New Bottle, but Same Old Wine

Somehow, I missed the memo about how Rick Warren was a new breed of evangelical who wasn't as dogmatic and extreme to the classic Jerry Falwell-type model. He may talk a more casual game, but I don't see the difference in substance between him and the old-line Moral Majority standard bearers. His forum with the presidential candidates was tainted by accusations of favoritism toward McCain and even cheating to give McCain a leg up. In an interview with Cynthia McFaddin after the forum, when asked whether he could vote for either candidate, Warren responded, "I don't know. I don't know if that's a good question to ask." Well, it's an excellent question if one is masquerading as an objective mediator without preexisting bias.

A bit over a week ago, Warren was spending some quality time with Sean Hannity and opined that attacking Iran would essentially be a just war. In a discussion of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Warren said, "The Bible says that God puts government on earth to punish evildoers." No one seemed to mention the fact that Ahmadinejad is actually a representative of his own government--perhaps God made a mistake with the government of Iran.

It's not quite clear what the November election will mean for the religious right, but we can only hope that, among other things, it will relegate leaders like Rick Warren, who are angling for greater mainstream acceptance, to the margins where they belong.