Clarifying Warren's Stance re: Uganda

I need to make a couple of corrections to statements I made yesterday regarding Rick Warren and the Ugandan anti-homosexuality bill. A story on Newsweek's website quoted him from two different contexts, one related directly to his stance on the bill itself and one (from Meet the Press) on an entirely different subject. The article noted that the two quotes came from different contexts; I overlooked that clarification in quoting him.

To be clear: the quote from Warren about Uganda is as follows:

"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."

The Newsweek article followed that quote with another, taken from Meet the Press:

"As a pastor, my job is to encourage, to support. I never take sides."

Now, the article mentioned that in the latter quote Warren expressed a preference for a neutral stance "in a different context." I should have looked before I quoted. Mea culpa.

That being said, placed side-by-side as they were in the article, the two quotes appear to be speaking about the same subject, giving the impression that Warren advocates a general stance of neutrality--at least on issues of homosexuality. The subtle suggestion in the article (which notes that Warren calls abortion "a holocaust") is that Warren's neutrality is selective and a shade disingenuous. I reacted strongly to this yesterday, wondering how a pastor like Warren could so advocate a stand-offish position.

Having checked the Meet the Press interview myself (transcript only here), I now think the Newsweek article misrepresented Warren's position--or at the very least that I got an incorrect impression of Warren's views from this article (which has been widely linked on gay religious-right watchdog sites).

In the Meet the Press interview, Warren is speaking broadly about his transition from the pastor of a single church (Saddleback) to being a national spokesperson whose opinions on a range of issues is regularly sought. The interviewer, David Gregory, presses Warren on a number of specific issues, from Proposition 8 to abortion to health care. In most cases, Warren acknowledges his (conservative evangelical) beliefs while declining to occupy the role of culture war pundit.

He expresses regret, for instance, about making a video for his church in which he elaborated on his views about gay marriage during the Prop 8 debate. Indeed, Gregory notes that Warren has been quite active on AIDS issues. He asks Warren if working with AIDS patients has caused Warren to think differently about homosexuality. A full quote of Warren's response here is appropriate:

Oh, oh, absolutely, much more sympathetic and understanding the pains and the reactions. I, I have understood that so many people today get stigmatized for different things. Now, of course, I have biblical beliefs on--about homosexuality. But when somebody's dying on the side of the road, you don't walk up to them and say, you know, "What's your nationality?" or, "What's your lifestyle?" or, "What's your, your gender preference?" or, you know, anything else. You just help the guy. And this is the, by the way, the difference--I was asked the other day about illegal immigration, things like that. The role of a pastor and the role of the government are different things. My role is to love everybody. I am called to love everybody. In fact, the Bible says love your enemies. I am forbidden to hate anyone, OK? So I can't--I am to love everybody. And if someone's hurting, I don't walk up and say, "Are you illegally here?" I just want to hurt--help the person. But the government does have a right to decide who's in and who's out and things like that.

This passage more accurately contextualizes the second quote repeated in the Newsweek article, reflecting not a laissez-faire neutrality about political things but a nuanced view about the separate roles of church and state, pastor and politician.

I would like to think this quote similarly contextualizes Warren's views about the proposed Ugandan bill. From what I know of Warren's convictions, he himself, personally, would be against this bill. But in his public statements, Warren maintains a separation of church and state. It is not appropriate, in his view, for him to express an opinion as a pastor on a matter of internal Ugandan politics.

I'm not sure I agree with this stance, particularly on this issue, particularly as other Christian groups and leaders have decided that vocal resistance to this bill is appropriate. I respect, however, the fact that his stance is more complex than it has been portrayed of late, and I regret that I joined in the chorus of condemnatory voices prior to having a fuller context.

More tomorrow,

JF