My Email to Rick Warren Regarding Proposition 8

Apparently, Rick Warren doesn't represent a new kind of Evangelical after all. In a video on his web site (provided at the bottom of this page), he uses the same hateful rhetoric used by Dobson and Perkins.

Here's the email:

    “We may not like to admit it, but when you leave God’s
design out of the argument, there’s really no reason any
longer to limit marriage to a man and a woman.”

Joel Belz
Publisher of the evangelical magazine "World"


Pastor, you are wrong on the facts - good on the talking points:

1. Unless you are relying on the debunked research of Paul
Cameron, the low end (Hunter College) is about 3% of the
population is gay or lesbian. There is general agreement
that the percentage of gays and lesbians is about 5% to 7%
of the population or about 15 to 20 million people. It's
irrelevant. If there were 100 gay people in the US, they
would deserve equal protection under the law. Statistics
cannot excuse bigotry.

2. The four judges did NOT defy the will of the people.
Legalizing gay marriage was passed in the legislature by
large margins - twice. Both times, it was vetoed. Unless
you don't subscribe to the notion that the people's elected
representatives reflect the will of the people then it was
the Governor who defied their will. Indeed, it is the job
of the judiciary to protect minorities from oppression.

3. While Senator Obama did say that he define marriage as the 
union of one man and one woman, you neglected to mention that 
he also said that he opposes Prop 8.

At the end of the day, Pastor, you are preaching hatred
based on scripture and the non sequitur of 5,000 years of
custom. Similar arguments have been used to support slavery
and banning inter-racial marriages. The published and peer
reviewed research is clear and conclusive; People have no
more control over sexual orientation than their eye color.
When you say that gay people are less equal than others,
you encourage hatred and give sanction to VIOLENCE. For the
damage you do to gay kids' self esteem you should be
ashamed of yourself!

I am deeply disappointed that you lacked the courage and
character to rise above the intolerance that has become
part of the culture of Evangelical Christians. A day will
surely come when you will be embarrassed by your lack of
good will. The paradigm that all should follow (Christian,
Jew, Muslim and atheist) is the "golden rule." Pastor, you
lost your way!