Former Saddleback Church founder and pastor Rick Warren faced backlash on social media for suggesting that Jesus Christ would be a political centrist today, based on the fact that He was crucified between two thieves.
In a tweet on Tuesday, citing John 19:18, Warren stated, “They crucified Jesus with two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle. The guys on both sides were thieves.” He added, “If you’re looking for the #realJesus, not a caricature disfigured by partisan motivations, you’ll find him in the middle, not on either side.”
Several prominent Christian figures on X criticized Warren's interpretation of the biblical text. Babylon Bee managing editor Joel Berry remarked, “If you’re going to misuse the story this bad, you should also point out that the thief on the Right is the one that went to heaven lol.”
Justin Peters, who leads a worldwide expository preaching and teaching ministry, rebuked Warren's biblical interpretation, writing, “This is, sadly, typical of Rick Warren's approach to scripture. This would have been laughed out of biblical hermeneutics on day 1. Basic hermeneutics dictates that you strive for authorial intent, and this is definitively NOT the point the author was making. This is not only embarrassing, it is inexcusable.”
Aaron Edwards, a theology lecturer at Cliff College in Derbyshire, England, tweeted, “Your Jesus sounds more like a lukewarm moderate in your own image.”
Ryan Visconti, pastor of Generation Church in Arizona, argued that Warren's call for political moderation has become outdated and is impractical given current leftist policies. He stated, “How would one be 'in the middle' on abortion, mutilating kid’s genitals, homosexuality, open borders, DEI, CRT, etc? There’s no middle ground between evil and righteousness. You’re wrong, Pastor Rick. Your approach made sense in 1990, but not today.”
Author and podcast host Eric Metaxas called Warren’s tweet “misleading posturing.” He questioned, “What does it even mean? Shall we be 'in the middle' when it comes to standing against killing babies or mutilating kids or corruption in our own govt? There is a time to be bold as lions against evil! That's not 'partisan.' It's the Lord's will,” he wrote.
Attorney Jenna Ellis stated, “Jesus is not a moderate or 'in the middle' when it comes to truth. To characterize him as such simply because of the placement of his cross is perverting an historical fact into a symbolic meaning to serve your own ideological agenda.”
Megan Basham, author and Daily Wire reporter, responded to Ellis' tweet, saying, “It's so bad my jaw is on the floor.” She also suggested that Warren's influence over the Evangelical community may have contributed to its current theological weaknesses, stating, “The fact that this is the pastor from whom millions of Americans found spiritual guidance for years explains a lot about the state of our theology.”
In 2023, the Southern Baptist Convention upheld Saddleback Church's removal from the denomination for allowing a woman to serve as a teaching pastor, despite Warren's impassioned pleas.
