In college, my freshman theology professor constantly made us repeat the saying: “A text without a context is a pretext for a prooftext.” In other words, twisting Scripture out of context to back up a predetermined position is dangerous business. If Rick Warren had been taught the same thing, he might have thought twice before dishonestly using Jesus’s crucifixion to chastise Christians for their political convictions.
The evangelical pastor took to X Wednesday morning to twist John 19:18 into a call to political kumbaya. Because Jesus was crucified between two thieves, Warren reasoned, obviously He was sending the message that the most Christlike place to be politically is smack dab in the middle of left and right.
“If you’re looking for the #realJesus, not a caricature disfigured by partisan motivations, you’ll find him in the middle, not on either side,” Warren wrote smugly.
If Warren thought a little deeper about his exegesis, he might remember the details Luke adds in chapter 23 of his gospel account. Luke tells us one of the criminals “hurled insults” at Jesus, while the other sought and received grace. The logical conclusion of Warren’s forced comparison is probably not what he was trying to convey.
While God alone can judge the intentions of the heart, Warren’s post smacks of efforts by many evangelical “leaders” to score points for rising above the partisan fray.
Warren deserves to be confronted for his dishonest use of Scripture, especially if his motive in doing so was to earn back-pats for being more holy than his politically vocal brethren. I sincerely hope he’ll repent of using his position of influence to spread a twisted interpretation of the Biblical narrative. The apostle Peter had strong words for the “ignorant and unstable” who “twist [Scripture] to their own destruction.”
While Warren’s post is poorly conceived and dishonestly executed, its problems don’t end there. The premise he twists Scripture so awkwardly to express is also wrong.
Jesus isn’t in the middle of any given divide. He is so much more than, and so far superior to, a compromise point between two people, two ideas, or two worldviews. If that was all it meant to follow Christ, there would be no difference between Christianity and any peace-seeking religion conceived by man.
The message of the crucifixion — and of the whole Bible — is a war between good and evil. Ever since Eve ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the hearts of man have been the battleground on which our fallen natures war with God’s goodness and redemption extended to us via Christ’s death and resurrection. There is no middle ground in that war. As the apostle John was instructed to write to the church of Laodicea in Revelation 3, “Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.”
The war for souls is not equivalent to a fight between Republicans and Democrats. But the war between good and evil does reach every crevice of the world and of our lives; no part of us or the world we inhabit is untouched by sin or out of the reach of God’s goodness. It’s foolish at best, and sinful at worst, for pastors like Warren to use their heavenly allegiance to dodge their responsibility to stand for truth and goodness during their earthly sojourn. From abortion to religious freedom to proper treatment for children with gender dysphoria or even fiscal stewardship, there are salient political issues on which Christians should use the tools at their disposal to advocate for wise, responsible, and righteous laws. To avoid doing so is cowardly, and to avoid doing so on a pretext of holiness is even more so.
The church needs far fewer platitudes about everyone getting along, and far more boldness to speak truth and condemn evil. We won’t win souls with both-side-isms on social media, but by inviting them to join the fight against evil, starting in their own hearts. Conviction begets courage.
Warren’s message suggests that if we could all learn to get along, if left and right could just meet in the middle, we would find Jesus there. The implication is that, as political viewpoints evolve, the maker of the universe is doing a constant balancing act to stay perched at the top of an ever-changing bell curve.
Not only is it logically ridiculous, this view also takes a very small view of God. It places God on the scale of Republican and Democrat, instead of placing us on the scale of sin and salvation. Jesus isn’t sitting around waiting to be found in the “common ground” between two sinful perspectives. He invites us to join the great battle He has waged and won for our souls. Recognizing our sin and inability to redeem ourselves, we must accept his rescue and his triumph over the evil in our hearts.
All of our earthly battles, political and otherwise, play out on the fringes of that much greater battle. They are not ultimate, but that does not make them morally neutral. In every battle, we must seek wisdom from God to discern what is righteous and courage to do it. Very rarely does that mean just splitting the difference. Truth is not triangulated based on diverging human opinions; our opinions must be calibrated to adhere to the truth. If they are, moderating them is not an act of virtue but one of cowardice.
