Over the past week or so, I have heard/read many Christians proclaim how wonderful Rick Warren's Inaugural prayer was, and how happy they were that the prayer was done in such a way that it "wasn't over the top." I even read a blog by an atheist who said that it wasn't that awful, and that they were able to tolerate it because it didn't get too much into the "Christ" stuff.

Well, that reader was right. I, for one, found the prayer to be extremely disappointing.

Let me re-phrase that. As a strong Christian whose passion it is to uphold the truth of God, our Savior Jesus Christ and the Gospels, I found it to be disappointing. If this was a prayer that came from Oprah or something, then it would have been what I expected. But this was a pastor. A pastor of a VERY LARGE congregation out in California. Here he had the opportunity to profess Christ as his Savior and Lord in front of billions of people around the world... and he didn't. I'm betting you anything that Paul or John would've given their right arm for that opportunity. And I'm also betting that Paul or John would've had a very, very different message. Here God hands Rick Warren this wonderful window of time to pray the truth of the Gospels and proclaim Christ as Lord to the entire planet... and the guy cops out.

Now some might say that it's not "PC" to pray to God proclaiming Jesus is our Savior. Okay, fine. Not everyone in the United States is a Christian. I get that. So if that's the case, then like I said... Oprah should have done the prayer. Or some other celebrity. Or a non-denominational reverend of some sort. Yet standing up on that stage was a man who claims he is a devout Christian. So here's the problem:

In case you didn't catch Rick Warren's Inaugural prayer, there was a very profound message that I'm betting many Christians completely missed. Warren began the prayer by stating, "I humbly ask this in the name of the one who changed my life: Yeshua, Esa, Jesus (the Spanish pronunciation) and Jesus, who taught us to pray, 'Our father who art in Heaven...'"

The name "Esa" (sometimes spelled "Isa") -- if you're not familiar with it -- does not represent the Jesus Christ of the Bible. In fact, the term "Esa" is a Muslim one. I'm sure none of you have ever heard your pastor reference this, and that is because it has Muslim roots. In the Qur'an, this is the name they gave to the "prophet" Jesus, who is not the Christ, or Messiah. It absolutely does not reference the meaning of "savior."

In addition to that, it was obvious that Rick Warren did not say "Jesus Christ." As we all know, the term/name "Christ" means Messiah, or Savior. By leaving that one single word out, he prayed a prayer to a god that was not specific... who was not our Lord... who was not the Father of Jesus Christ. "Jesus" is just a man's first name, and even Buddhists, atheists and other non-Christian or New Age people refer to Jesus in conversation by simply saying "Jesus." And never once in the four-minute prayer did he say "Lord" or mention the Gospels.

He also referred to God as the "merciful and compassionate One" which may sound totally innocent and benign, but that exact phrase is undoubtedly Muslim. It is one of the most well known phrases that is used to start every chapter of the Qur'an except one. At this point, one has to wonder if he didn't work closely with Obama to write out the prayer ahead of time, so that subtle references to Islam were included. (For proof, simply Google the phrase "merciful compassionate one Allah" and see all of the results that come up.)

Bottom line... every word was precise, pre-written, slick and very calculated.

But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough. (2 Cor 11:3-4)

Rick Warren gave in, denied the truth, and tried to make nice with all of the religions of the world. There is nothing wrong with reaching out to people of other religions, but you don't do it by praying and denying Christ.