Should Rick Warren Be Fired For His Position on Gay Partnerships?

Oh for the days when you kicked out for your view on the Trinity or the deity of Christ! Now we quibble over marriage. Sad, very sad!

I suspect they would fire Jesus for his stance on a lot of things, too. Why love your neighbors as yourself when you can manufacture reasons to keep them down?

Warren is right about divorce. being a much larger issue than whether gays marry.

To get equal rights such as health insurance from a partner's employer it would seem some kind of legal arrangement would be needed.

It does not matter what it is called gay people deserve equal treatment. If they want to call it marriage, it should be called marriage. They should have the right to visit a partner in a hospital and other decisions.

Men and women have not been very successful in marriage. Seems ironic that people want to act high and mighty about gays getting married.

Rick Warren said Gays marrying is akin to brothers and sisters marrying and an adult marrying a child. This is ridiculous, and really insulting to Homosexual people and their heterosexual parents and relatives. He should be fired from something after saying this. I have not resubscribed to Ladies Home Journal because he is a monthly writer. I do not like to have my friends and relatives insulted by anyone.

LutheranChik,

I was not intending Warren should actually be fired from anything.

I was merely using that as a provocative way (hopefully) of noting that Warren won't get in trouble for saying something that just got Cizik fired

Frankly, we should not be concerned with any person's opinion. If we are brutally honest with ourselves we can only come to one conclusion. GOD'S word does not support and can't be interpreted as supporting homosexual relationships. HE said it and that does it!!

I disagree, "Your Name". I can honestly and wholeheartedly assert that there are incidents of gay couples who weren't condemned in the Bible.

People like Warren and the other anti-homosexual supposed religious people turn people away from Jesus.

They also fill people with the ideas that is is acceptable to not love your neighbor as yourself.

Sarah Palin encouraged people to fear and hate Obama, yet because she does not believe in abortion any other behavior is acceptable.

My God does not accept their behavior.

Julie, you are sorely mistake as to what it means to "love your neighbor". What you don't understand is, Christians are supposed to agree with God concerning sin. God says that homosexuality is a sin. Christians have NO right to simply ignore God, or decide for ourselves that homosexuality is ok. It is not. I didn't make the determination on that. Do you think if God said homosexuality was okay, that Christians would be standing firm against the acceptance of this "lifestyle"? No!

Personally, I hate discussing this issue, I'd rather never speak of it again. I'm with Rick... I have no desire to squelch someone's rights under the Constitution. However, marriage is an institution that was *created* and *ordained* by God! He is the Author of marriage and has very, very clearly communicated to us what marriage is. It is the epitome of arrogance to consider that we know more about what is best than God.

Now, to Julie... many things turn people away from Jesus, and that is a GOOD THING sometimes. Some people don't want to accept Christ because they don't want to give up doing drugs, or they don't want to stop having sex before marriage, or they don't like the fact that Jesus said that people can only be saved by accepting Him as their savior. Should I then lie to people and tell them that Jesus said you can be saved by other "gods"? Should I pervert Christ's message so I don't "turn anyone away from Jesus"? No. As a matter-of-fact Jesus himself said that he would be a stumbling block, a rock that makes men stumble. He said that because people hated him, they will hate his believers. Is it strange, wrong or confusing as to why many people would be turned-off by God's rules concerning sexuality? Of course not! I am very, very proud that some of my beliefs turn people away from Jesus, if they didn't I'd know I was doing something wrong! I'm not a BIT happy that some are turned away, it HURTS my heart, but when someone turns away because they want to hang on to some sin there is no alternative to get them to not turn away without perverting God's word.

Should I tell a pedophile that God is ok with him having sex with 5-year-old children so I don't "turn him away from Jesus"? No, as a matter-of-fact God has commanded me to speak the truth and present the gospel of Christ in an uncompromising way. If people are turned away, so be it. I'm sorry they don't accept the truth, I would much rather they become my brother or sister in Christ, but I won't water down the message or pervert God's truth so I won't "turn people away from Jesus".

You say, "my God does not accept their behavior"... who is this God? Does your God accept pedophilia? Why do I mention pedophilia? To show that there are absolutes, to get you to acknowledge that there are some things that are wrong and can never be "ok", not to compare pedophiles with homosexuals (they are not the same). My point is, your God seems ok with homosexuality, and you are free to believe in this "God", but Jesus Christ and the Father are not "okay" with homosexuality and therefore I cannot be "okay" with it. I don't make any excuses or apologies for God's rejection of homosexuality as a lifestyle. I don't pick and choose what I'm going to agree with God concerning.

