Rick Warren, the renowned pastor and bestselling author of The Purpose Driven Life, has ignited a firestorm among Christians with his recent claim that Jesus Christ would be a political centrist today. His statement, shared on social media, was met with widespread criticism from Christian leaders and theologians who saw it as a misinterpretation of Scripture.

Warren, the founder of Saddleback Church, posted a tweet quoting John 19:18, which states, “They crucified Jesus with two others — one on each side & Jesus in the middle.” He then added, “The guys on both sides were thieves. 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.”

Many Christian leaders swiftly rejected Warren’s statement, arguing that it imposed a modern political framework onto biblical text.

Babylon Bee managing editor Joel Berry responded by highlighting a key flaw in Warren’s interpretation: “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.”

Theologian Justin Peters, known for his expository teaching ministry, strongly criticized Warren’s hermeneutics, calling the tweet “embarrassing” and “inexcusable.”

“This is, sadly, typical of Rick Warren’s approach to scripture,” Peters wrote. “Basic hermeneutics dictates that you strive for authorial intent, and this is definitively NOT the point the author was making.”

Others accused Warren of advocating a form of lukewarm Christianity that strays from biblical truth. Aaron Edwards, a theology lecturer, warned that Warren’s framing of Jesus as a centrist was a mischaracterization, stating, “Your Jesus sounds more like a lukewarm moderate in your own image.”

The debate intensified as some pastors argued that Warren’s call for moderation fails in today’s political climate. Pastor Ryan Visconti of Generation Church in Arizona questioned how a believer could remain “in the middle” on deeply moral issues such as abortion, gender ideology, and religious freedom.

“How would one be ‘in the middle’ on abortion, mutilating kids’ genitals, homosexuality, open borders, DEI, CRT, etc.? There’s no middle ground between evil and righteousness. Your approach made sense in 1990, but not today,” Visconti stated.

Eric Metaxas, a well-known author and podcast host, called Warren’s tweet “misleading posturing” and urged Christians to take a firm stand against moral corruption. “There is a time to be bold as lions against evil! That’s not ‘partisan.’ It’s the Lord’s will.”

Attorney Jenna Ellis went even further, tweeting that Warren should “be embarrassed to call yourself a pastor.”

“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 a historical fact into a symbolic meaning to serve your own ideological agenda,” Ellis wrote.

This is not the first time Warren has found himself at odds with the broader Christian community. His influence as one of America’s most well-known pastors has often been a subject of debate, particularly following the Southern Baptist Convention’s (SBC) decision to expel Saddleback Church in 2023. The denomination voted to remove the church due to its ordination of female pastors, a stance that conflicted with SBC doctrine.

William Wolfe, executive director at the Center for Baptist Leadership, expressed his ongoing disapproval of Warren’s theological positions: “With every post, Rick Warren proves the wisdom of Southern Baptists in kicking him out.”

Daily Wire reporter Megan Basham also attacked Warren’s influence, suggesting that his widespread popularity has contributed to a weak theological foundation in modern Evangelicalism. “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,” she noted.