That big time evangelical pastor, Rick Warren, has an on and off again relationship with the truth isn't news. Warren's recent refusal to condemn the atrocious Ugandan efforts to enact legalization to kill or imprison homosexuals and their supporters is reprehensible. And if that's not bad enough, Warren weaseled out of condemning the laws by lying and claiming he doesn't comment on foreign affairs.
Some background on the Ugandan laws: Ugandan Parliamentarian, David Bahati, is a darling of America's conservative Christians, including Rick Warren. Bahati's proposed legislation, The Anti-Homosexuality Act, allows that any person “convicted of gay sex is liable to life imprisonment.” If the person is HIV positive, they could face the death penalty. Anyone who “fails to report within 24 hours the identities of everyone they know who is lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender, or who supports human rights for people who are" could be imprisoned for up to three years.
When asked to comment on the pending Ugandan legislation, Warren said:
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.
It's hard to imagine the Anti-Homosexuality Act would be tolerable to any but the most barbaric and hate filled and Warren's excuse that he doesn't comment on foreign affairs is cowardly. It's also untrue.
Rick Warren had no problem talking about Syria:
"Syria's a place that has Muslims and Christians living together for 1,400 years. So it's a lot more peaceful, honestly, than a lot of other places because Christians were here first. In fact, you know Saul of Tarsus – Saul was a Syrian. St. Paul, on the road to Damascus, had his conversion experience and so Christians have been here the longest, and they get along with the Muslims and the Muslims get along with them. There's a lot less tension than in other places. It's a moderate country, and the official government rule and position is to not allow any extremism of any kind." (Link)
Pastor Warren also expressed no reservations about talking about Iranian politics with Sean Hannity:
Appearing on Fox’s Hannity and Colmes last night to promote his new book, Pastor Rick Warren made a brief foray into foreign policy. Responding to Hannity’s assertion that “we need to take him [Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad] out,” Warren agreed, saying that stopping evil “is the legitimate role of government. The Bible says that God puts government on earth to punish evildoers.” (Link)
It seems pretty simple. If you think killing HIV positive homosexuals and imprisoning those who support homosexual rights is acceptable, you ought to have the spine to admit it. But claiming, as Warren did, that that kind of thing is outside his purview, is just dishonest and pathetic.
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