I do, however, believe that some Christians talk about this too much and some speak of homosexuals hatefully or cruelly and that is wrong and sinful. No Christian should be going on and on concerning this issue to the exclusion of other topics or trying to portray homosexuality as the "worst sin". Rick talked about the issue because he was asked, not because he felt it necessary to harp on the issue. Being gleefully judgmental or haughty is wrong and turning people away from Christ doing THAT is repugnant and wrong.

You also twist the meaning of "loving your neighbor". If I love someone, does that mean I condone anything they do? If I love someone, does that mean I am supposed to be okay with them committing murder? No. In fact, loving someone sometimes means NOT accepting their behavior. I knew someone who was abusing his wife and she came to me to talk to him. We weren't close friends and I didn't know what his beliefs were, and I didn't feel it was any of my business, and yet I had a person asking for my help. I didn't want to confront him, I felt I had sins of my own and I had no right to be judging him. I hated the thought of doing this, and yet (as I said) I had this person asking for my help. I didn't want to rebuke this guy, but I felt if I cared about him and her I had no choice. Loving him meant being willing to confront and rebuke him for his criminal treatment of his wife. By the same token, loving gay people means being willing to be honest about the fact that they are sinning against God and never being okay with trying to pervert God's law. This goes for ANY sin, not just homosexuality.

Christians also take stands against abortion, genocide, premarital sex, burglary, adultery, divorce, pedophilia, rape, and so on. The reason why the issue of homosexuality comes up so much is because gay people are FORCING the issue! If gay people weren't trying to get married, and pervert the will of God I doubt I'd ever TALK about gay people! It is an issue that gets talked about because there was a vote in California concerning gay marriage! Christians aren't "targeting" gay people, gay people are targeting specific things that Christians just disagree with and fight against. It's not fun or enjoyable, but that is what we are supposed to do.

I spoke out against premarital sex before I got married, when I was dating my (now) wife. Did I want to have sex with my girlfriend? YES. Did I speak out against premarital sex because I was a "premarital sexphobe"? No. I spoke out against it because God says it's WRONG, and I (try to) support what He says always. I don't speak out against homosexual marriage because I hate gays or because I feel superior in my heterosexuality. I do it because God says it's wrong and that's it.

I agree with Rick Warren, I support gay civil unions, I vehemently support gay people being treated equally concerning their civil rights. I have no problem with a gay person being able to give their money to whom they wish, visit in the hospital, and whatever rights that other citizens are guaranteed by the Constitution. As Rick says though, marriage isn't something that the government can suddenly reclassify. Marriage is ordained by God for one man and one woman and the government has no right to try to pervert that institution.

Rick is VERY right about gays using marriage as a way to gain approval. "What they desire is approval and validation from those who disagree with them, and they are willing to force it by law if necessary." He couldn't be more right, because they already have the same rights that marriage affords the husband and wife. When gay people try to force views that God says is wrong, then Christians must respond.

One thing is true, either the God of the Bible is the One, True God and Jesus Christ is His son and the propitiation for our sins, or it is not. Frankly it doesn't matter what "god" I want to believe in or what "god" you want to believe in, Julie. What matters is what is true. If the God of the Bible is the One, True God and Jesus Christ is His son and the propitiation for our sin, then we have no choice in how we are going to view homosexuality, heterosexuality or whatever. If He is God, then we must obey Him and accept His laws and commandments.

Julie, I hope you don't turn away from Christ, but if you do because you can't stand his views on gay marriage, then that is your choice. The Lord isn't going to change his mind to suit you, or anyone else, because He knows what is right and all good and perfect things come from the Lord, therefore His law that homosexuality is a sin is right and good and I can never water that down or pervert that message and no Christian EVER should.

It is good and right that some people are turned-off by Jesus, and it is good and right that some people are turned away from Jesus because of Christians accepting his law and standing up for what is right. It would be sad and wrong if Christians began to water down the message to suit people that don't like it because of their own sin. I'm not happy that some turn away, God grieves when they do, but if someone is turned away because they are clinging to sin in their life, then it's good that they are turned away... the alternative is lying and perverting God's message and laws and that is bad.

