Who won last night's somewhat odd, informal Presidential debate at Saddleback Church? That's easy enough to answer.

The clear winner was Rick Warren. Last night's proceedings kept Warren in the spotlight at all times and will certainly help move even more copies of his books off the shelves at your local Wal-Mart.

People simply don't want to read real theology anymore. Real theology is challenging. It's demanding. It usually robs the reader of his or her sense of comfort. People don't want that. They want simple, feel-good Hallmark Card messages. They don't want to be challenged. They want to be comforted with neat little button-down books. Today's "Christian reader" wants Rick Warren, Max Lucado, Rob Bell and Joel Olsteen. Those guys grind out books that are safe, easy to digest and nonthreatening to the modern lifestyle. Today's "Christian reader" has probably never even heard of Thomas a Kempis, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Thomas Aquinas, Augustine of Hippo ... and if they know anything at all about C.S. Lewis, it's only that he wrote a few children's stories.

So I'm sure that last night's televised festivities will help Rick Warren move a few more copies of The Purpose Driven Life and The Purpose Driven Cook Book and The Purpose Driven Do It Yourself Home Repair Guide and whatever else he has jam-packed into those free-standing cardboard displays at your local Wal-Mart.

Congratulations, Pastor Rick Warren, on your big marketing victory last night.

Oh, and, by the way, both of the men who are running for President were there, too.

Nobody should be surprised by this, but John McCain answered Warren's questions with short, clear, direct answers. Whereas Barack "The Chosen One" Obama relied on his usual ability to talk himself around a question, say a lot of things that sound really cute but don't mean anything, and generally hem and haw.

For instance, here's John McCain on abortion:

And here's Obama on abortion:

So if you want a President who believes that abortion on demand is wrong and is willing to say so, you can plan to vote for John McCain. In fact, the National Review believes that McCain carried the night.

Or, if you want a President who doesn't really say anything important at all, doesn't risk offending anyone, but instead just kinda paints with words, ending up with an abstract that doesn't really tell you anything but sure makes you feel good, you can vote for Obama. Or, I suppose, you could vote for Rick Warren.

Labels: Faith, News, Obama Watch, Politics, You Tube