The Bible was absent from President Obama’s second swearing-in on Wednesday, but a U.K.-based ministerial alliance has sent him one for future use.
Jan. 22, 2009 -- President Barack Obama retook the oath of office on Wednesday evening after the first one was flubbed. But because the Bible was noticeably absent from the second swearing-in, a U.K.-based ministerial alliance is sending him one.Christian leaders said the swearing-in of the nation's first African-American president is a sign of racial progress but worried that the battle to end abortion and defend traditional marriage would intensify in the coming months.
[01.21.09] Record-setting crowds braved frigid weather on Tuesday to witness the historic inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States. But while many applauded the event as a victory for racial progress, several ministry leaders warned that Christians must remain vigilant in a fight against abortion and same-sex marriage that is likely to intensify.
During his invocation, Saddleback Church pastor Rick Warren called the swearing-in of the nation’s first African-American president a “hingepoint of history.”
“We are so grateful to live in this land, a land of unequaled possibility, where the son of an African [man] can rise to the highest level of our leadership,” Warren prayed. “We know today that Dr. King and a great cloud of witnesses are shouting in heaven.”
We must pray that our new president will honor the God of our fathers and seek counsel from His prophets.
The hearts of millions of Americans were stirred on Tuesday as we watched Barack Obama place his hand on Abraham Lincoln’s Bible and swear to uphold his duties as president. The cynicism and divisiveness of politics gave way to civility for a few moments as Obama stood on that massive stage in front of the Capitol and spoke of a “new era of responsibility” that he hopes to initiate.