To the One Name commenter who said:

"Besides,what "God's word" says (or doesn't say) should have no bearing in a land that "promises" freedom of religion. In order for (your version of) "God's word" to have any influence on me in a free land, I would need to believe what you believe - and I don't."

This is a country that separates church from state, but not "God" from state. In fact, God is spoken of as the *author* of our rights in the Declaration of Independence - the founding document that directly impacted the writing of the Constitution. Consider the following words:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness".

Note what this says, that our rights are given us by our Creator and the government's job is to "secure these rights". The government is subservient to the rights given us by our Creator. The government did not give us our rights, which is a fundamental difference between our founding and any other country. In other places, governments give rights, here we have certain rights given us by our Creator and the government's job is to make sure it secures and doesn't interfere with our rights. The government didn't give us our rights and therefore cannot take away our rights. By the same token, the government did not give us marriage and cannot take marriage away from us. Our Creator gave us marriage and it is the government's job to make sure that this right is secured. To change the definition of marriage, to pervert the meaning is to destroy the right for those it was intended. Not everyone is guaranteed a share in a right. For example, there are laws concerning home owners, but not everyone is guaranteed a home. Not everyone is guaranteed marriage, but those that are married deserve that rigth to be kept pure.

Beth, your assertion that marriage has "four definitions" in American culture means... what? How exactly does it matter that in "American culture" marriage has many meanings? I'm sure you could find hundreds of meanings for marriage all across America if you wished. How exactly does that matter when the government attempts to redefine the legal meaning of marriage?

What we are talking about here is the *legal* definition of marriage, not the cultural one.

This country was founded on the principle that our Creator has endowed us with certain inalienable rights, among those are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Note that the forefathers said, "among those" not "these are all of them". In other words, we have more rights given us by the Creator besides the three they mentioned and one of those is marriage as defined by Him.

The government of this nation does not have the right to redefine marriage. In fact, the Declaration of Independence clearly states that ANY government is NOT the giver of rights... the Creator is. The government's job is to secure the rights the Creator has endowed us with. They may not interfere with our rights given and defined by the Creator.

When the government attempts to redefine the meaning of marriage, they are redefining it for ALL PEOPLE in this nation. This endeavor to change the meaning is a direct attempt to change the meaning of my marriage and all others (in this nation). It is not just about gay people and their relationships.

Because a judge didn't use the word "God" in your marriage procedure may mean your "marriage has nothing to do with religion", but it doesn't mean God has nothing to do with marriage in this country. The institution of marriage is infinitely older than the founding of this nation, as are many of our rights, and the founders were correct in saying that their job was to create a government that would not interfere with those rights, but secure them. They were right to say that our rights are not given by the government, but by God. One of those rights is marriage.

So, your marriage may not have anything to do with religion, but it most certainly has something to do with God, because marriage is a right endowed by the Creator. When I bought my home, God was no where on the legal documentation, but this country was founded on the principle that among my rights are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, rights given me by my Creator. Therefore, God most certainly has something to do with me buying a home as defined by our founding fathers.

Don't be confused by the separation of church and state, it doesn't mean a separation of God and state.

Just because a person doesn't use "God" in a ceremony doesn't mean God is not a part of it.

Quick reflection on this post. Warren's reasoning is articulate and right on, as well as historically and Scripturally sound. Just because Warren and Christians do not agree with the homosexual lifetsyle does not mean they are "intolerant bigots," just people who are convicted by their Faith (which is protected for free expression and practice, including their involvement in the public square) on this issue just like Christians are convicted about the immorality of adultery, pornography, child abuse, pedophilia, incest or any other sin.

Sullivan quickly showed his small mindedness of this issue and downplayed the possibility of speech restrictions concerning religious opposition to homosexuality as has already been seen in Canada, Britain, and Sweden. Sullivan, quit making a "straw man" out of Warren's argument; it only shows you lack of understanding of the Christian (which is a minority group with needed protections of speech and religion as well) perspective and your ignorant bias in the discussion.

George 'corrects' David only by replacing David's confusion with his own.

Yes, it says "by their Creator". That George got right. But then he departed into fantasy-land by ignoring how 'Creator' was interpreted for so many years in so many states, and pretending that today's stern secularism was the norm throughout our history. It was not.

Did Rick Warren approve gay marriages?and did he marry a guy couple?