“Be confident of this:He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the Day of Christ Jesus”Ph.1:6
— Rick Warren (@RickWarren) August 23, 2012
The self-appointed “faith-monger” in America has just – surprise! – canceled the Faith Forum he was supposed to hold this weekend because the campaign, in Warren’s view, has become too uncivil. Rick Warren is far too principled to descend into this unseemly gutter. Why, it’s giving him the vapors:
It would be hypocritical to pretend civility for one evening only to have the name-calling return the next day.
But one simple question: wouldn’t a completely innocuous conversation with Romney and then Obama separately over a couple of hours be a way to actually defuse the name-calling or directly challenge both men to defend it in the context of their faiths? Since when does a Christian stomp off the stage with a hissy fit when there is peace-making to do?
Or is Warren doing what he always does: ponce around America purporting to be an apolitical missionary, while doing everything he can to ensure the GOP’s fundamentalist agenda – which is his too – is enacted? I was staggered this intense Republican partisan was ever prepared to expose his evangelical audience – and a more general one – to 50 minutes of discussion of Mormonism with Romney – and thought much better of him as a result. But the current cancellation gets Warren everything he wanted: a self-righteous harrumph, success in keeping Mormonism from being discussed in this race, and setting up his real campaign event: a September forum on how Obama is attacking everyone’s religious freedom.
The Dish 