Rick Warren Hanging Himself

UPDATED: This news from America Blog which is rather interesting:

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At the very last minute, with no warning, he canceled on Stephanopoulos, on Easter Sunday no less, due to "exhaustion." Hmm... Stephanopoulos didn't sound convinced. Nor am I. It's Easter Sunday. Warren was going to be on ABC's This Week, doing his schtick as "America's Pastor." This was a big opportunity for him, on the biggest Christian day of the year (at least in my church, Easter is bigger than Christmas). And suddenly he cancels.

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As readers of this blog know all too well, I am no fan of Homophobe, Rick Warren of Saddleback Church. I see him a largely a modern day Pharisee and someone Barack Obama ought to avoid. I am likewise no fan of the Washington Times either. But it is great fun watching the Moonie controlled Washington Times do stories basically ripping Warren a new one for his appearance on Larry King where he claimed that he never supported Proposition 8 and likewise claimed not to have anti-gay statements. Even though he did and there is video footage all over the Internet showing Warren saying precisely what he now claims to have never said. Why do people like Warren make such stupid claims? Do they really believe that the rest of us are so stupid that we will believe the lies and not quickly find the evidence to document his lies? I just do not understand the mindset. Meanwhile, Warren has the extreme Christo-fascist unloading on him as well for his "betrayal." It is truly an amusing spectacle. Here are some highlights from the Washington Times:

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Evangelical leaders say they are bewildered and stunned by the Rev. Rick Warren's apparent turnaround on gay marriage after the famous California pastor said earlier this week that he was not a proponent of California's Proposition 8. Mr. Warren told CNN's Larry King on Monday that he "never once even gave an endorsement" of the proposition, which said marriage in the state could only involve one man and one woman.

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"I was extremely troubled by the way he appeared to be so anxious to distance himself from the same-sex issue and to make clear he was not an 'activist' and that he'd only addressed the issue in a very minor way," said the Rev. Al Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky. Wendy Wright, president of Concerned Women for America, said his denial is "absolutely baffling."

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"Whether he supports Proposition 8 now, after the fact, is overshadowed by the bizarre claim that he did not say what the evidence so clearly proves he said."

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What Mr. Warren said he did do was send out a video to his 22,000-member church explaining his position the week before Proposition 8 went before state voters on Nov. 4. "Now let me say this really clearly: We support Proposition 8," he said on the video, "and if you believe what the Bible says about marriage, you need to support Proposition 8. I never support a candidate, but on moral issues, I come out very clear."

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Christianity Today magazine on April 7 pressed Mr. Warren about whether his CNN remarks contradicted the video sent to his congregration. It was a pastor talking to his own people," he replied. "I've never said anything about it since. I don't know how you can take one video newsletter to your own church and turn that into — all of a sudden I'm the poster boy for anti-gay marriage."

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Still, evangelicals point to a bigger issue brought about by Mr. Warren. "This is a major distraction in this battle for the culture we are experiencing," said Bishop Harry Jackson, pastor of Hope Christian Church in Beltsville and founder of the High Impact Leadership Coalition of 5,000 black and Hispanic evangelical leaders. "I really respect Pastor Warren, but his stance will hurt the evangelical church. He is being politically correct instead of biblically courageous."

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Funny thing. I thought there was a Commandment against lying and bearing false witness. Oops. I forgot, professional Christians and homophobes have granted themselves an exemption from that one.