{"id":2402214,"date":"2025-02-13T10:17:01","date_gmt":"2025-02-13T15:17:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/rick-warren-called-out-for-twisting-scripture-to-make-political-point-you-should-be-embarrassed-to-call-yourself-a-pastor\/"},"modified":"2025-02-13T10:18:18","modified_gmt":"2025-02-13T15:18:18","slug":"rick-warren-called-out-for-twisting-scripture-to-make-political-point-you-should-be-embarrassed-to-call-yourself-a-pastor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/rick-warren-called-out-for-twisting-scripture-to-make-political-point-you-should-be-embarrassed-to-call-yourself-a-pastor\/","title":{"rendered":"Rick Warren Called Out for Twisting Scripture to Make Political Point: &#8216;You Should Be Embarrassed to Call Yourself a Pastor&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">40<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Frick-warren-called-out-for-twisting-scripture-to-make-political-point-you-should-be-embarrassed-to-call-yourself-a-pastor%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2402214&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Rick \u2062Warren, a pastor at\u2062 Saddleback Church and \u200dauthor of &#8220;The Purpose-Driven Life,&#8221; is criticized for using scripture to <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">support political viewpoints<\/a> that many\u2062 believe do not \u200balign with biblical principles. \u200cThe controversy\u200c arose when he referenced \u200cthe crucifixion of Jesus, positioning Him as a centrist figure in modern \u200dpolitics.\u200c Warren stated that Jesus, crucified between two thieves, represents a \u2063<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/historic-significance-of-georgia-senate-contests\/\" title=\"Historic Significance of Georgia Senate Contests\">middle ground<\/a> amidst political divides. Critics argue that this\u200c interpretation misrepresents the Bible&#8217;s teachings and oversimplifies complex moral issues, such as abortion and gender identity. They emphasize that Jesus&#8217; teachings \u200bare not about finding a \u200ccompromise but about adhering to eternal truths that do not conform to fluctuating political opinions. the debate centers on the appropriateness of applying scripture \u2062to contemporary political discussions and the authenticity of presenting Jesus as a moderate figure.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_0)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_1)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church in California and author of the best-selling &ldquo;The Purpose-Driven Life,&rdquo; is one of those preachers who more than occasionally tries to twist scripture to fit specific American political issues that it doesn&rsquo;t pertain to.<\/p>\n<p>Warren isn&rsquo;t the worst, mind you; instead of insufferably woke, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/rick-warrens-saddleback-church-expelled-southern-baptist-convention-deemed-not-friendly-cooperation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Warren<\/a> tries to cast himself as a neither-here-nor-there moderate who will work with anyone. Which is fine at a personal level, but using the Bible to try to justify it is, well, unjustifiable.<\/p>\n<p>As if you needed more reminding of this, he&rsquo;s now under fire for using Jesus&rsquo; crucifixion as a metaphor for American politics &mdash; by pointing out what position Jesus&rsquo; cross was&nbsp;<em>in<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>The post on X referenced <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=John%2019%3A16-18&amp;version=ESV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">John 19:16-18<\/a>, from the English Standard Version:<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;So they took Jesus, and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>Warren sees something here that&rsquo;s completely unbiblical, but he thought he&rsquo;d  it anyway: &ldquo;The guys on both sides were thieves,&rdquo; he wrote.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;If you&rsquo;re looking for the #realJesus, not a caricature disfigured by partisan motivations, you&rsquo;ll find him in the middle, not on either side.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">John 19:18 &ldquo;They crucified Jesus with two others-one on each side &amp; Jesus in the middle.&rdquo;<br \/> The guys on both sides were thieves.<\/p>\n<p>If you&rsquo;re looking for the <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/realJesus?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#realJesus<\/a>, not a caricature disfigured by partisan motivations, you&rsquo;ll find him in the middle, not on either side. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/wYmLyayqsZ\">pic.twitter.com\/wYmLyayqsZ<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Rick Warren (@RickWarren) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RickWarren\/status\/1889372484375634175?\">February 11, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Now, it&rsquo;s worth noting that the idea of a political &ldquo;spectrum&rdquo; &mdash; and a center in there &mdash; dates from nearly 1,800 years after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/true-jesus-dispelling-liberal-myths-misperceptions-part-one\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Jesus&rsquo; death<\/a>, where royalists sat on the right side of the French National Assembly and the radicals on the left side.