Max Blumenthal: The Dark Side Of “America’s Pastor”

[The Night Owl]

A great article by Max Blumenthal...

The Dark Side Of “America’s Pastor”
Posted by Max in November 18th 2008

Here is how evangelical superstar Pastor Rick Warren described his philosophy this August: “I have never been considered a part of the religious right, because I don’t believe politics is the most effective way to change the world.”

The mainstream press has been almost universally eager to indulge his self-description. Nicholas Kristof, the New York Times columnist, called Warren “an evangelical liberals can love.” Newsweek named Warren one of fifteen “people who make America great.” And even The Nation published an article puffing Warren as “America’s Pastor,” a figure who “disassociates himself from the religious right, noting that he shares its position on social issues but doesn’t want to focus on them. He focuses on poverty, disease and aid to Africa.”

Even the public relations firms responsible for burnishing Warren’s image seem mystified by the press’s worshipful portrayal of their client.

...

But his tolerant image is belied by what he says on Sunday.

...

http://maxblumenthal.com/2008/11/the-dark-side-of-americas-pastor

[Rabrrrrrr]

1. Rick Warren is a heretical pile of shit, and not a Christian, and he's dangerous.

The press goes after him because the press, for the last 30-40 years, has been absolutely fucking clueless about what Christianity is, and so have reported on it shittily and ignorantly because they've let Republicans and evangelical shitbags like Warren, Dobson, Falwell, and whatnot (thanks, Reagan, you piece of shit, for that) define for America what Christianity looks like, even though not a single fucking one of those miserable, cancerous, evil shitpots has any relation whatsoever, except through taxonomy, with the historical Church.

They offer a purely bastardized, Americanized, secularized, asshole-ized version of Christianity that bears as much resemblance to Jesus' movement as my ass does to Audrey Hepburn.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

5. Amen, Rabrrrrrr!

I get tired of explaining that no, I'm not THAT kind of a Christian.

My pet peeve is the way these show biz charlatans and fronts for right wing politics have appropriated the name "Christian" exclusively for themselves and their ilk, excluding Catholics, Orthodox, Lutherans, Episcopalians, UCCs, and others who belong to actual historical denominations.

[Rabrrrrrr]

6. Thank you!

I've been tempted to write a book with a title something like "Let's get back to real Christianity" or "Why the Religious Right is so fucking dangerous and wrong you should be shitting your pants in fear right now".

Okay, maybe not the latter, but certainly the former.

Fer fuck's sake, it was the Congregationalists and the Episcopalians (Anglicans, anyway) who founded this country. If America belongs to anyone, it belongs to US - not Warren and those evil cancerous fucknobs.

[dsomuah]

2. If this guy is America's pastor, how come I've never heard of him

Then again I don't pay too much attention to the clergy. Too many of them are corrupt, out of touch people who don't practice what they preach.

[Democrats_win]

3. Where's that "toe on the fine line" DUer when you need him?

On the one hand, it looks like he didn't give money to h8. On the other, should he comment on an election issue?

The point of elections in America is that people get to decide. Churches, by being a part of our society implicitly agree with that. So why would they "sin" and work against our democratic ideals? In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells his followers to honor their commitments. (Churches do make commitments to the government.) Wouldn't it be more honest if the church worked against democracy first? Then they could make the rules as they see fit in a theocracy?

This hypocrisy is why the Bible describes false religion as a Harlot riding on the back of a beast, which is a metaphor for government. False religion benefits from our government, they insert themselves in our elections and they don't help support it by paying taxes. Harlots taking a free ride on the government's back.

[nichomachus]

4. Who the hell made him America's pastor

He's just an opportunistic, self-serving piece of shit.

[foxfeet]

7. America's village idiots.

Who else?

[Rabrrrrrr]

8. A media who doesn't have a fucking clue how to report on religion.

Not just Christianity, either - but any religion at all.

[Liberal_in_LA]

9. most of these Pastors are closet hate mongers. Thanks for the article.

[Initech]

10. Funny since his stance on Prop h(8) would have grouped him in w/ the right.