Rick Warren: An Inexact Analogy | Newsweek Religion

Christian Soldiers
Kathryn Joyce 6/19/2009 12:00:00 AM
Ever since former president George W. Bush referred to the war on terror as a “crusade” in the days after the September 11 attacks, many have charged that the United States was conducting a holy war, pitting a Christian America against the Muslim world. That perception grew as prominent military leaders such as Lt. Gen. William Boykin described the wars in evangelical terms, casting the U.S. military as the "army of God." Although President Obama addressed the Muslim world this month in an attempt to undo the Bush administration's legacy of militant Christian rhetoric that often antagonized Muslim countries, several recent stories have framed the issue as a wider problem of an evangelical military culture that sees spreading Christianity as part of its mission.
POLITICS
One Nation Under God?
Daniel Stone 4/7/2009 12:00:00 AM
A nation facing problems of biblical proportions appears to be looking less and less to religion for answers. According to a new NEWSWEEK Poll, the percentage of Americans who think faith will help answer all or most of the country's current problems dipped to a historic low of 48 percent, down from 64 percent in 1994.
REINVENTING THE GOP
Gingrich: It’s Not About The Base
Eleanor Clift 3/7/2009 12:00:00 AM
Newt Gingrich retired from government in 1999, but with his party in disarray, he's back to help sort through the GOP's conflicting opinions on how to rebuild. Gingrich, who now heads the conservative think tank American Solutions, has started talking to gain support for his own broad vision, which is to include more people by building new party ideas from the bottom, rather than the top. If done right, he thinks there's no reason the Republicans can't regain control of Congress as soon as 2010. NEWSWEEK's Eleanor Clift asked Gingrich what those new ideas might be, and where the party is headed. Excerpts:
Choosing A Church
Eleanor Clift 12/19/2008 12:00:00 AM
There shouldn't be any suspense, really, about whether Barack Obama will use his full name when he takes the oath of office. Still, there was such sensitivity during the campaign about his middle name that reporters were apt to wonder how he would handle this delicate moment. Not delicate at all, he has said. He would do what is customary, which means that Chief Justice John Roberts will administer the oath to Barack Hussein Obama. Three names evocative of lands and cultures distant from Washington will send a powerful signal to the world that this is the dawning of a New America.
SOCIETY
The Silent Issue
Lisa Miller 11/3/2008 12:00:00 AM
It's abortion, stupid. For conservative Christians in this election the most important religious issue isn't gay marriage, stem-cell research or Christmas trees on courthouse lawns. It is abortion (as it has been for at least the past 35 years, since the Supreme Court ruled on Roe v. Wade). When they walk into the voting booth on Tuesday, can they look beyond their fundamental, conscience-driven opposition to abortion as a moral evil? Do they want to? If yes, they may vote for Sen. Barack Obama. If not, they will, despite any reservations, vote for Sen. John McCain.
The Myth of the Evangelical Voting Bloc
Lisa Miller 11/30/2007 12:00:00 AM
Rick Warren, the influential pastor of the Saddleback megachurch in Orange County, Calif., invited eight presidential candidates to speak at his third annual "Global Summit on AIDS and the Church," but only Hillary Clinton came. (Five other candidates made appearances via pretaped video.) Clinton's speech at the church on Thursday—laced abundantly with Scripture and promises of billions of dollars of support for the international AIDS crisis—triggered accusations that she was crassly pandering to evangelicals. Warren, meanwhile, continues to stake out a position firmly in the middle, deflecting criticism from his more conservative peers that such invitations (Barack Obama was one of last year's speakers) betray a disregard for some Christian fundamental values. Pro-choice Democrats, they say, have no place inside evangelical churches. No matter: at Saddleback yesterday, Clinton was given a standing ovation. NEWSWEEK's Lisa Miller spoke with Warren about religion, politics and the race for president. Excerpts: