Rick Warren deserves some credit

There has been some division among religious right evangelicals recently over Rick Warren's invitation to speak regarding AIDS.

From the Washington Post:

When Rick Warren, one of the nation's most popular evangelical pastors, faced down right-wing pressure and invited Sen. Barack Obama to speak at a gathering at his Saddleback Valley Community Church about the AIDS crisis, he sent a signal: A significant group of theologically conservative Christians no longer wants to be treated as a cog in the Republican political machine.

Warren speaks for a new generation of evangelicals who think that harnessing religious faith too closely to electoral politics is bad for religion, and who are broadening the evangelical public agenda to include a concern for global poverty and the scourge of AIDS.

Warren is a conservative, but he is a conservative who is, apparently, willing to think for himself and not limit himself to a particular right-wing agenda.

The Pilgrim has been critical of the religious right, and stands by that criticism. Warren is an example, however, of someone with whom the Pilgrim may disagree on the issues, but appreciates for having a willingness to approach issues openly.

[Note: You can read Obama's speech to Warren's church here.]

GP