The dissonance is jarring:
Obama says:
I am confident that if we recommit ourselves to discovery, if we support science education to create the next generation of scientists and engineers right here in America; if we have the vision to believe and invest in things unseen, then we can lead the world into a new future of peace and prosperity.
And then he passes the megaphone to Rick Warren:
Do you believe Creation happened in the way Genesis describes it?
WARREN: If you're asking me do I believe in evolution, the answer is no, I don't. I believe that God, at a moment, created man. I do believe Genesis is literal, but I do also know metaphorical terms are used. Did God come down and blow in man's nose? If you believe in God, you don't have a problem accepting miracles. So if God wants to do it that way, it's fine with me....
Where do you get your morality? If there is no God, if I am simply complicated ooze, then the truth is, your life doesn't matter, my life doesn't matter.
I'm all for bringing the country together, Evangelicals and all, but is this the kind of symbolic gesture we need to show that we're setting a new course? Especially if we think it's important to encourage science education?
The anti-evolution bit is pathetic, but just as bad is the fact that the selection of Rick Warren continues a 20-year streak of inaugural prayers given almost exclusively by evangelicals.
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