Apparently, Rick Warren, the pastor of Saddleback Church has a way with words. The Los Angeles Times, in a story on the upcoming Civil Forum for Obama and McCain at the megachurch, reports his assessment of the presumptive major party nominees as follows:

"America has a choice. It's not between a stud and a dud this year," Warren said. "Both of these men care about America. My job is to let them share their views."

His use of the word "choice" alone may have been enough to set some evangelicals on edge and prompt them to protest the Saturday evening event (slated to be covered by CNN at 5:00PM, PDT and streamed on the web, courtesy of KDOC and the Orange County Register).

Though, to be honest, it's hard to credit what people who come forward under the headings, "Operation Rescue" and "Survivors of the Abortion Holocaust," say, since they obviously don't know what they're talking about.

There's also a bit of confusion here about the relationship between cause and effect. If their object is to

"stand for life and expose Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama,"

it seems designed to fail. Surely they know that, even if the security detail let them get close enough, Obama doesn't need them to expose his lively side.

But, if the Times report that

Many evangelicals believe that Warren's growing profile, and his willingness to welcome Obama to his pulpit, are evidence that he has emerged as the most pivotal figure in U.S. evangelicalism.

is accurate, the confusion of cause and effect seems widespread. Hosting presidential aspirants is evidence of nothing; other than a modest ambition, without which no pastor or preacher is likely to get into the pulpit to begin with. Promise a good time and put on a good show and people will come.

On the other hand, if Bob DeWaay, an evangelical minister in Minnesotta, claiming that

"We have a message about how people get right with God, not about how the world is going to get rid of its problems,"

has got it straight, then, no question, Warren's message is bound to be more attractive. The suggestion that God creates problems to drive people into the fold, replacing the threat of hell-fires and eternal damnation of old, is hardly good news.

It might, however, give the war-mongers and destroyers and lobbers of bombs a pass. Indeed, if they listen to DeWaay, then the agents of mayhem and destruction, spreading fear around the globe, might even see themselves as doing God's work.

Is that why John McCain has promised that there are going to be more wars?