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, if this metaphor is truly biblical, it holds true throughout Christian history &mdash; which is to say that, when faced with French revolutionaries responsible for the Reign of Terror, the mass executions of holy men, and the stated goal of de-Christianizing all of France, Warren is saying that Jesus is to be found in the middle ground. (&ldquo;Perhaps you can kill just <em>half<\/em> the priests you&rsquo;re planning on drowning at Nantes, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.worldhistory.org\/Drownings_at_Nantes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Mr. Jean-Baptiste Carrier<\/a>? That&rsquo;s where Jesus would be found, after all. Say, why are you dragging me by my elbow over toward that guillotine?&rdquo;)<\/p>\n<p>However, even if you want to point out that the left-right-center continuum has hung on long past the Jacobins&rsquo; shelf life and we&rsquo;re not Marie Antoinette-ing anyone these days, it&rsquo;s still a lousy take. To say there are&nbsp;<em>no<\/em> issues in American public life that have religious implications that can&rsquo;t be solved by centrism is foolishness, and it doesn&rsquo;t take one long to find more than a few:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Jesus would&rsquo;ve been nowhere near the middle on abortion and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/caitlyn-jenner-rules-out-running-for-governor-amidst-california-recall-effort\/\" title=\"Caitlyn Jenner Rules Out Running For Governor Amidst California Recall Effort\">transgender issues<\/a>, just to name a few. Terrible and misleading take.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Nick Hollingsworth (@HollingsworthN_) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/HollingsworthN_\/status\/1889696626870001878?\">February 12, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Moreover, there&rsquo;s the issue of &ldquo;authorial intent,&rdquo; as evangelist Justin Peters noted:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">This is, sadly, typical of Rick Warren&rsquo;s approach to scripture. This would have been laughed out of biblical hermeneutics on day 1. Basic hermeneutics dictates that you strive for authorial intent, and this is definitively NOT the point the author was making. This is not only&hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/PJCpLeooyS\">https:\/\/t.co\/PJCpLeooyS<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Justin Peters (@JustinPetersMin) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JustinPetersMin\/status\/1889714251998306536?\">February 12, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>And then there&rsquo;s the idea of what the &ldquo;middle&rdquo; is, anyway. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/super-bowl-quarterbacks-publicly-praise-jesus-media-event-lord-savior\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Jesus<\/a> is an unchanging rock of truth. No <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/keystone-gop-gubernatorial-hopeful-mastriano-thrilled-to-rally-with-desantis\/\" title=\"Keystone GOP Gubernatorial Hopeful Mastriano Thrilled to Rally with DeSantis\">political middle<\/a> anywhere &mdash; and certainly not in America &mdash; is static. Ergo, Jesus &mdash; the Son of the unchanging, eternal Lord &mdash; is tied to something that changes by the week by one of America&rsquo;s most prominent pastors:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">This is an example of proof texting scripture so badly that you should be embarsssed to call yourself a pastor.<\/p>\n<p>Jesus is not a moderate or &ldquo;in the middle&rdquo; when it comes to truth. To characterize him as such simply because of the placement of his cross is perverting an historical&hellip;<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Jenna Ellis &#128010; (@realJennaEllis) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/realJennaEllis\/status\/1889677681081610641?\">February 12, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Psst the middle is always moving. You can&rsquo;t find truth there. Truth doesn&rsquo;t move.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Megan Basham (@megbasham) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/megbasham\/status\/1889685822204489787?\">February 12, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>No, truth doesn&rsquo;t move &mdash; but Rick Warren <a href=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/2023\/02\/saddleback-church-southern-baptist-sbc-disfellowship-female\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">can and will<\/a>, depending on the moment. He&rsquo;s a man who too often chases relevancy and feels as if his guiding prophet is not the Lord but Bob Dylan: &ldquo;You don&rsquo;t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>There&rsquo;s a salient point to be made in not making politics your god, because all human gods fail, but this certainly isn&rsquo;t that point &mdash; because not only does it do <em>just that<\/em> (the middle is as much of a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/assanges-fiance-if-i-could-speak-to-the-president-i-would-tell-him-julians-liberty-and-the-liberty-of-the-united-states-hang-together\/\" title=\"Assange\u2019s Fianc\u00e9: \u2018If I Could Speak to the President, I Would Tell Him Julian\u2019s Liberty and the Liberty of the United States Hang Together\u2019\">political position<\/a> as anywhere, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/southern-baptist-convention-rejects-rick-warrens-attempt-defy-statement-faith-confirms-churchs-expulsion\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pastor Warren<\/a>), it also insinuates that God cannot be part of our politics.