Rick Warren Drives Metaphorical Evangelical Car Into The Crowd

If there's anything that high-profile Christians should figure out, it's this: that watering down one's beliefs in the name of achieving political expediency will only injure ones self, and leave one's wounds open and vascular to a world of jackals who will close in on them.

Such is the case with Saddleback Church's Rick Warren, who most recently offered the (I might add well delivered) prayer at President Obama's inauguration, but is perhaps most well known for his authorship of The Purpose-Driven Life.

Leave it to the bromidic truths in James 1:8, about the stabilities to be found in double-mindedness to be the rock against which Mr. warren's evangelical future will be dashed. Apparently, he isn't as against gay marriage as an institution as he once was. At least that's what he told Larry King:

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. The measure won at the polls last November by a close margin, in effect negating an earlier California Supreme Court ruling allowing gay marriages.

Especially when that pesky video he sent to his congregation is quoted verbatim:

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."

Mr. Warren "clarifies" this in the King interview:

In his conversation with Mr. King, Mr. Warren said, "All of a sudden out of it[opponents] made me something that I really wasn't. And I actually — there were a number of things that were put out. I wrote to all my gay friends — the leaders that I knew — and actually apologized to them. That never got out."

Apologize for what? I have gay friends as well, and they at least appreciate that my conversational opposition to gay marriage doesn't change when they walk into the room. I'm always confused by this. Apparently, I'm not the only one confused by Mr. Warren's bobbing and weaving on the narrow road--which of course leads to this run over the median right before flipping the entire vehicle during an over correction:"

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."

Which, of course, leads to:

Saddleback Church, where Mr. Warren is pastor, released a clarification on April 9 to the evangelical-oriented CBN.com, saying the pastor's remarks on CNN were not in reference to the video but "to not participating in the official two-year organized advocacy effort specific to the ballot initiative in that state."

Don't know about you, but I'm tired from just reading it. Imagine trying to hold two opinions at once.

Sad. Mr. Warren should just, as they say, pick a team and play.

-R