Rick Warren on Darfur

Last week, Pastor Rick Warren hosted John McCain and Barack Obama at the Saddleback Civil Forum. Afterwards, he talked to Jeffery Goldberg of The Atlantic about what he was hoping to accomplish at the forum.

The genocide in Darfur came up…

JG: Talk about one issue we’ve talked about before, genocide, and the American response to genocide. What are you, as a human, a Christian, and an American, commanded to do when you know a genocide is taking place, a documented genocide?

RW: In the Old Testament, it says that if you have the power to do something good, then you have to do it. You’re not to avoid helping somebody in their time of need. Shoot, the Torah says that if you find a cow in a ditch you’ve got to help it out. Even if it’s the enemy’s cow, you’ve got to help it out. We’ve got this compassion fatigue in America. It’s why we have a slow genocide going on in Darfur.

JG: So America has a duty to help.

RW: The answer is, we must do all we can. People say America is not the policeman of the world. We may not be, but the Bible says, if you have been blessed, then you are to care for people who can’t care for themselves, you are to speak up for people who can’t speak for themselves, and to defend the defenseless.

That’s right Mr. Warren, we must do all we can. When we met with our Orange County politicians last year, we heard repeatedly, how “we’re doing all we can”. And yet the genocide continues…

Are we doing all we can? Post your comments below.

– or –

Read the entire interview here.