<\/p>\n<p>Jesus&rsquo; own words prove the folly of this. From <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Matthew%206%3A19-21&amp;version=ESV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Matthew 6<\/a>: &ldquo;Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Not only are God and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/trump-sworn-using-2-different-special-bibles\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">His Word<\/a> supposed to permeate every area of our life and every decision we make &mdash; public and private &mdash; remember the question posed by the writer of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=psalm%2094&amp;version=ESV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Psalm 94<\/a>: &ldquo;Can wicked rulers be allied with you, those who frame injustice by statute? They band together against the life of the righteous and condemn the innocent to death.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>And in this case, we can take this quite literally: Wicked rulers condemn the most innocent among us, the unborn, to death. Rick Warren urges us to find some middle ground. Again, I ask: Condemn&nbsp;<em>half<\/em> the innocent to death?<\/p>\n<p>Or maybe he should listen to the other prophet he seems to follow, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/bob-dylan-became-fbi-target-started-kennedy-assasination\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Mr. Dylan<\/a>, when he wrote &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/genius.com\/Bob-dylan-property-of-jesus-lyrics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Property of Jesus<\/a>&rdquo; after being born again: &ldquo;Say he&rsquo;s out of step with reality as you try to test his nerve \/ Because he doesn&rsquo;t pay tribute to the king that you serve.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! 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While he may not be the most extreme example, Warren positions himself as a moderate willing to collaborate with anyone. However, using the Bible to justify this stance is problematic. Recently, he faced criticism for likening Jesus&#8217; crucifixion to American politics by referencing John 19:16-18 and suggesting that Jesus was positioned in the middle between two thieves. He stated that if one seeks the &#8220;real Jesus,&#8221; they would find him in a neutral position rather than on either side of political divides.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s important to note that the concept of a political spectrum emerged nearly 1,800 years after Jesus&#8217; death during events like the French Revolution. If Warren&#8217;s metaphor were truly biblical, it would imply that Jesus occupies a middle ground even amidst historical atrocities committed by revolutionaries against Christians\u2014an absurd notion.<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, claiming there are no religiously significant issues in American public life solvable through centrism is misguided; for instance, it&#8217;s unlikely Jesus would have taken a neutral stance on topics like abortion or transgender rights.<\/p>\n<p>Critics argue that Warren&#8217;s interpretation lacks proper understanding of scriptural intent and fails basic hermeneutical principles. They emphasize that truth does not shift based on political climates; thus portraying Jesus as moderate due to his crucifixion placement distorts historical context.<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, while it&#8217;s valid to avoid making politics an idol since all human ideologies can fail, urging people toward centrist views overlooks how God&#8217;s teachings should influence every aspect of life\u2014including public policy\u2014especially when it comes to protecting vulnerable populations like unborn children<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2402215,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Rick-Warren.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[6733,14117,5894,50307,18178],"class_list":["post-2402214","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-controversy","tag-pastor","tag-politics","tag-rick-warren","tag-scripture"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Rick-Warren.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2402214","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2402214"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2402214\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2402222,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2402214\/revisions\/2402222"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2402215"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2402214"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2402214"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2402214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}