As the flap over President-elect Barack Obama's choosing Pastor Rick Warren to conduct the invocation at his inauguration continues, it seems that Warren's church has taken steps to cover up its homophobic stance.
Saddleback Church once had language on its website explicitly stating that "unrepentant" gays and lesbians were not welcome. "Because membership in a church is an outgrowth of accepting the Lordship and leadership of Jesus in one's life, someone unwilling to repent of their homosexual lifestyle would not be accepted as a member at Saddleback Church," the website said, according to a screen shot acquired by AmericaBlog. "That does not mean they cannot attend church -- we hope they do! God's Word has the power to change our lives."
The language has since been stripped, but AmericaBlog was able to find the old language using Google's cache, which archives older versions of existing Web pages. A spokesperson for Saddleback told Advocate.com on Tuesday that the wording has been repurposed and not completely removed. On a page answering questions about the Bible, an audio recording by Saddleback associate pastor Tom Holladay says that the definition of marriage is made clear in the book of Genesis. The recording also says that people who engage in "sexual sins," such as homosexuality or adultery, cannot be a part of the church, and says that those practices are not taught in the Bible. It does say, however, that anyone can "attend," which is different from being a "member of the church." (Michelle Garcia, Advocate.com)
