Left: Warren on Larry King’s show this week; right: Warren’s statement endorsing Prop 8 last October

On CNN’s Larry King show this week, megachurch preacher Rick Warren tried to rewrite the history of his opposition to gay marriage and his support of anti-gay Proposition 8 in his home state of California last year.

Lie #1: I Never Issued a Statement Or Endorsed Prop 8

On the King show, Warren said he was “not an anti-gay marriage activist,” and then made two patently false statements about his public pronouncements on gay issues. First he said:

During the whole Proposition 8 thing, I never once went to a meeting, never once issued a statement, never — never once even gave an endorsement in the two years Prop 8 was going.

Warren is wrong about the timeframe. Prop 8 was launched in early 2008 and was over in November, not "two years."

But he was not merely misspeaking when he said he’d “never once issued a statement, never — never once even gave an endorsement” on Prop 8. That was a lie. Here’s a statement from Warren about Prop 8 (see video above on the left) that he videotaped in October:

By the way, the election’s coming up in a couple weeks and I hope you’re praying about your vote. One of the propositions, of course, that I want to mention is Proposition 8 which is the proposition that had to be instituted because the court threw out the will of the people. And a court of four guys actually, voted to change a defintion of marriage that has been going for 5,000 years.

Now, let me just say this really clearly "We support Proposition 8." And if you believe what the Bible says about marriage, you need to support Proposition 8. I never support a candidate but on moral issues I come out very clear.

This is one thing, friends, that all politicians tend to agree on. Both Barack Obama and John McCain, I flat out asked both of them "What is your definition of marriage?" They both said the same thing. It is the traditional, historic, universal definition of marriage: one man and one woman, for life. And every culture for 5,000 years, and every religion for 5,000 years has said the definition of marriage is between one man and a woman.

Now, here’s an interesting thing. Just, there are about 2 percent of Americans who are homosexual or gay-lesbian people. We should not let 2 percent of the population to change the definition of marriage that has been supported by every single culture and every single religion for 5,000 years.

This is not just a Christian issue. It’s a humanitarian and human issue that God created marriage for the purpose of family, love and procreation. So I urge you to support Proposition 8 and pass that word on.

Couple of things: 5,000 years ago, the standard practice of marriage was polygamy. In fact, Abraham, the father of Judaism, Christianity and Islam was a polygamist, as were other many other major Old Testament figures.

Secondly, Alfred Kinsey, the pioneering sex researcher, said his studies show that around 10 percent, not 2 percent, of the population is gay. In any case, if gay people are only 2 percent, then why all the fuss? If gays are so insignificant why does it matter so much?

Lie #2: I Never Equated Homosexuality with Pedophilia And Incest

Warren lied a second time on the King show when he claimed he’d never equated homosexuality with pedophilia and incest:

…I was asked a question that made it sound like I equated gay marriage with pedophilia and incest — which I absolutely do not believe. And I actually denounced that…

Here’s what he said last December:

RICK WARREN: But the issue to me is, I’m not opposed to that as much as I’m opposed to the redefinition of a 5,000-year definition of marriage. I’m opposed to having a brother and sister be together and call that marriage. I’m opposed to an older guy marrying a child and calling that a marriage. I’m opposed to one guy having multiple wives and calling that marriage.

STEVEN WALDMAN: Do you think, though, that they are equivalent to having gays getting married?

RICK WARREN: Oh I do. …

What an astounding bunch of hooey. Has Pastor Rick lost his mind? Or do right-wingers know that they’ll never be called on their lies by Fox News, so they’re followers will never know it?

H/t: Jude