In my view, Rick Warren, a bloated Narcissus and liar, represents much of what is foul in professional Christians. The fact that Barack Obama is chums with Warren speaks volumes about Obama and none of it is good. Truth be told, Warren worships himself and the lucrative living he makes peddling a hypocritical form of Christianity. He works to put a kinder face on his ultimately poisonous beliefs, but in the final analysis he's just as despicable as the more obvious gay hating Christianists. While Warren has done much to export his brand of Christianism overseas, particularly to Africa, he conveniently ignores the rotten fruits of his efforts, acting as if he has nothing to do with the hatred and bigotry he helps to sow. The current anti-gay jihad in Uganda is a case in point. Fortunately, some attention is now being brought to Warren's failure to disavow the imprisonment or threatened execution of gays. Timothy Kincaid provides an overview at Box Turtle Bulletin. Here are some highlights:*
Warren is not hesitant to interfere in international religious divisions or schisms. Though not Anglican, he has been a major player in providing American support to African Anglicans who are seeking to oust any affiliates from the Anglican Communion that make any accommodation for gay Christians. Warren also likes to rub shoulders with the politically powerful. He is friends with presidents and the powerful around the globe.
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And he’s no stranger to activism on behalf of legislation. Though he was not highly visible in supporting Proposition 8, he did not hesitate to instruct his flock – which does not stop at the walls of his church – to vote to take away the civil rights of their gay neighbors.
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But Warren has now found the one exception to his political involvement. And that exception is the proposed Ugandan “Kill Gays” bill. Unlike virtually anything else that flickers across his attention, this piece of legislation just doesn’t rise to the level of requiring his involvement.
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On Meet the Press this [yesterday] morning he spoke a good game of loving gay people (while fighting against their rights). But though he declared that his “role is to love everybody” (which presumably would include gay Ugandans), this love seems not to stretch quite enough to oppose their execution and life-long incarceration. And Newsweek’s Kate Dailey is noting Warren’s failure to respond to the situation in Uganda:
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But Warren won’t go so far as to condemn the legislation itself. A request for a broader reaction to the proposed Ugandan anti-homosexual laws generated this response: “The fundamental dignity of every person, our right to be free, and the freedom to make moral choices are gifts endowed by God, our creator. However, it is not my personal calling as a pastor in America to comment or interfere in the political process of other nations.”
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When you build the platform, put out the chairs, advertise the event, set up the audio system, introduce the speaker, and hand him the mic, it’s disingenuous to claim that you are not taking sides. Rick Warren was significantly responsible for building Martin Ssempa’s influence in Uganda, and releasing a statement that he had “severed contact with Mr. Ssempa” two years ago is not an adequate reaction to Ssempa’s efforts to incarcerate and kill gay people.
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The truth is that while Rick Warren speaks of loving gay people, he doesn’t care if they are executed in Uganda for being gay. Or, at least, he doesn’t care enough to make the slightest effort to stop it.
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Warren is not hesitant to interfere in international religious divisions or schisms. Though not Anglican, he has been a major player in providing American support to African Anglicans who are seeking to oust any affiliates from the Anglican Communion that make any accommodation for gay Christians. Warren also likes to rub shoulders with the politically powerful. He is friends with presidents and the powerful around the globe.
*
And he’s no stranger to activism on behalf of legislation. Though he was not highly visible in supporting Proposition 8, he did not hesitate to instruct his flock – which does not stop at the walls of his church – to vote to take away the civil rights of their gay neighbors.
*
But Warren has now found the one exception to his political involvement. And that exception is the proposed Ugandan “Kill Gays” bill. Unlike virtually anything else that flickers across his attention, this piece of legislation just doesn’t rise to the level of requiring his involvement.
*
On Meet the Press this [yesterday] morning he spoke a good game of loving gay people (while fighting against their rights). But though he declared that his “role is to love everybody” (which presumably would include gay Ugandans), this love seems not to stretch quite enough to oppose their execution and life-long incarceration. And Newsweek’s Kate Dailey is noting Warren’s failure to respond to the situation in Uganda:
*
But Warren won’t go so far as to condemn the legislation itself. A request for a broader reaction to the proposed Ugandan anti-homosexual laws generated this response: “The fundamental dignity of every person, our right to be free, and the freedom to make moral choices are gifts endowed by God, our creator. However, it is not my personal calling as a pastor in America to comment or interfere in the political process of other nations.”
*
When you build the platform, put out the chairs, advertise the event, set up the audio system, introduce the speaker, and hand him the mic, it’s disingenuous to claim that you are not taking sides. Rick Warren was significantly responsible for building Martin Ssempa’s influence in Uganda, and releasing a statement that he had “severed contact with Mr. Ssempa” two years ago is not an adequate reaction to Ssempa’s efforts to incarcerate and kill gay people.
*
The truth is that while Rick Warren speaks of loving gay people, he doesn’t care if they are executed in Uganda for being gay. Or, at least, he doesn’t care enough to make the slightest effort to stop it.
*
Like most Christianists, Warren is a malignant force who has assisted with the utter perversion of the Gospel message. He may think he is playing it coy on the Uganada situation, but his failure to condemn what's going on makes it clear that his talk of "loving gays" is pure bullshit.
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