Saddleback Church pastor Rick Warren reportedly suffered an injury due to a “firestick plant” while gardening, according to tweets he sent to his followers requesting prayers.

Warren was said to be in such pain from the firestick plant attack that he was initially unable to convey the details of his injuries to his wife:

“Apparently some of the milky poisonous sap from the plants had penetrated his gloves and made contact with his hands,” said Saddleback spokeswoman Kristin Cole. “He wiped over his eyes.”

Warren tweeted initially:

My eyes were severely burned by a toxic poison.Hospitalized Mon.Excruciating pain.Now home.Pray my sight loss is restored

This apparently alarmed some of his followers, because he added:

A doctor put protective contacts on my corneas as bandages during the healing. I am NOT blind. Thank you.

The Saddleback Church spokeswoman clarified Warren’s condition, but says the firestick plant related injury is not expected to be permanent:

“It did do some damage to the cornea, kind of like a chemical burn,” Cole said. “But the cornea can repair itself.”

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Pastor Rick Warren reportedly blinded by firestick plant is a post from: The Inquisitr

President-elect Barack Obama has defended his decision to invite Pastor Rick Warren, an opponent of gay marriage rights, to deliver the invocation at his Inauguration in January.

The choice of Warren has outraged GLBT, liberals and moderate religious leaders due to Warren’s role in supporting Proposition 8, and his anti-abortion stance.

At a Chicago press conference, Obama said he was a “fierce advocate for equality for gay and lesbian Americans” but said it’s important for people who disagree on social issues to work together.

“We’re not going to agree on every single issue, but what we have to do is be able to create an atmosphere … where we can disagree without being disagreeable and then focus on those things that we hold in common as Americans,” Obama said.

Warren’s more extreme views include a belief that abortion is on par with the Holocaust, that gay marriage is like incest, and that Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus and other non-Christians are going to spend eternity burning in hell. Supporters note that he works on behalf of people with AIDS, the poor in Africa and global warming.

Obama defends choice of Rick Warren for Inauguration Invocation is a post from: The Inquisitr