Free Republic

Last August I wrote a column critical of Rick Warren's decision to host a presidential candidate forum at his Saddleback Church. My reasoning then was that America's crisis is moral ambiguity. I argued that Pastor Warren would only contribute to this ambiguity by hosting candidates with opposing views on issues such as abortion and homosexuality and presenting himself as a neutral moderator. Only Barack Obama would gain, I felt, being showcased as an acceptable candidate by one of the nation's best known evangelical pastors. If John McCain had wanted to clarify his social conservative credentials, he didn't need to go...

can absolutely see what Warren hoped to get out of this sordid little trip, the evidence of which he vainly tried to conceal when it threatened to become embarrassing. He wanted to be on video for his open-mouthed followers as he posed "on the road to Damascus." And he didn't care what deals he had to make, with Baath and Toothbrush Central Command, in order to bring off such a fundraising coup. But now it's the sandals of Obama that are being exploited by the same tub-thumper, and one has not merely a right but a duty to object to...

Inauguration Day is almost here, and many people are anxiously awaiting the moment Rick Warren takes the stage to pray for our new leader and the country. I am crossing my fingers for a gracious response to Warren. He's that evangelical guy the president-elect asked to give the inaugural invocation. (Warren also happens to be a crusader against the AIDS epidemic, a thoughtful thinker on current issues and a man who has consistently shared his own platform with people who oppose him ideologically, including Barack Obama.) After Warren was invited, Obama took some heat. His first heat, really. (Ronald Reagan...

In this video (Run Time 6:49) you are going to hear Rick Warren asking Christians to be as dedicated to his Global P.E.A.C.E. Plan as the Nazis were to Hitler. Warren wants Christians to commit themselves to do 'whatever it takes' to slay the global giants. The problems with this are almost too many to list. But here are a couple. 1. Jesus has NOT commissioned the Church to go and slay global giants (spiritual lostness, egocentric leadership, poverty, disease, and ignorance). Jesus has commissioned the church to proclaim "repentance and the forgiveness of sins in Jesus' name to all...

Pastor Rick Warren’s invocation was probably the most Christian prayer delivered in recent inaugural history. Not only did he pray in Jesus name, but he then recited “The Lord’s Prayer”, the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples. The one thing this certainly shows is that Pastor Warren does not shrink from conflict or controversy. He had been blasted by liberals over his rejection of gay marriage and support for California’s Proposition 8. And President Barack Obama was heavily criticized for asking Warren to give the invocation. Pastor Warren declined all interviews before the inauguration saying there were too many requests...

In an hilarious episode of NBC’s The Office, Dunder-Mifflin übertwerp Dwight Schrute unwittingly adapts the words of several speeches by Benito Mussolini and Karl Marx in order to appear impressive at a conference for salesmen. “Blood alone moves the wheels of history!” he cries, and by the time he gets to Il Duce’s “It is a privilege to fight!” the equally witless conference audience is chanting along with him. “Salesmen of the world, unite!” Explaining a joke tends to make it unfunny, but it might be helpful here. We, the viewers, laugh, because we know that Dwight’s adaptation is a...

He has written one of the best-selling books in history. But can pastor Rick Warren sell a magazine? The test starts this week, with the debut of Purpose Driven Connection, a quarterly publication from Reader's Digest Association to be sold as part of a bundle of multimedia products its backers hope will connect Christians to each other and God. A subscription includes access to a Facebook-like Christian social-media Web site and DVD guides for leading a prayer group.

There I was, watching all the regalia of the presidential inauguration. The crowds, the dignataries...(snip) Of course, I was also waiting to see just what kind of prayer Rick Warren had co-opted to pray for the new incoming President and his administration.