Sanchez on Warren

This is a portion of what Mary Sanchez wrote in the The Kansas City Star ("Rick Warren needs to evolve", 29 December 2008):

[Rick Warren] rejects the theory of evolution, and he believes that to be homosexual is to have embraced a life of sin. Are those mainstream views? If so, there must be two (or more) mutually exclusive versions of “mainstream” in America.

Warren has equated the acceptance of gay marriage with an acceptance of incest and pedophilia. He has argued, “If Darwin was right, which is survival of the fittest, then homosexuality would be a recessive gene because it doesn’t reproduce, and you would think that over thousands of years that homosexuality would work itself out of the gene pool.” It would take 40 days and 40 nights to unpack the scientific illiteracy and plain bad faith in that statement.

One of the reasons so many Obama supporters are outraged by Warren’s role in the inauguration is that in the last election campaign, the preacher lent his weighty support to Proposition 8, the California ballot initiative to place a constitutional ban on gay marriage. Warren has said he supported Prop 8 because he fears being charged with hate speech for preaching against homosexuality. That’s another argument in bad faith. Warren knows he can preach whatever he likes, protected by the First Amendment.

I suspect what Warren really fears is that the public will recognize him for what he is: an old-time religionist with old-time beliefs about issues on which American attitudes have, so to speak, evolved. In recent days Warren has said: “I have many gay friends. I’ve eaten dinner in gay homes. No church has probably done more for people with AIDS than Saddleback Church,” referring to his megachurch and the many efforts it has made to aid HIV suffers in Africa.

How is that different from saying, “I have a few black friends, but I still believe in segregation“?

Science and marriage equality in one opinion piece! My bold, of course.

Thank you Mary Sanchez for pointing out to your readers the ridiculous and dangerously mangled science in that Warren quotation about evolution. Few journalists are so bold as to point out differences between fact and pseudo-scientific goobledygook, just so long as someone is quotable.

Thank you Mary Sanchez for pointing out that "having many gay friends", when one works so desperately to undermine their civil rights, is a pygmy emperor among ideas that indeed is wearing no clothes.

Thank you Mary Sanchez for asking "How is that different from saying, 'I have a few black friends, but I still believe in segregation'?", regardless of the sanctimonious hordes who will howl that you are equating unequatable experiences.

Just imagine, Mary Sanchez, if Mr. Warren did evolve and used his precious minutes at the podium during Obama's inaugural ceremonies to explain that he had been wrong, so very wrong about gay and lesbian people in his heart, but now he sees clearly and he invites everyone to follow him towards a new covenant of equality.

Whew! Now that would be purpose-driven and bold, but unlikely.

(Seen first at Mike Tidmus: Blog.)

Posted on December 31, 2008 at 00.35 by jns · Permalink
In: All, Current Events, Faaabulosity, Speaking of Science

One Response

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  1. Written by S.W. Anderson
    on Thursday, 1 January 2009 at 02.39
    Permalink

    Warren is showing himself to be a follower, not a leader. And what he's following is the limit
    imposed by his "flock," not Christ. He has a chance to lead, but lacks the courage and
    independence.

    BTW, Rachel Maddow this evening quoted Warren denying he ever equated gays with
    pedophiles and those who engage in incest. Then, she played a clip of him doing exactly
    that. But hey, what's so bad about a little bearing false witness as long as you're
    sufficiently careful about whom you rub bodies with?

    That's something those in Warren's flock might want to do some serious thinking about.
    Because, if he's willing to bear false witness that can so easily be revealed through the
    magic of videotape, they might reasonably wonder what else he's bearing false witness
    about in his preaching.

    Happy new year to you and Isaac.

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