Too much combativeness?

I was extremely skeptical about the Obama/McCain appearnace at Saddleback, just as I remain skeptical about the "seeker-sensitive" approach taken by that church. But Warren did very well with the candidates, and, thinks Peter Wehner, he has a better appraoch to politics than many who have been identified as the "religious right":

...[B]ecause of the tone, grace, and sensibilities with which he approaches politics, Warren is replacing the "religious right" model with a new, better, and, I think, more Christ-based paradigm.

.... Warren’s effort to move evangelical Christians away from what he calls the "combativeness" of the religious right is welcome and long overdue. ....

At the same time, there is a tendency for the mainstream media to exaggerate how much the evangelical community is shifting in its attitudes on key political issues and its worldview. According to Warren, "A lot of people hear [about a broader agenda] and they think, 'Oh, evangelicals are giving up on believing that life begins at conception.' They’re not giving up on that at all. Not at all."

When asked about the assertion that the Democratic party is changing its abortion platform, Warren replies, "Window dressing. Too little, too late." And when asked about the opposite claim by the Rev. Jim Wallis, Warren is admirably honest and dismissive. "Jim Wallis is a spokesman for the Democratic party," according to Warren. "His book reads like the party platform."

.... After having attended a recent gathering at the Aspen Institute, for example, Warren commented that many secular liberals there thought "the answer to everything was a government program."

Warren begs to differ, and the remarkable work of Saddleback Church is the best evidence he can amass to prove his case. ....

A passionate commitment to issues has sometimes led Christians in the public square to demonize those with whom they disagree, which has badly harmed their witness. ....

Rick Warren, along with Tim Keller and some others, are helping evangelical Christians to again be associated with intellectual and moral seriousness and fidelity to their faith. That is very good for Christianity, and very good for America.

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