The Purpose Driven Death

Remember when the person who killed several in an Georgia courthouse escaped and then a recovering meth-addict convinced him to turn himself in, referencing the book, The Purpose Driven Life? Pastor Rick Warren's book, already a best-seller, became even more popular and he ended up moderating the debate in California between Obama and McCain concerning "evangelical issues."

Right now I am reading Robert Baer's excellent book, The Devil We Know, so Warren's comments to Sean Hannity about the "wisdom" of killing Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad strike me not only as stupid both militarily and diplomatically, but also an incredible considering they are coming from the mouth of an evangelical leader.

Appearing on Hannity and Colmes, Pastor Rick Warren said the following, as reported in the Washington Monthly:

Last night, on Fox News, Sean Hannity insisted that United States needs to "take out" Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Warren said he agreed. Hannity asked, "Am I advocating something dark, evil or something righteous?" Warren responded, "Well, actually, the Bible says that evil cannot be negotiated with. It has to just be stopped.... In fact, that is the legitimate role of government. The Bible says that God puts government on earth to punish evildoers. Not good-doers. Evildoers."

Reminds me of how much I love the comments of the wonderful Kurt Vonnegut, who wrote:

For some reason, the most vocal Christians among us never mention the Beatitudes. But, often with tears in their eyes, they demand that the Ten Commandments be posted in public buildings. And of course that’s Moses, not Jesus. I haven’t heard one of them demand that the Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes, be posted anywhere.

“Blessed are the merciful” in a courtroom? “Blessed are the peacemakers” in the Pentagon? Give me a break!

Not only do they not mention the Beatitudes, Kurt, they've now modernized and reinterpreted that rule about "Thou Shalt Not Kill." That doesn't apply if they're "evil."