Rick Warren's Invocation Invokes Judaism, Islam
By Dan Gilgoff, God & Country
The Rev. Rick Warren's invocation might have featured the full Lord's Prayer, the prayer that best cuts across many Christian denominations, but for those listening closely, it also included clear hat-tips to Judaism and Islam. The references came right up top, six lines into Warren's invocation:
The Scripture tells us, "Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God. The Lord is One." And you are the compassionate and merciful one. And you are loving to everyone you have made.
The first half of that paragraph—Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God. The Lord is One—is the Shema, the most important prayer in Judaism. Many Jews recited it on the way to their deaths during the Holocaust.
The second half of that paragraph—"You are the compassionate and merciful one"—echoes the opening of all but one chapter of the Koran. Those chapters begin Bismillah al-Rahman al-Raheem, which translates into, "In the name of Allah, the most compassionate, the most merciful."
"After the actual name Allah, Rahman is the one name that's unique to God," explains Jonathan Brown, assistant professor of Arabic and Islamic studies at the University of Washington. "It's this intense compassion and mercy you can't find in a human being."
That means Rick Warren's invocation was more ecumenical than many expected it to be. The interesting thing now will be to watch whether and how Warren's shout-outs are greeted in the Jewish and Muslim communities. Yet again, Warren is trying to be a bridge builder, even as the media focus on his ability to sow controversy.
- Read more by Dan Gilgoff.
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Tags: Inauguration | religion | Islam | Judaism | Rick Warren
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For real....
Just wanted to draw some attention to the details that Giovani has revealed his own ignorance with.
"Muslims are circumsized like Jews although Christians don't follow this not based on Jesus's teachings but Paul who lived 100 years after Jesus and simply removed the 7 th commandment a power that Jesus said eh didn't have....or when Jesus prayed in the Garden of Getsimidy....he prayed on his knees and placed his forehead on the ground...just as Muslims do...But remember like everything in life we are all on the same path religiously to make it to heaven and different people take different routes but one thing as loing as your route makes sense to you then you are on the right path for yourself. If something doesn't make sense you have to question it...all three Abrahamic religions states this........but IGNORANCE WILL ALWAYS BE THE DOWNFALL LIKE MR UNAMED "
First of all, Paul lived around the same time of Jesus - and was involved in many discussions and ministries that overlapped with the Apostle Peter - who was obviously alive in Jesus' time. Secondly, Paul was not referring to physical circumsicion - he was referring to assuming the spiritual equivalent, and expressed frustration for the Jews that insisted that Gentiles have to be circumsized to be saved, which decreased the sufficiency of Christ's death on the cross as payment for all mankind's sin. Read Acts, Hebrews, Galatians and Peter's epistles for your facts.
Finally, and most importantly, Jesus clearly stated that HE was the only way to Heaven in John chapter 14. There is no mistaking His claims to being the Son Of God, and He is the ONLY risen savior - all other great, wise, religious leaders of old are still in their tombs. Not all paths lead to heaven, and not all religions are right. Please don't say Jesus came to unite - He came to save, even at the cost of division. Read John for that answer.
God Bless America?
God has already blessed America. His blessings are waning. Blessings are being removed on a daily basis due to the toleration of wicked practices in our society and political relm. WAKE UP!
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