & Democracy put it most concisely: “Inauguration Pastors a Motley Crew.”
From the IRD statement:
“Rev. Joseph Lowery is often cited rightly as a revered civil rights leader. But over the last 35 years he has been more notable for his inflammatory rhetoric and embrace of conspiracy and radical causes, such as supporting the Sandinistas in Nicaragua or locking arms with Yasir Arafat.
Lowery’s denunciations of the Bush Administration during the Coretta Scott King funeral, in President Bush’s presence, were among the preacher’s latest controversies.
While Rev. Watkins is less well known, her embrace of the Religious Left has been consistent. As an officer of the World Council of Churches, the National Council of Churches, and Jim Wallis’ Sojourners, Watkins has signed on to polemical political pronouncements denouncing the Iraq War and urging a larger welfare state.”
From the Association for Church Renewal, a conservative remnant in the (mostly liberal) United Church of Christ:
“Putting Robinson forward with the blessing of your presidency communicates that your intention is to embrace the virulent practice of western hedonism. It is abortive to your efforts to provide strong international leadership for unity and peace. African leaders in particular will see this as a direct insult to their efforts to confront the horrendous health issues that face their people and the oppression of Islamics and others who accuse Christianity of reflecting the immorality of western culture.”
And from Matt Barber, director of Cultural Affairs with both Liberty Alliance Action and Liberty Counsel:
“A fancy white robe and tall priestly hat does not a man of God make. Robinson may or may not be a believer as he claims; only he and God know that for sure. But what we do know is this: based upon his frequent association with homosexual anti-Christian hate groups like the Human Rights Campaign and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, and in light of his ongoing counter-Christian sexual crusade, Gene Robinson is little more than a radical homosexual activist in a clergyman’s clothing. In fact, his heretical rebellion against God’s express natural order, coupled with his selfish refusal to surrender his pulpit, has almost single handedly devastated the U.S. Episcopal Church.”
