Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church in California and bestselling author of The Purpose-Driven Life, has emerged as one of the most popular evangelical preachers in modern history. And President-elect Barack Obama has placed him, once again, in the spotlight.
Rick Warren and Barack Obama
The latest controversy surrounding the Saddleback pastor is that President-elect Barack Obama has selected him to give the invocation at the January 20 inauguration. Gay rights organizations and pro-choice activists have condemned the choice, given Warren's stand against same-sex marriage and for the sanctity of human life.
In spite of the backlash, Obama has stood firm on his choice, saying that it's important for Americans to disagree agreeably and for the country to come together.
Obama and Warren go back a ways. When the former U.S. senator from Illinois (now incoming President) was gearing up for his run at the White House, Warren invited him to a forum at Saddleback Church, a move that helped raise Obama's profile and his standing with evangelicals. During the campaign, Warren maintained ties with Obama and declined to endorse Republican John McCain, even though many like-minded evangelical leaders did not hesitate to criticize Obama and side with McCain.
Yet Obama's pick of Warren has not sat well with many liberal and Democratic Party activists. They have accused Obama of "disrespect" and have applied considerable pressure for the President-elect to reconsider his invitation to the California pastor.
Rick Warren on Gays
The Human Rights Campaign, in a letter to President-elect Obama, called Warren "one of the architects and promoters of an anti-gay agenda." The Human Rights Campaign identified the passage of Proposition 8, the California initiative that invalidated same-sex marriage and which Warren publicly supported, as "the greatest loss our community has faced in 40 years."
Many gay rights activists were shocked and outraged at Warren's support for Proposition 8, given his past support for AIDS research and charity work toward AIDS victims. Indeed, Warren's work on behalf of AIDS victims involved significant cooperation with non-Christian organizations. But observant gay activists were not as shocked. As blogger Kathryn Joyce points out: "Warren has made clear that his collaboration with non-evangelical AIDS activists wouldn't lead him to compromise on his biblical convictions."
Joyce, who blogs for the pro-choice RH Reality Check website, meant that statement as a criticism, but Warren and his followers would no doubt embrace it as a compliment. Of course, Joyce says much more about Warren. She categorizes his activism as "anti-choice" and "anti-gay," and indeed regards his entire AIDS approach as "troubling" in that it promotes abstinence and "entangles religion and treatment."
Rick Warren and the Bible
So, what's the verdict on Warren? Is Rick Warren a homophobe? Is Warren a man of hate? Is he intolerant?
Mary Sanchez, writing for The Kansas City Star, says that Rick Warren "needs to evolve." She calls Warren an "old-time religionist with old-time beliefs about issues on which American attitudes have, so to speak, evolved."
Perhaps much of society has "evolved" in their views concerning abortion, homosexuality, marriage, and so forth. But do human beings even possess the right or authority to "evolve" when it comes to religion or morality? If the Bible is the Word of God and if it categorizes homosexuality as a sin, then does that not settle the matter? (See "The Bible on Gay Marriage," which addresses this question).
When Abraham Lincoln was once asked if he thought God was on the side of the North in the American Civil War, Lincoln responded: "Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side."
Likewise, Warren's critics need to be less concerned about Rick Warren and more concerned about God. It is, after all, up to God as to whether abortion, homosexuality, or any other controversial issue is right or wrong. It is up to God and no one else. And if Rick Warren believes God has decided the moral question of same-sex marriage, then his convictions (both private and in public) should reflect that.
