The Case for and Against Rick Warren

WaPost does the dueling op-ed thing

By Kevin Spak, Newser Staff

Posted Dec 23, 2008 1:31 PM CST

(Newser) – Liberals should be neither shocked nor appalled by Barack Obama’s inaugural invitation to anti-gay pastor Rick Warren, EJ Dionne writes in the Washington Post. His colleague Richard Cohen begs to differ, however, so the two duke it out in their columns today. Cohen says Obama has decided to “honor a bigot” and is refusing once again to take moral leadership, treating a civil rights issue “as some sort of cranky cultural difference.”

Dionne points out that Warren isn’t just a standard-issue conservative evangelical. He wants to move evangelicals beyond their abortion and gay rights obsessions, focusing instead on issues like social justice, poverty, and disease. His rise could break the GOP stranglehold on the movement. “One need not be too pious about any of this,” Dionne argues. Maintaining a durable majority “requires not just easy gestures, but hard ones.”

[Images (2)]

[Quotes (3)]

Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church, speaks during a panel discussion on rural development at the Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting Friday, Sept 26, 2008 in New York. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)

Evangelical Pastor Rick Warren delivers a speech during the Convention of the Muslim Public Affairs Council in Long Beach, California on Saturday Dec. 20, 2008. (AP Photo/Hector Mata)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

I'm a pastor, not a politician. People always say, 'Rick, are you right wing or left wing?' I say 'I'm for the whole bird.' - Rick Warren

Liberals need to come to terms with what it means to build a durable majority. Doing so requires not just easy gestures but hard ones. - E. J. Dionne Jr.

The real problem has nothing to do with ministers and everything to do with Obama's inability or unwillingness to be a moral leader. Sooner or later, he just might have to stand for something. - Richard Cohen

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

Getty Images

White Grandfather Cuffed for Walking With Black Granddaughter (NewsOne)

Man in Mugshot Explains Why He Has Half a Head (HuffPost)

These Exes Were Spotted Making Out … and That's a Bad Thing (Bleacher Report)

Help! I'm Having an Incestuous Relationship With My Twin (Slate)

Proof that Twitter Users are Sexier Than Facebook Users? (GeekSugar)

Partner Links

A snapshot of the day's best news stories.

View Larger Grid

All Today Yesterday Pick a Date

COMMENTS

Read the comment policy

Showing 2 of 2 comments

justme

Dec 23, 2008 5:23 AM CST

I beg to differ. Every American has a right to state their opinion even if that opinion comes from their religious beliefs. Until the loonies turn separation of church and state" into " separation of church from everything" people of faith still have their rights of free speech in every public forum.

John

Dec 23, 2008 1:38 AM CST

If he is not a politician, he should stay out of politics. His religious beliefs should not interfere in the government in any way.

What's Popular Now on Facebook

Guy Buys $123 Safe on eBay, Finds Major Cash Inside

Study Finds Arsenic in Baby Formula, Cereal Bars

Washington Post (Source Grid »)
Washington Post (Source Grid »)

Barney Frank criticizes choice of Warren
Boston Herald

Pundits divided over Warren
Dallas Morning News

Warren draws criticism from fellow evangelicals
Associated Press

Politics

Barack Obama • gay rights • religion • Christian right • evangelicals • inauguration • Richard Cohen • Rick Warren • President Obama

More Newser Stories

Warren Prayed for All—but Invoked Jesus

Clever phrasing keeps his prayer from being controversial

(NEWSER) - Laden with pre-inaugural controversy, Rick Warren’s invocation today was “both inevitable and surprising,” writes Lisa Miller in Newsweek. “Inevitably,” he focused on being inclusive, alluding to Christian, Muslim, and Jewish rites; the "unkempt" pastor knows how to “strike an empathic, populist chord.” But he raised eyebrows when he prayed in the name of Jesus, a move that has sparked uproars for other inaugural preachers. More»

Rev. Warren References MLK in Invocation

Obama's pick sparked gay-rights controversy

(NEWSER) - Offering the invocation at Barack Obama's inauguration, Rev. Rick Warren called the moment “a hinge-point in history: the first inauguration of an African American as the 44th president.” The controversial pastor added, “We know that today Dr King and a great cloud of witnesses are shouting in heaven.” Following his speech, Aretha Franklin belted out My Country ‘Tis of Thee. More»

Obama Has Met Only Half of Rick Warren

Evangelical's split personality includes 'bland Pastor Rick' and arch conservative

(NEWSER) - Evangelical Rick Warren has fooled many Americans, Barack Obama included, with his lifelong attempt at creating a double personality, Amy Sullivan writes in Time. There's Pastor Rick—the apparently progressive anti-poverty, concerned-about-AIDS persona Obama invited to deliver the inaugural invocation, and there's the divisive staunch conservative the president-elect should quickly get to know, she advises. "Warren himself encourages the confusion," Sullivan warns. More»

Openly Gay Bishop Tapped for Inauguration

Robinson will speak Sunday, has been critical of Warren

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama has asked Bishop V. Gene Robinson, the only openly gay Episcopal bishop, to deliver the invocation at the opening event of Inauguration Week, the Boston Globe reports. Robinson had been among those who criticized Obama for asking same-sex marriage opponent Rick Warren to deliver the main inaugural invocation. More»

I'm Anti-Gay Marriage, Not Anti-Gay: Warren

Controversial pastor aims to dampen criticism, civilize discourse

(NEWSER) - Rick Warren continues to refine his stance on gays and gay marriage, saying he is “not opposed to gays having their partnership,” and that his anti-gay marriage stance doesn’t make him anti-gay, the AP reports. “I’m opposed to gays using the term marriage for their relationship,” the pastor, whose inauguration invitation raised hackles in the gay community, tells his church in a new video. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

The Case for and Against Rick Warren